Episode 23: Networking: Secret to Building New & Impactful Relationships

Movie Quote: “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” – Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca

Folks, do you remember the most recent time when a warm referral, a lead, or an opportunity came your way from your friends or network? Better yet, when was the last time you actually shared or presented a warm lead, referral , or opportunity to someone you know within your network?

Quote: Jim Rohn was said "Your network is your net worth."

In today's episode, I'm going to dive into the topic of how to create impactful relationships as you cultivate your network, or your "soil".  What's my secret to creating new and meaningful relationships in your life? I'm also going to share my personal framework that I call the 5WG that has bear fruits throughout the past few decades.   What is the 5WG method? In today's episode, I will share:

1. Cultivating your 'soil': Your environment, your network.
2. Personal Story:
   • Chapter 1: Act of kindness
   • Chapter 2: Learning from my mentor
   • Chapter 3: Growing fruits: what happens when you implement a system that resonate with you. 
3. My secret framework: The 5WG Method
4. I'll share action steps how you can start building new and meaningful relationships.

Show Notes

[2:08] - Hi folks, welcome to episode 23 of the Boom Vision podcast! Whether you're an entrepreneur or a leader that's elevating your career, you've probably heard of that proverb that goes: It's not what you know, but who you know. 

I remember first hearing that back in high school, but when I was in college, a follow on saying that made me think deeper was:

Quote: “It's not who you know, but who knows you.”

The importance to strengthen your inner world: your imagination, voice and intuition. This is the inner work that amplifies your outer reality, which is your business, your career and your life.  I cover this 3 core pillars in depth in Episodes 2, 3, and 4.

However, what I also share with my clients is the importance of strengthening your outer world, which is your soil, water and sun. 

• Soil: The environment that you're rooted in. 
  • “You're the average of the five people spend the most time with,” a quote attributed most often to Jim Rohn. 
• Water: Are you consistently watering your mind on a daily basis to nurture your mental growth?
• Sun: Where are you getting your sun rays from? What are you doing on a intentional basis to nourish and feed your soul that brings you joy and happiness?

In today's topic, I'm going to share one aspect on how you can cultivate and enrich your soil, your environment, your network. 

I'd love to my personal story of Mr. Steve Sherrill.

[4:46] - Chapter 1: Act of Kindness

[10:17] - Chapter 2: Learning from my mentor

[14:17] Takeaway for Chapter 2: The amount of effort you spend in remembering people's names and details of that first conversation is a reflection of how much you are willing to care about them.

[14:35] - Chapter 3: Growing Fruits: What happens when you implement a system that resonates with you.

[18:44] Takeaway for Chapter 3: When you have a consistent process in how you cultivate your soil, you network, you have a better chance of creating an environment that's conducive in bearing fruit. 

[19:17] - Overall Takeaway from personal story: When you create a consistent habit on how you mindfully cultivate your soil, you create an environment where a little bit of intention, kindness, and effort can go a long way.

[19:43] - Action Steps: What is the 5WG Method?

5W: Who, What, Where, When, Why:

• Who: Who are they? Their names.
• What: What do they do? What are their interests & passions?
• Where: Where did I meet them? Where are they from?
• When: When did I meet them? When is their birthday? Their anniversary, their kid's birthdays, etc.?
• Why: Why do they do what they do?

G: Stand for GIVE. A small act of kindness could possibly make the most profound impact on someone that you don't know.

Before I leave a conversation, I ask myself 3 questions:

1. Did I leave this conversation giving this person something new they didn't know?
2. Did I leave this conversation making this person feel better than they did before we started?
3. Did I leave this conversation making this person feel heard?

[22:24] - This week's Action Steps:

1. Planting seeds: If you resonate with my method, incorporate this into your habits when you meet new people. When you meet someone new that you feel you have similar energy, vibe and values, make your best efforts to remember or jot down the 4 of the 5W's, and consciously think what you can Give in that first chat.
2. Water Consistently: You can plan seeds, but if you don't water them on a consistent basis, they won't grow, right? So what I'd like you to start doing is reach out to someone in your network just once a week. In a calm state, just ask yourself: who can benefit from me reaching out? And whoever intuitively pops into your mind, before your conscious mind start thinking of why, just send a quick text, email or even a phone call, hey, just thought about you, wanted to touch base, how are you these days?
3. Sun: What brings you joy? This last tip is important: As you consciously creating a new habit planting new seeds and watering them, bring awareness of who really has intentions of supporting you versus depleting your energy. I naturally give more than I take, so I gravitate towards people that have similar values and actions. But since I'm also more sensitive to energy, I tend to keep an arms length away from people that take way more than give. One key indication is when I feel exhausted after talking with someone. That's my indication that there is no energy flow, there's no balance or rhythm in this converstation that makes me feel grounded or nourished, so I keep a mental note of that. And I'd like you to be more mindful of that too as you bring more awareness to your environment. 

[24:44] - Final Thoughts

Quote: "The language of friendship is not words but meanings." - Henry David Thoreau

How I interpret this quote is that true friendship is built from exchange of meanings, not words.

Story: Ojai trip over Memorial weekend with family.

Takeaway: A small act of give, of kindness can go a long way. It doesn't take much to be kind, all it takes is little bit of intentions and a little bit of effort.

⭐️ Listen to Part 2 in Episode 39: Cultivating Your Network - Knowing When to Hold'em or Fold'em

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Send me a DM on IG (@benjaminyeh), or leave a comment and review if you resonate with today's episode!