Reaching out for success

A few days ago several of us were talking about reaching out to people and making a connection for future business connections. The conversation turned to what makes this effective, genuine, successful for both sides, whether an individual or a group. This topic has been written about for a long time, including You are the Message-Roger Ailes, Start with Why-Simon Sinek, The Art of Possibility-Zander, and many before and after. The main point is it is up to you, not your message, more so your Why, which is expressed by your passion, body language, being comfortable in your own skin, your Joy, your eyes speaking for you, how you read people and them reading you. You have to be genuine, though, not acting. “It is the first seven seconds that does your business for you, the first impressions. How accurate or lasting were the first impressions on both sides? Did the tone in the opening carry over to the rest of the meeting? Was the ice broken initially, or was tension established?”(Ailes) Did you approach with the thought of making a contribution (Zander). Did you have Joy in your heart? (Og Mandino, Dali Lama with Desmond Tutu). This is just the beginning of the art of presenting-yourself, your WHY and your mission. Sometimes I think about my reason for getting up in the morning. It is usually to get going to make a contribution, a difference. Practice makes it a lot easier. Having a mentor and backup helps to. After the first 100 meets you will be a pro, whether face to face, to a group of 5 to 2000, or more, phone, social media. See the people, speak to the People, maybe speak with the people is better than to the people. After all, it is for them