How to expand and grow your personal network In the busy-ness of our everyday lives, we sometimes forget to connect with people that energize us and help us to learn and grow. What are the benefits of a thriving personal network? Support and encouragement. All of us, whether employee or entrepreneur, have moments of doubt, anxiety or dread. Having people who you can call or email to get support and advice will go a long way to shoring up your weak points and maintaining positive forward direction in your life. A deep pool of people to share ideas with. Many of you may be familiar the Six Degrees of Separation theory that Wikipedia defines as "the hypothesis that anyone on Earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances with no more than five intermediaries." It is a nice way to think about getting gracious access to people you admire - who do you know who could open the door for you? I can claim the great efficacy of even the parody of this theory, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon which shows that every actor on earth is no more than six degrees away from Kevin Bacon. My Aunt Char made the cheesy movie "Tremors" with him, and my friend actor Benjamin Bratt starred with him in the movie "The River Wild." Remember that when you meet a new person, they are connecting to everyone in your life and you are connecting to everyone in theirs. A source of job or business leads. One of the greatest ways to get the word out about work that you are interested in doing is through your informal network. It is of course important not to come across as desperate, so you want to avoid blanket emails with the subject line "Can anyone get me a job?" More appropriate would be a tailored, personalized message to select people in your network which says something like: "I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the kind of work that makes me really energized. My latest idea is teaching polka dancing to senior citizens ... what do you think about that idea? Who do you think I absolutely should talk to if I am considering this career move?" Common myths about networking Myth: It is a pompous, slimy and slippery pursuit, only fit for pushy salespeople Fact: It is what you make it! If you pursue people with the sole purpose of trying to get something out of them or sell something, you will feel slime dripping off your forehead. If you think of it as a way to connect with like-minded individuals for mutual benefit, you will feel comfortable. Myth: I don't "do" networking because I am introverted and don't feel comfortable in large groups Fact: There are many ways to network which don't include large groups. You can participate in online forums, ask one person to lunch or send an email to someone you admire. Myth: I don't have the time. Fact: A good network may be right under your nose and you don't take advantage of it! Go to lunch with a new colleague, invite your neighbor for coffee on Saturday morning or chat with a different parent at your kid's back to school night event. So how do you get this networking party started? Complete the "new take on networking" exercise. One of my favorite people, Professor Srikumar Rao, teaches a course on creativity at the Columbia Business School and London Business School. He captured a lot of the wisdom from his course in the book Are you ready to succeed? Unconventional Strategies to Achieving Mastery in Business and in Life and outlines a simple, ethical and non-slimy networking exercise on pages 77-79. The highlights: Pick 5 people you would like to cultivate Figure out what it is about the person that resonates with you State a specific way in which you can help or would like to be useful to that person Use any form of communication that you feel comfortable with. Email is fast and convenient, but you can also use the phone, fax or an old-fashioned but highly appreciated hand-written note. Professor Rao says: "Sometimes a sincere note of congratulations for what a person is doing is in itself a good springboard for forming a link. The key is sincerity. It's perfectly alright to ask if you can be helpful in the endeavor you are admiring." He continues with this key piece of advice: "Don't try to form a network. This requires much effort and game playing. Instead, allow a network to form around you." Join an online network like Linked in. This may not be for everyone, but is worth checking out. David Batstone, professor of ethics at the University of San Francisco, founding editor of Business 2.0 and Worthwhile Magazines and blogger recently wrote in his newsletter that he was not comfortable joining online networks as he had enough trouble keeping up with correspondence from his live human contacts. But many of his readers disagreed, and spoke of the great benefits of sharing networking information online. About.com shares a whole list of online networking sites, along with guidelines for how to use them appropriately. Join a live human networking group in an area of interest. I personally shy away from "official" networking groups since it feels slightly uncomfortable, but I have been told by many others that groups such as Business Networking International (BNI) are very helpful. It doesn't have to be all about business - you can choose a group that shares a personal interest like hiking or art. Frequent blogs that interest you and be generous with your comments. I have met several very good online friends by reading each other's comments on a favorite blog and eventually contacting with each other. I have also developed some really wonderful friendships with readers of my blog who comment frequently and readily share information that would be useful to my target audience. Look at the people around you in a different way. As I mentioned earlier, who might be in the path of your everyday life that you could take time to get to know better? Is there someone at your morning coffee shop that always makes you smile? Is there someone from a different department at work who just has a good "vibe" about them that you would like to know better? Make a goal to eat with a new pal at lunch every two weeks and watch your network expand. The Blog In Escape from Cubicle Nation, I write about 5 entries a week on topics related to helping people in corporate jobs break out and start their own business. Here are some recent posts from the month of October: Top 10 entrepreneur song list (this got a lot of traffic and comments - great fun!) Overwhelmed with too much to do? Outsource everything possible Is it ever safe to call yourself an expert? 5 nitpicky mistakes made by new entrepreneurs that drive me crazy Amanda Congdon in my backyard - live video! If you want to be notified of new posts, you can sign up in the box in upper right corner that says "Sign up here - and I'll let you know when I post." Or if you are savvy about RSS, just click on my feed button right below the sign-up box. Tired of reading? Catch the Escape from Cubicle Nation Podcast. I post a new episode every other Monday. Here's the place to listen to past shows and sign up for automatic updates. Escape from Cubicle Nation Teleclass I will be offering one f*ree teleclass each month on the topic of Escaping from Cubicle Nation with a Question and Answer format. Last month we had a fun and rollicking call where I learned as much from the participants as they did from me. Call Details: Escape from Cubicle Nation Q&A Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006 1pm-2pm Eastern (10am Pacific, 11am Mountain, 12pm Central, 6pm UK) To sign up, send a blank email to nov8teleclass@aweber.com It is important to confirm that you signed up of your own will by opening up and clicking the link in the confirmation email. It will come from me (pcs@ganas.com) and the subject will be "Confirm your request for information for the nov8teleclass." Follow the simple directions in the email and you will confirm your attendance and receive the call-in details. I really look forward to meeting you on the call! Not a Get a Life Subscriber yet? Click here to subscribe. Welcome new subscribers! I am so happy that you have joined the Get a Life subscriber list. You are in good company! Get a Life readers are smart, funny, ambitious, compassionate and interested in the world around them. If you know any like-minded individuals who would benefit from this eZine, please send them an invitation to join via the Get a Life Referral Page. All the best, -Pam Pamela Slim 480-663-3252 pcs@ganas.com skype: pamela.slim To View Past Issues of Get a Life click here ©  Pamela Slim, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Get a Life eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution. Please also notify me.