Today, right now, we know more people, have access to more information, and can leverage our skills and learn more quickly and at a higher level than ever before. The world is truly ours.
What does it take to get a piece of this great opportunity?
Connect. In the 1990s the goal was collecting business cards. Your job has changed. It's less about cards and more about threads. Where do the people you want to know, congregate? If you don't know, find out and be there. Do you see the threads between your connections? Can you connect them? Malcolm Gladwell says connectors are important for more than simply the number of people they know. Their importance is also a function of the kinds of people they know. Your friends occupy the same world that you do. Adopt a strategy of connecting with people who don’t know you. You can guarantee you will learn something new!
Create. Create a circle of meaningful connections through thoughtful conversations. Develop a deep understand of these people, understand their art and leverage that to learn, grow and progress. What are you learning from them and how are they learning from you?
Share. You are what you share. How do you feel when someone shares something with you? When you connect with someone and learn more about them, the best thing you can do is share that love! When you find something so profound it has you thinking differently and responding in a new way...don't keep that from your world...share that. Before you know it, you'll become a super-connector.
Show up. The world is run by those who connect, create, share and show up. Showing up is about presence and knowing when and where your connections congregate: both virtual and in person. Learn which channels for connection are most important to them and then use them.
Rinse and repeat.
When you connect, create, share and show up... the world is yours.