For those still unconvinced about networking I

In 1993 I went through a life-changing seminar series with the antecedent company to Cannon Training & Development. Today those seminars are called The Magnificent Life Seminars and I highly encourage you to step your toe in the water by visiting San Diego and doing the Magnificent Life Weekend for a start. Stay a few days longer and enjoy San Diego and all the fun here. That's all I'm going to say about the Magnificent Life Seminars for now because my real purpose here today is to show an example of connection/networking that took place over more than a decade.

I met Fran Cannon, founder of Cannon Training & Development, in 1993. I came to understand what a good, wise and caring man he is. After a couple years I drifted out of Fran's life and after some time I found myself exploring the internet and a site called sixdegrees.com. [I just checked the URL and it's definitely something different than it was. I did see the first one crash and burn.] Some of you may remember it and it was the first site I was exposed to that really seemed to take advantage of the idea of "six degrees of separation" and the connectivity inherent in that concept. Here's the Wikipedia entry if you're new to six degrees of separation.

I connected with a woman named Janet Honek who listed herself as an executive coach and a resident of my city, Carlsbad. I contacted Janet and asked her if she had done any personal growth seminars and she confirmed that she had. At the same time I asked her if she knew Fran Cannon and she did. Fran was involved with the same business networking organization I mentioned in my Wednesday post. In fact, Fran taught a class on capital raising at their big seminar up in LA. After understanding the MBA level business skills that were being taught at this seminar and feeling good about it because Fran was involved, I attended another watershed event in my life. I went in as a life insurance salesman and within a few months I was a networker.

Because of Janet's husband's recommendation, I joined Toastmasters to enhance my speaking skills and within a couple months I met a man, Ulrich Jaeger. I've written a brief account of what Ulrich is up to on one of my blog experiments/art projects, A Fan Of Your Dreams*. I introduced Ulrich to the business networking organization and Cannon Training and alongside of his pursuit of his dream, Ulrich is now a community service manager with that organization.

Ulrich met Chris Chun at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in Temecula, California and that night he came to hear me speak about networking and the organization. Chris Chun joined as I did near the end of 2000 and recently he invited Jim Cox to take a look. Jim came to see me speak the other night and I've already connected him to Michael Stogner, a fellow Toastmaster with similar career experience to Jim.

So, [indirectly] because Fran Cannon and I met a dozen years ago, Michael Stogner and Jim Cox will be in a position to help each other this week. It actually goes further than that because I was introduced to Fran's work by a friend who's wife assumed that he needed it and we could attend together. A little further back the chain of connection, my friend's wife's masseuse recommended the personal development seminar to my friend's wife.

LinkedIn helps you make those connections faster. Part of the attraction of LinkedIn is that it's more efficient. LinkedIn can help you find out who is serious about taking action. You don't have to wait twelve years, no matter how worth it the wait might seem.


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