When you have a strategic network, everything magnifies

When you have a strategic network, people become your key players. They are your biggest supporters and your allies. They’re the people who will champion and cheer you on through thick and thin. But did you know that you can find great people in your existing network? That’s right – the ones who you’ll enjoy and grow your business with.

Now, I’m sure you’ve all experienced at some point in our lives great people who rally around you. It feels great doesn’t it? And when this happens, you’re inspired to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But instead, I see a lot of business owners who are feeling the opposite – isolated and lonely.

Loneliness has now become an epidemic in our day and age, according to Dr. Cacioppo, a Professor of Neuroscience and director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago. He states, “the physical effects of loneliness and social isolation are as real as any other physical detriment to the body — such as thirst, hunger, or pain”. Dr. Cacioppo is the co-author of the best-selling book, “Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection”, hailed by critics to be one of the most important books about the human condition to appear in a decade.

What’s missing for lonely people is not just social contact but meaningful contact—the bonds that come from being your own authentic self with another person. It’s the true connection.

When we feel disconnected, we crave to be connected to a community of like-minded people who are doing things that we believe in. We all want to contribute to something bigger than ourselves.

You can find this within your strategic network. A strategic network is really looking at your existing network of connections. Seeing and discovering the resources and great people you already have right under your nose.

When you find your key supporters, people with similar values and those who champion you on and vice-versa, why not form a mastermind?

A mastermind will enable you to have those ‘check-in conversations.’ The type of conversations where you can have a ‘spitballing’ session and get into deep and meaningful thoughts and ideas. Conversations that help inspire you and help overcome a challenge. Or just give you new insights into doing something new for yourself and the people you serve.

You gain what I call penny drop moments or those ‘aha’ moments that spark and ignite the next stage of growth in you. It opens up to a world of possibilities. This group of key connections help to boost your confidence as well as boost their confidence too. They challenge you to be bigger, better and bolder. It’s a win-win outcome.

By connecting and forming relationships with key people, it keeps you accountable to one another. You might be in the habit of letting yourself down but you certainly won’t let another person down.

A habit of accountability improves your confidence which in turn enhances your mindset and family interactions. Your strategic connections help you believe in you and will help you achieve your goals sooner.

Key connections help open doors for you. They pave the way to new communities and opportunities you’ve never imagined were possible.

The wonderful thing is it will help create leads and generate opportunities for you, particularly when you connect with others in a way where they truly understand who you are and what you stand for. This level of connection builds creditability and trust for people to refer you onto others. And as we all know, word of mouth is the most powerful way to accelerating your growth.

Now, I’m sure you’ve been feeling isolated or even felt a little bit stagnant at different times in your life. We all go through these ebbs and flows in business and in life. There will be moments where things are on the right track and other times where it tests your resilience.

Your growth, whether it be in business, career or in life, stagnates when you remain in one spot. When you’re not growing, you hit a wall. You’ll feel overwhelmed, stressed and perhaps will only see limitations. But when you’re in a community or a mastermind, you’ll have people who will have your back and motivate you to bounce out of that ‘muck’.

What I find from leading my masterminds is that breaking bread together keeps us together. What I mean by this is having dinner events, catch-ups, or lounge room leisure events where you’re just ‘breaking bread’ or having some food.

In this environment, everyone is relaxed and the conversations flow naturally. It makes it easy to ask about progress and have frank conversations. In my experience, when food is involved, the conversations become deeper – and this is where the magic happens! That’s why I feel masterminds are a great way to do that.

Masterminds don’t need to be formal. They can be just simple check-ins where people can have food and enjoy each others company. It needs to be a comfortable and judge-free environment where you can update each other on what’s working, what’s not and share learnings. That’s what a mastermind should be.

There’s a great quote by Anita Roderick, “success is simply a matter of finding and surrounding ourselves with those open-minded and clever souls who can take our insanity and help us put it to good use.”

So with that in mind, where do you go from here? To make use of your strategic networks, your next steps are to:

When you shine a torchlight forward, everywhere that the torchlight is focused. The light illuminates in a spot. Be the torchlight for others. Help illuminate the spot, their success, their giftedness, and their opportunities for them. You’ll quickly find that they, in turn, will shine that spotlight and help you see more of the greatness and brilliance in you.

So who will you have in your corner? Are you ready to connect and find your strategic network? Would love to hear your thoughts.