How to Connect With Influential & Successful People

Successful people are role models;

However, it hasn’t always been that easy to connect and build a strong relationship with them.

Nowadays we have so much technology on hand, such as apps like Facebook and Shapr, that help us connect with influential people a lot more easily.

Back when I first started out in business, I made the decision to reach out and build strong connections with influential people. At first, I wasn’t quite sure of how to go about it.

I didn’t exactly have much to bring to the table at the time. But I had a new business, and was seeking inspiration, guidance and advice.

I knew a lot of people who would have been able to give this to me, but expecting them to give up their time to every aspiring entrepreneur that asked is a little ridiculous.

Occasionally, people will answer a quick question, or give your stuff a share if you ask them nicely, but as the saying truly goes:

“IN LIFE, NOTHING AND NOBODY WILL HELP YOU UNTIL YOU START HELPING YOURSELF.”

So… how do you make connections with influential and successful people, who can help you elevate your life to the next level.


How to Connect With Influential People

Within this article, I’m going to be explaining how you can begin to connect with successful people, even if you don’t yet believe you’ve achieved that status.

This means showing you where to find like-minded people that you have a lot in common with. How to reach out to them, and how to build a strong relationship, which is beneficial for both parties.

Before you read any further though, make sure you read this article I wrote a while ago, which highlights all the reasons to be reaching out to people.


Step 1. Have Something to Offer

The first step to building any kind of connection with someone is by having something to offer. That’s the only reason why people naturally become friends with each other.

It doesn’t always have to be about influence. A lot of people think that because they don’t yet have a successful business, money or powerful connections, they can’t connect with those that do.

This isn’t true…

Value comes in many different forms.

Your personality, your knowledge, your loyalty, are all forms of value. When people choose others to be around, they psychologically bond with someone based on certain attributes. Maybe you’re funny, trustworthy, positive and supportive, read a lot of books… who knows.

The point being that if you are to connect with influential people, you first need to find some sort of common ground. Once you’re able to do that, you’ll know how to give value to people, and, get it back in return.


Step 2. Use Facebook & Other Apps to Find People

Once you’ve figured out how you can offer value, it’s time to find others who are interested in that value, and might just be able to send some your way in return.

Depending on where you grow up, there might not be people within your area who share similar interests and ambitions as you. This is one of the biggest things I learnt growing up in the rural countryside.

20 years ago or so; if this was the case, then you’d have to move to find people you click with. You could have always written to them… but we’re a little more fortunate these days.

Now, we can harness the power of social media.

Here’s a few places to get started:


1. Facebook

Facebook used to just be a place where I could keep in touch with my friends. A couple of years ago, I expanded to connecting with like-minded people on the platform.

Nowadays, all I have to do is login and I’m faced with amazing videos and insights by other professionals. I also started to notice the different circles people ran in, and I did my best to comment and join in on the conversation.

It’s so easy to make connections on Facebook.


2. Shapr & Similar Apps

Think of Shapr as the tinder for business professionals. Exactly the same concept, but instead of swiping for a date, your swiping to meet another awesome individual who has similar business interests as yourself.

This is an excellent way to connect with influential people, and is definitely worth testing within your area!

You can learn more about Shapr here…


3. Speaking Events & Seminars

Needless to say, a speaking event that interests you, is also going to interested anybody with the same interests as you. That means they’ll be a bunch of people all in the same room, sharing similar goals and ambitions.

And many of those people will already be incredibly successful at what they do!

Therefore it makes sense to start going to these events and meeting some of the other awesome individuals attending, right?

Most definitely! You may just create some life-long friends whilst you’re there.


Step 3. Reach out to them!
So you’ve…
Figured out the value you can offer to the world, and to the people you want to connect with.
Discovered the major places where you can find these people.

Now, all that’s left is to reach out to them and start building a strong and genuine relationship.

Before I continue, I’m sure I don’t have to explain the obvious fact that reaching out to these people and immediately asking them to do something for you, is out of the question. That won’t get you anywhere.

Being genuine is always the way to go. Check out this example:

Hey [First Name],

Hows it going?

Thanks for connecting with me. I saw we had several mutual friends and thought I’d reach out!

I love everything you’re doing right now with [Business Name], and would love to learn more about your mission and how we could potentially help one another.

Are you free for a coffee sometime?

All the best,


That wasn’t so hard, was it?

As long as you’re genuine, and you show interest in expressing how you can help the other person on his journey, you’ll receive a positive response!



Summary

Hopefully this article has helped you to connect with other influential and successful people. The steps are very simple, and can be done by anyone. As I said before, you don’t have to already be successful in order to connect with people who are.

Here’s a quick recap on the only 3 steps you need to make powerful connections with like-minded individuals:
Figure out what value you have to offer
Look for like-minded individuals where value can be exchanged
Reach out and build a genuine relationship

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Sky Shouldn't Be The Limit

As children we have lots of dreams, becoming pilots, lawyers, rich and famous and even astronauts. But as our days and months turn into years and life happens we suddenly lose touch of our dreams, even worse we stop dreaming altogether.

After personal experience and watching people around me I have come to discover some truths, some of which I wish to share with you, hoping that you would reap the benefits.

Don't Be Afraid To Dream

Why are we afraid to dream? Why are we conditioned and brought up to be in a society that fights progression and stand in the way of dreams? As adults we put a bar on our dreams, we limit ourselves to what we could reach and confine our dreams to walls and ceilings not to outgrow the normal accepted standards. But I tell you even as adults' dreams should live on, and shouldn't be confined to what is possible and what is not. If you can dream it, then you can believe it, then you can find a way to achieve it. Don't stop dreaming and don't limit your dreams.

You Are Your Worst Enemy

So you have a dream you wish to make it a reality, but instead you let the demons in your head get to you first. The could I's, the what if's, the there are many out there like me, why would I be successful? I will tell you just STOP! Stop these negative thoughts and stop beating yourself down. If you have a dream and a passion to do something, it doesn't matter if a thousand or even million others are doing it before you, that shouldn't stop your drive to follow your own path and give it a try. You might feel scared, you might not know where to start, but with the right planning, organization and research you can build a foundation to put you on the right path to work on your dream. Just stop self-sabotaging yourself and believe that you too can do it, and even do it better than others!

Shut Out Negative Voices

When you share your passion and desires with others, wanting to spread your wings and fly, most likely you will hear many telling you "don't do it, why do it? You will waste your time for nothing?" Don't blame these people for saying so as they too were conditioned like you, not to believe in pursuing dreams, and are afraid of the unknown, and God forbid that you might actually succeed and leave them behind. When people bombard you with let-downs, walk away, don't listen and most important don't take it personally, it is not a measure of your capabilities it is a measure of their lack of confidence and fear. Instead use those negative comments to feed your desire for success even more and push you even further towards your goal. Instead find the people who support you and believe in you and pick you up when you fall down.

I Will Need An Arm And A Leg

Another thing that might be stopping you from working on your dream is finances. So you don't have the cash. Well sure that can put a damper on any project, but the truth is to start your own business you don't need that much initially. You could start at home and use social media platforms to help promote your product or business and with profit you make you can put back in your work and slowly grow. Don't think to be a millionaire you have to start out like one and don't forget that most successful entrepreneurs started from home.

Put Your Best Foot Forward

The best advice is to do your best. Work with all your heart and soul; don't get lazy because you are not getting a salary at the end of the month. Learn to discipline yourself in setting goals, targets, deadlines and stick to them. Work ethically and work hard, eventually you will see the fruit of your efforts.

Patience is Virtue

Perseverance is key to success. Even if you get rejections, even if you don't succeed at first, keep at it. If you believe in something and you put the work into it, then no matter what, you will eventually taste the sweetness of success even if it is something as self-satisfaction and gratification for trying. It will not happen overnight, and you will get moments of doubt, and feel it is easier to give up. But don't! You will never regret working hard but surely you will regret not trying your best and giving up too soon. Success takes time, so be patient it will be worth it in the end.

Enjoy The Ride

You do realize this is Your Dream we are talking about? And you are the one trying to make it come true, so there is no sense in pushing yourself to the point you lose sight to why you started in the first place. Learn to enjoy your journey. Every moment good or bad, is an opportunity to learn and grow, so might as well have fun doing it, in the end you are making memories to keep for life and things to look back on and smile not cringe.

And as Richard Branson once said, "A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts." So I say don't be afraid to dream.

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How To Make A Good First Impression That Everyone Remembers

Making a great first impression is imperative to building great relationships and success.

The ancient Greeks spent a lot of time thinking and writing about the effect of one personality on another.

They broke down the process of communication into three parts, which they called ethos, pathos, and logos.

The ethos of communication is defined as the ethical part. This revolves around the person you really are and, more important, the person you are perceived to be.

If you are in sales or business, the way you are perceived by someone, which will largely determine the influence you have over him or her, will be strongly affected by your level of credibility, your ethos.

In the area of personal credibility, the rule is that everything counts. Everything you do or don’t do either adds to or takes away from your credibility and your capability to influence someone.

Ethos is very important.
The Importance Of First Impressions

You’ve heard it said that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

The fact is that when you first meet a person, he makes a judgment about you in approximately four seconds, and his judgment is finalized largely within 30 seconds of the initial contact.

In a survey of the members of the American Personnel Consultants those men and women who are responsible for hiring people for large companies generally agreed that they made their decision to hire or not to hire a person within 30 seconds of the first meeting.Everything contributing to the way you look on the outside is important.

If it’s not helping you, it’s hurting you.

While you cannot control your physical features, you have total control over your dress and grooming. In fact, we generally assume that a person consciously and deliberately makes a personal statement about himself with every part of his appearance that he can affect in any way.

Your clothes are responsible for 95% of the first impression that you make on someone because, in most instances, your clothes cover 95% of your body.

Your grooming, your hair style and the other ways you can determine your appearance from the neck up also exert an inordinate influence on the way that you are perceived, on your ethos with someone. Your accessories all make a statement that will or will not help to put you in a position to influence someone.
How To Make A Great First Impression

Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, take complete control over every detail of your personal appearance and grooming. Resolve to look like a powerful, influential person in all your business activities.

Second, study fashion and proper dress so you know exactly what to wear and in what combination. Read a book, take a seminar or even hire an image consultant.

Small changes in your appearance can change your life.

Before we wrap up, I’d like to leave you with a thought to share with your friends and followers:

“Making a great first impression is imperative to becoming an influential leader.”

Now I’d love to hear from you. What other aspects do you feel help you make a good first impression?

Leave a comment below and I’ll be sure to follow up with you.

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5 Great Steps To Building Self-Confidence & Becoming Popular

How would you like to become more popular and welcomed by people in your social or business circles?

Well, you can be, by learning how to be more charming in every interaction with others.

The deepest human need is the desire to feel important. When you go through life building self-confidence and making other people feel important and valuable, they will like you, welcome you, and open every door for you. This is how to become popular both professionally and personally.

If you are in business, becoming a charming person, making others feel important, will help you in every business situation, from negotiating terms to borrowing money to influencing key customers.

If you are in sales, the way customers feel about you, and feel when they are with you, will determine your level of sales and referrals more than any other factor.

In your personal, family and social life, learning to be more charming will make you more popular, desirable, influential and persuasive than any other quality.

How do you become a genuinely charming person? Here are five behaviors you can practice with every person to make him or her feel more important:

1. Smile In Every Interaction

Each person has a deep-down need to be accepted unconditionally by other people, without judgment or criticism.

And how to express this “unconditional positive regard?” Simple! Just smile. An open, honest, happy-to-see-you smile warms people’s hearts, makes them feel important, and causes them unconsciously to like you from the first moment.

2. Say “Thank You” Early And Often

Everyone loves to be appreciated for something, anything they have done for someone else.

When you say the magic words “Thank you” early and often, you make people feel important and happy, raise their self-esteem and increase their desire to help you and do things for you.

3. Give Genuine Compliments

Whenever you admire the possessions, traits or accomplishments of others, they automatically feel more important and valuable! As Abraham Lincoln said, “Everybody likes a compliment.”

Admire people’s choices in clothing, hairstyles, cars, briefcases, purses or office layout. Admire their homes or apartments. Admire their degrees or certificates. Whenever you compliment a person on something he or she has obviously invested time and emotion in achieving, you boost their self-image and build high self-esteem. As a result, they find you to be “charming.”

4. Give Praise And Approval Often

Give praise and approval generously, for both small and large accomplishments. Whenever anyone does anything worthwhile, tell them how good they are, and what a fine job they’ve done, building self-confidence and high self-esteem.

One definition of self-esteem is: How much a person feels praiseworthy.

When you praise your spouse and children, your staff and coworkers, your customers and suppliers, you make them feel more important, and cause them to see you as “charming.”

5. Give Them Your Full Attention

People feel valuable and important to the degree to which they are listened to and respected.

Whenever you listen closely to another person when he is talking, his self-esteem goes up. His brain releases endorphins, nature’s “happy drug,” and he feels good about being in your presence.

You always “pay value” to a person by listening attentively, by hanging on every word. When you do, he or she warms up to you and begins to find you “charming.”

Go through life looking for little opportunities to make people feel valuable and special. Smile at them as if you are glad to see them. Thank them regularly. Compliment them sincerely. Praise them lavishly. And listen to them when they speak building self-confidence and promoting high self-esteem.

Soon, almost without effort on your part, everyone will be talking about “what a charming person you are.”

Thank you for reading this article on how to become popular through unconditional positive regard, building self-confidence and promoting high self-esteem. Please share and comment below!

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