Mark Edward Brown's Blog

365 days a year there are opportunities to make connections and network for success both in your personnal and business life and if you are really successful you do what you love doing and your work is your life and not the other way around.

Here are four examples:

1) in the summertime there is the 4th of July or BBQ’s and often family reunions.

2) in the fall there are sporting events, back to school parties etc.

3) in the winter time there are holiday parties and the New Years parties.

4) in the spring there are spring festivals, May day and the famous Spring Break.

All of these social gatherings make for a advantageous time to connect and networking. New connections can lead to relationships with people that share the same hobbies as you, have the same sense of humor as you do and many other characteristics that you can use to strengthen you personal and business network.

Here is some simple advice, use it or lose it:

- Make an introduction, start by introducing yourself by being friendly and approachable it will be easy for others to make small talk and that will allow you to develop meaningful conversations.

- Ask who invited you to the event that you are attending and how you know that person, talk about other people you know that they may know, many times you will be suprised at who knows who and it could lead to another great connection.

Connections are the keys to a quality network and many times it’s not the size of your network that is important, it’s the quality of your connections within your network that can make or break your success.

Often times people are willing to help you out if you are real and not phony, motivated, and a genuinely likeable person.  When establishing quality connections look for ways to give back by providing help or establishing a connection that you know will benefit the person you just met.  Reciprocating kindness or paying it forward often comes back as a favorable action for you.

Look forward to your next office party or family gathering, come up with some questions that people have to think about or would be entertaining to you to hear them answer, gatherings don’t have to be bland or boring anymore.

Here’s to Your Successful Connections,

Mark Edward Brown