Scott Bradley of Effective Networking and Success Tips is the latest blogger who has written a guest article.
"Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken"
Have you ever run into someone when networking, and they just seem to be trying too hard to impress you? Did they pull the whole “smoke and mirrors” on you…putting a bad taste in your mouth? How did it make you feel?
This quote, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken,” is a quote that I heard 2 years ago from one of my mentors. When thinking about it, and how it relates to networking and connecting with other like minded individuals, it couldn’t be more true.
When networking if you first come off as something that you are not, you will have to work hard to keep that identity going even though it is not you. Besides…why would you want to be someone you aren’t, when you are trying to build a “know, like and trust” relationship with the other person you are interacting with? By doing this, you are already breaking the trust with the other individual before ever getting to know them.
Why put your reputation on the line like that? If you are doing that, don’t you think someone is going to find out sooner or later that you are not what you say you are, or do what you say you do?
I believe the root of this issue that some of us as networkers see each and every day is due to people not feeling secure about themselves as a person. They are not proud about who they are, what they stand for, and what their beliefs are. They are hesitant to stick their head out, because they are worried that “Someone isn’t going to like them!”
They believe that if they aren’t themselves, no one will like them, and because of that it will cause a lot of pain, and since we have learned from Tony Robbins that the greatest human motivator is to avoid pain, the networkers think they have to be someone that “Everyone else wants them to be” even though they are having conflicting feelings about their own personal identity.
When it comes to networking and finding other contacts that you build relationships with, you have to be YOU. Be proud to say who you are and what you do. Be truthful about your past success. Don’t try to hype anything up, just tell it the way it is.
When you do this, rather than trying to get everyone to like you, you only attract and deal with the people who want to deal with you. You don’t have to worry about someone not liking you because you know there are other people out there that have your same interests…you just have to consistently keep sorting through everyone you come in contact with. Trust me, people will respect you for it and you will always have a clean slate with all of those you are networking with.
If you are reading this right now and know that you have some self-esteem issues, read self growth books so you can grow yourself from the inside out. More success, and more awesome contacts don’t come from outside accomplishments, but rather start from the inside of you and manifest outward…As we all have learned from watching "The Secret"
So in the end. Just be you. You got nothing to lose. Just remember to “Be yourself, because everyone else is taken!”
Comments