Networking vs. Networlding

We asked Melissa for her best networking tip. She says not to think of it as networking, but think of it as networlding, which is the title of one of her books. Networlding expands opportunities rather than limiting them.

As a networker, you might set a goal of meeting two people. If you’re a networlder, you would set a goal of meeting two people who you can form a long-term relationship with and build opportunities for you, for them, and for the greater good.

The “overstuffed Rolodex syndrome”

Many people confuse activity with accomplishment. You leverage your network by thinking about who would be good connections for you. Start with people who have complementary values. With the online world, you can have quality and quantity by being specific about what you ask for to create a vibrant exchange.

7 levels of support

Networking isn’t about taking. It’s also not about just giving. You can support people:  

• Emotionally

• By providing information

• By providing knowledge (information plus experiences)

• By promoting them

• Through wisdom sharing (the 20 percent that will yield 80 percent)

• By creating transformational opportunities

• Community (creating the greatest good for the greatest number)

Links to Melissa’s sites

networlding2.org
This is Melissa’s most interactive community. The goal is for members to support each other in achieving their respective goals. You can create your own profile and build your own private circle around your special interest.

Networlding E-Learning
Here you’ll get six FREE lessons on networking for business and sales or networking for jobs.

Melissa will also help you with writing a book. If you’re really serious about it, contact her.

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The Other Pause that Refreshes 

Stephen is the founder of Adversity University. He knows a lot about overcoming adversity. He’s been deaf since birth, but as he says, we all face our own adversity in life.

A dream is born
As a young boy, Stephen said he had very low self-esteem. He had a hearing aid box that was strapped to his chest with cords running up to his ear. He was also very thin. But he was a boy with a dream … to be a pilot.

When he was just four- or five-years old, he saw a plane in the sky and knew he wanted to fly with the big boys. After much prodding, he convinced his mom to take him to the airport. It became a weekly event.

Upon arriving at the airport, Stephen would jump out of the car and run up to the fence. He would put his fingers on the fence and wait for a plane to come out. The minute he saw a plane, he would run back to the car and put his head on the hood, with his face looking out so he could see the plane take off.

When the plane took off, the little car would vibrate like a washing machine. That’s how Stephen heard the sound of a plane.

Living the dream
He didn’t pursue his dream until many years later. He completed college and went off to Wall Street. After fifteen years, he quit his career to pursue his dream of becoming a motivational speaker.

One day, he learned about other deaf pilots on his computer. He didn’t realize that deaf pilots had been flying since 1948. At that point, his childhood dream came roaring back to life!

He began looking for a flight instructor. Many of them weren’t aware that deaf pilots could fly. So they didn’t want to train him. Finally, Stephen found a willing instructor. 

He could only fly on good weather days. Deaf pilots navigate by referencing landmarks – like cities, lakes, and highways. But when weather turned bad, deaf pilots were not allowed to fly.

Until 2006.

That’s when Stephen became the first deaf pilot to fly in bad weather. He says that flying in bad weather is like flying in a milk bottle because you can’t see where you’re going. So, as Stephen says, he became the first deaf and blind pilot! He thought about starting Helen Keller Airways!

Now other deaf pilots are following his footsteps. He says it’s very difficult to fly in bad weather because you have to communicate with your co-pilot, whose job is to translate what the controllers are telling them over the radio. The co-pilot writes it down on a dry erase board and then gives it to Stephen, which is very challenging.

What an amazing accomplishment! Look at the doors Stephen has opened for others.

Stephen’s H.E.A.R. Principle for overcoming adversity
   
Have a passion for what you do. Otherwise obstacles will seem difficult to overcome.

Entertain the possibilities that are available to you.

Authenticity. Be authentic; be who you are.

Remember who helped you.

We thank Stephen for sharing his inspirational story and his incredible insight with us today! 

To learn more about Stephen Hopson: Check out his blog, Adversity University Schedule him to speak at your next event

Our bigg quote today is by none other than Stephen Hopson himself.

So don’t let adversity keep you grounded … overcome it and soar to new heights.

How have you overcome adversity? Share your tips with us by leaving a Comment.

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Bigg Advice
We recommend that you get a notebook to write down your thoughts and answers to the following questions, Amy.

These things all revolve around one simple theme –

#1 – What did you want to be when you grew up?
Now you may think that’s a silly question to ask at this point in your life, but it’s not. Because it leads to the more important question …

Mary-Lynn wanted to be a singing star. She wanted to be like Cher – up on stage performing in front of an audience with a microphone. Unfortunately, she couldn’t sing!

But today, she does perform in front of an audience with her very own microphone. It’s not exactly what she envisioned as a kid, but the elements are there.

#2 – What classes did you really enjoy?
You probably thrived in these classes. What were they, from grade school all the way up through college? And more importantly …

George loved philosophy – learning how to think logically and debate a subject. He’s used those skills his entire career. He has found that the work that’s most enjoyable to him often has to do with problem-solving.

#3 – What extracurricular activities did you love?
And more importantly, what did you love about that activity?

Mary-Lynn loved music. She loved being in the pep band and going to competitions. These additional benefits were a bonus to learning to play an instrument well. It appealed to her competitive nature and fulfilled her social needs.

#4 – What jobs or roles have given you the greatest satisfaction?
More importantly, what common themes were there?

George has been an entrepreneur and a teacher. As his career as a business owner advanced, he found that teaching and inspiring others was what he really enjoyed. He got great feedback about meetings he conducted. He also got positive reviews from his students. Today, Bigg Success gives him that outlet to share knowledge with others.

#5 – What is, or was, your favorite hobby?
What do you, or did you, do for free?

Mary-Lynn has loved writing since she was a kid. It taps into her creative side. That desire to be creative has guided her throughout her career. She once left a job because it didn’t offer creative freedom. Her need for creative control in her job spills over from her hobby. Being in touch with what you naturally do, even without pay, can help you discover your passion.

So as you ponder these five questions, think about the elements of the activity, rather than the activity itself, to discover your passion.

Thanks, Amy, for sharing your bigg challenge with us. We’re confident you’ll discover your passion soon!

If you have a bigg challenge, e-mail it to us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com What advice do you have for Amy? Click on the Comment link below

Our bigg quote today is by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who said,

So find your passion to uncover your greatness.

Next time, we’ll discuss what to do if working harder isn’t working anymore. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

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(Image by mrceviz)

Today is a special blog for us – it is number 100!

Bigg Success was born on Nov 12, 2007 with our first Bigg Success Show. It’s been a bigg ride so far!

Comments from you
It’s always great to hear from you. One of our favorite comments was a listener who told us that The Bigg Success Show is her daily mojo!

We also love it when people tell us they got a good laugh. Admittedly, it’s easier to deliver a laugh on the show than in our blog – sometimes it doesn’t translate well. By the way, to hear the show, just click the  button near the top of this page.

We strive to deliver a daily lesson and a laugh in five minutes or so. We believe that it’s better not to be too serious, but still give practical suggestions. It’s been great to hear from so many of you that you did indeed use one of our tidbits.

We don’t know it all and we don’t pretend to. In fact, on the show, George said, “I usually assume that I know less than anyone in the room. Unfortunately, it usually turns out that I’m right!”We value your input and it’s so easy to give it – all you have to do is type! Just click on the article title and look for “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of the page.

Celebrating a milestone
So today is a milestone for us. When we discussed Climbing the Stairway to Success, we said you should give yourself a treat when you hit a goal. Well, we’re practicing what we preach by taking some time to savor the moment with you today.

100 tips – we’ve delivered three times our promise
We promised 100 tips to succeed bigg in our title today. We include a bigg quote in every blog. So go to our Bigg Quotes page and you’ll find a link to the blog where that quote was featured. You can count them – there’s 100!

We would count them ourselves but between the two of us we only have twenty fingers and toes!

In reality, we discuss at least three tips on every show, so you’ll find over 300 tips to succeed bigg! That’s three times what we promised! Check it out for yourself! We dare you!

Two of our favorites
You’ve heard us say that when you face an obstacle, you have to find way past it. At Super Bowl time, we did a show called Fumble Forward. We wanted to highlight one of the most famous fumbles of all time, but we couldn’t get licensing permission to air the original broadcast. So we recreated it ourselves. (Hear the clip in The Bigg Success Show. Click above.) 

Mary-Lynn said she’s never been a sports broadcaster. It was fun! Finding a creative solution to the problem was even more rewarding.

We did a show on multi-tasking – Can You Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time? Unfortunately, George showed all of you that he can’t.
(Hear the clip in The Bigg Success Show. Click above.)

Mary-Lynn said George better give up on Dancing with the Stars!

Announcement
On February 29, we did a special leap year show about the growing trend of people traveling while working, Leaping from Place to Place.

And speaking of taking a leap, we got married that day! George said it’s great – he only has to remember an anniversary every four years!

Will you help?
We started Bigg Success to bring together a community of like-minded people who would help each other succeed bigg. We may be the conductors, but it takes an orchestra for the music to be sweet.

Here’s one thing YOU can do to help – tell everyone you know about Bigg Success!

When you hear a show or read a blog that you like, share it! An easy way to do this is to click on the “Share This” button at the bottom of each post. There are a number of options – one is to e-mail a friend.

We thank you so much for being part of Bigg Success!

Our bigg quote today is by David Joseph Schwartz, who said,

Your accomplishments may seem tiny on their own, but when you put them together, they’re mighty.

That’s the mighty tinies, not the tidy whities!

Next time, we’ll discuss five laws of stratospheric success. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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