Networking; the art to success

You hear the word "Networking" tossed around like it's the holy grail of success, and it is, but very few people know why...not how....but why it's so important. To most people, networking is about meeting people and exchanging/collecting business cards as proof of said activity. It makes the networkers feel like they didn't waste their time, throw in a couple of LinkedIn invites and you got the icing on the networking cake, Mission Accomplished! I'd venture to say that 9 times out of 10 the activity ends there. I've met a lot of "great" networkers, and by great I mean people that proudly display the stacks of business cards they've collected, which is the adult equivalent of Pokémon cards...but I digress.

My question is, aside from the cardboard confetti you've collected, what good have you promoted and propelled for the people you've met? Seriously, what have you done to make them meeting you a positive in their life?

One of the most impactful sayings I've read and one that I live by is "you can have everything you want in life if you help enough people get what they want," by Zig Ziglar.

What I'm about to say may fly in the face of everything we were taught in school but networking, isn't about you, it's about what you do for others! I can already see the virtual pouncing about to commence, but hold your keystrokes of fury, let me explain.

When I network, I'm building a database in my head of the people I meet, what they are passionate about, proficient at, and more importantly what do they need. Once I've identified these factors they serve as cross hairs for me to match them with other people I know that could fill their need, share their passion, or utilize their expertise. 

Networking is expanding your mental database of people to match with each other. The more people you meet, the greater the chance you can match them with someone they can help or visa versa. Not only are you making an (unexpected) material difference in their life, but you're also building relationship equity with these people...and they in turn may do the same for you. That's what my site is all about, meeting positive passionate people with purpose in their life! So feel free to say hello and please share what you're passionate about and how I may help.....

Because at the end of the day....money isn't the only currency in this world.