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7 Relationship-Building Tips from NY Times Bestselling Author Keith Ferrazzi

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Keith Ferrazzi

I recently had the pleasure of connecting with best selling author, entrepreneur, and speaker Keith Ferrazzi, one of the pre-eminent thought leaders and experts when it comes to professional relationship-building.

For those of you who don’t know Keith, he is the New York Times bestselling author of the modern-day classic Never Eat Alone, as well as the author of the bestselling book Who’s Got Your Back?, former CMO of Deloitte (where he was the youngest CMO of a Fortune 500 company), and former CMO of Starwood Hotels before he eventually broke out on his own to start Ferrazzi Greenlight.

These days, he’s helping some of the top companies around the world achieve hard results by teaching soft skills such as relationship building, change management, and supportive coaching, and he’s also making waves with his brand new book, Never Eat Alone: Expanded and Updated, which is available and brand-new as of this week!

Using lessons he’s shared with over half a million readers of the original version of Never Eat Alone, combined with the new insights he’s included in the expanded and updated version of the book, Keith has kindly shared with us 7 of his relationship-building tips that you can use to advance your career on and offline right now.

 

1) Be The King (Or Queen) Of Content

Those who are super-connectors in their professional and personal lives seek to provide value to others. Whether it’s through sharing lots of relevant industry content and being a learning resource to many like James Altucher, Gary Vaynerchuck, and other successful people have become, or it’s through transparency with your “trade-secrets” that have helped you achieve certain accolades to date, showing your humanity and being of service will result in more meaningful connections for you and your business.

 

2) Learn To Love The Fringe

In today’s day and age, connections you make online via social media are inherently less “close” than ones you make in-person. However, if managed and utilized properly, this can be a blessing in disguise, as a large, distant network can become an extremely value source of information and opportunities that wouldn’t have been as easily available even just a decade ago.

 

3) Join Conversations Before You Start Them

Good connectors know when it is valuable to listen and show genuine interest in other people rather than talk and expect others to go out of their way to hear them.

Don’t always jockey for attention, expecting everyone else to flock to you in order to discuss what’s on your mind; instead, join in the discussions others are having on and offline and show sincerity in their concerns and needs while contemplating how you can share knowledge or value in helping them.

 

Stage of my career keith quote

 

4) Don’t Keep Score

If you want to build real connections, it’s never just about getting what you want. It’s about making sure you selflessly provide value to others so they achieve in what they aspire to do as well. There shouldn’t be a “favor trade”, and help shouldn’t be a bargaining chip. Helping others – without keeping score – should be something you want to do in order to make the people around you better and be of service, and as a byproduct, others will naturally be more inclined to help you in the future after you’ve helped them.

 

5) “Ping” Constantly

Always be reaching out to your network in small, casual, and friendly ways. Whether it’s through sharing a funny meme, an inspirational quote, or inviting someone to join a dinner party (or a workout, meet-up, etc.), constantly reaching out to your network will strengthen bonds you have already while keeping you top of mind with others so that, when an opportunity or potential introduction arises, they automatically think of including you in some way.

If you wait until you need something before getting back in touch, you’re in for a rude awakening.

 

6) The Best Online Filter Is Offline

The strongest social network relationships begin (or grow) with a face-to-face meeting.

The best connectors get out of their desk chairs and actually go out and meet people in the real world. Only then do they send the friend request or boost their online engagement with that person.

 

7) Never Eat Alone

I feel obliged to end with this tip from Keith given that it’s the name of his books, but it is also probably the most important one. Just like feeding yourself food, you need to feed your relationships by always keeping them top of mind and working daily to improve them. Making and cultivating relationships your connections can’t be something you only do when you manage to find a little free time. More than ever, it needs to be your #1 priority if you want to distance yourself from the crowd and get ahead in life.

Many, many thanks to Keith Ferrazzi for being kind enough to share these tips with us, and check out his new book, Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, out this week!

 

Keith Ferrazzi Quote - Networking Building Relationships

 

Feature Image By: Techonomy Detroit

Jared Kleinert is an entrepreneur, TED and keynote speaker, and award-winning author who’s been named USA Today's "Most Connected Millennial" after spending years identifying and connecting hundreds of the world's smartest and most talented Millennials. His next book 3 Billion Under 30 is out now, and you can get 5 free stories from his new book atwww.3billionunder30.com. You can also say hi at jared@3billionunder30.com.

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Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

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Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)
Image Credit: Midjourney

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

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How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

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Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be. 

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time. 

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.

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Success Advice

Here’s a Young Man’s Antidote for the Uncertainty of the Modern World

Why do a lot of young guys lack confidence in today’s world? 

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We all have been told that confidence is a key factor in achieving success and happiness in life. But what is it exactly? (more…)

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Toxic Leadership: 5 Ways to Identify a Bad Leader

if you have a leader who displays any of the toxic traits, it’s time to move on to greener pastures.

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Image Credit: Midjourney

Let’s be honest, we’ve all crossed paths with a toxic leader in our careers at some point. Unfortunately, while some toxic leaders don’t even bother to hide their behaviour, some know very well how to conceal their true selves behind a strong-built facade. The latter is the most dangerous of the two. (more…)

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