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If you haven’t already figured out by now…we are in a recession . Not just any recession but rather one of the worst recessions since the great depression.

Every day more and more people are laid off and businesses struggle to stay afloat.

As employees and entrepreneurs experience hardships, there are a select few who are experiencing the economic storm and interestingly enough have nothing to fear and are thriving.

Who are these people you may ask?

The individuals who have nothing to fear are those who are highly connected in their niche.

Each of these very individuals who are highly connected, and who understand that “Connectivity is the New Currency In This Day And Age," as my friend Michelle Price says, are those that thrive in their life no matter what the economy is doing.

Translated… “Your network is your greatest insurance policy if/when the shit ever hits the fan.”

I repeat…

Your network is your greatest insurance policy if/when the shit ever hits the fan.

Because these networkers in this economy have taken the time BEFOREHAND to build and nurture these types of relationships OVER TIME before a crisis hit, they now hold the key to many new opportunities and pathways that most people don’t have access too.

Now if anything ever happened to these types of individuals…
Lost their job…
Closed their business…
Suffered some sort of hardship…

Guess what their next move would be?

They would connect to and reach out to their network of course to ask for help/assistance/contacts etc!

So instead of waiting for the economy to get better, to build your network I highly recommend that you do these 5 things right now to get yourself on the path to not be a victim any longer.

As a famous person once said, "A victim blames, a victor learns."

Don’t be a victim…please do these 5 things right now.

1. Call Every Friend You Have

Call each one of these friends to check up on them to see if there is any way you can help them. As someone who believes in giving for the sake of giving I know that it will come back 100 fold. Maybe not tomorrow or the next day, but sooner or later it always comes back in some way shape or form. Even though you may be struggling right now no matter what your situation, you never know what new opportunities this may create for you and plus it feels good to help others…this shouldn’t take you more than a day to do. By doing this, strengthening the bond with your contacts is a good thing in these tough times

2 Put Yourself Out there

Meet more people in your niche. I don’t care how you do it…on the web or in person just get out there and pound some pavement. Meet some new people and find ways to work together with them. As you grow these new connections don’t forget to follow up!

3. Continue to Strengthen Your Online Presence

As you contribute to more communities online and are continuously seen, you open yourself up to more opportunities that can be presented to you. I can’t tell you how many times new opportunities have fallen into my lap because of someone I met on facebook or from someone who read my blog for the first time. Find a way to build your presence online and think of creative ways to leverage that going forward to land the gigs you want to attract into your life.

4. Make A List

Make a list of people you want to get to know, but have been procrastinating to introduce yourself to them. Know why you want to reach out to them, and once you create the list, figure out the best way to get in touch with them.

Do you have someone who possibly knows them that could introduce you? Do they have their e-mail on their blog or website?

Just be sure that when you reach out to anyone new that you make the e-mail/letter/phone call personal and customized, and don’t sound like a robot treating people like a number.

People want to be treated like people…NOT numbers…as one of my mentors, Roberto Torres taught me a long time ago.

5. Have Some Fun

Even though we are in tough times, don’t be afraid to have some fun as you build new connections and strengthen the bonds with your contacts. Even though times like this can be stressful, don’t forget that we are all in this together, and that there are other people just like you who are dealing with the same economy.

So in summary : As you shift your mind to a "higher level" of thinking about connections and relationships, don’t ever forget that your network is your greatest insurance policy, and they should NEVER be taken for granted. As you nurture the relationships over time you should never have anything to fear as you continue through the crazy journey of life.

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of his book over at amazon .

With Dan’s permission here is an excerpt of his book from chapter 1.

Personal branding is about unearthing what is true and unique about you and letting everyone know about it. As a brand, you are your own free agent: you have the freedom to create the career path that links your talents and interests with the right position and the ability to move both vertically and horizontally, now and throughout your career. You can even switch career paths when you feel it is necessary.

You also have the opportunity to stand out and make a name—through your brand—for yourself. Th e fact that owning a website is so easy gives everyone a chance to develop and market a personal brand that shows the world who they are and what they’re capable of. For instance, on the Web, you have the opportunity to promote brand YOU by joining a social network and using your page as a billboard to advertise your talents and goals.

Thanks to technology, you can reap the same rewards as the billion-dollar brand names, from Trump to Gucci, through effective marketing. Creating a brand isn’t just about technology, though. By focusing on delivering results, being remarkable, and learning new skills to adapt to our ever-changing world, you can make your brand memorable, and opportunities for success will follow.

Don’t think of the brand called YOU as being confined strictly within a single corporate environment. Even if your current job description and title put you in a corner, both literally and practically, you can—and should—stand out as an individual with a unique set of talents and marketable skills. Remember, no employment contract spans a lifetime, which means you have the mobility and freedom to shape your career path as you see fit.

*If you’re on a career path that makes you happy—work it . Make the most of your talents and skill set to achieve maximum success.
*If you’re on a career path that does not make you happy—change it . Find the right path for you and focus on making it work.
*If you’re unsure about your future—define it . Weigh all the factors that matter to you and find the career path that fits best.

You need to approach your career in terms of differentiation (standing out in the crowd) and marketability (providing something other people want or need). Why would someone choose your brand?

*A robust professional network
*Endorsements from respected colleagues
*Previous accomplishments with cataloged results
*A diversified and unique skill set

The same rules that apply to corporate brands apply to personal brands. Te successful brand YOU marketing model has the proper mix of confidence, passion, likeability, determination, and focus. When you look at successful business leaders, such as Warren Buffet or Rupert Murdoch, you realize that each has a self-purpose, a call to action, and a desire to win. They all shared this marketing model, and you should too.

Buy Your Copy Today!

I highly recommend that you go pick yourself up a copy as there are many many golden nuggets that he shares in the report.

I read it last night and even I learned some new things!

Click Here To Get The Report

In light of all of this "doom and gloom" talk we all are hearing in the news, I want to share this article with you as my loyal readers because I appreciate each and every one of you.

Feel free to share it with your network if the message resonates with you!

Enjoy!

*Disclaimer: I work directly with Mike, the author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur who runs the site, and manage all of his social media marketing initiatives

With Jan’s permission I share a part of the book.

For me the most powerful concept behind LinkedIn is that it finds the right people AND the connections you have with them. It makes the networks of the people we know visible. LinkedIn shows us our second and third degree networks and the paths towards them. This has tremendous value.

Why? Many people already have difficulty keeping track of their own (first degree) network. It is impossible to know who our network knows. LinkedIn makes this visible. This is extremely powerful especially if you start with the end or goal in mind. Many people make the “mistake” to only look in their own network when they are looking for someone to help them. In this way they are limiting themselves tremendously.
What if we start with defining the best person, find them and then find out via whom we can get introduced to them?

For example let’s suppose you are looking for a job at Coca Cola in your country (or you want to do business with them as a supplier or partner).

What most people then do is think of who they might know at Coca Cola. Then they can’t think of anyone and give up. Or they call the front desk, ask for the HR Manager and are stalled by the receptionist. Or the HR Manager says she is going to call back, but never does. Frustration!

Let’s now start with the goal in mind. You define the HR Manager as the person who can help you best reaching your goal (a job, a contract or expertise). Then you use LinkedIn and do a search with “HR Manager, Coca Cola, and your country”. The result is that you don’t only find the exact name of the person, but also the connections you share with this person.

When you then look at the mutual connections you have, you might discover that this person is connected with your neighbor. You didn’t know this because Coca Cola never has come up in your conversations. He has never mentioned anything about it and you never told him that you were interested in working for or with Coca Cola. After discovering the connection on LinkedIn and talking to your neighbor about it, you find out that he has worked together with the HR Manager in the past. When he hears about your goal he agrees on writing an email to introduce you to the HR Manager. Five days later you are invited to have a talk with the HR Manager and land the job or contract.

Without LinkedIn you might never have known that they knew each other!

Once you understand this tremendous power of LinkedIn, the question is: how can I tap into that power without spending too much time. That’s what the rest of “How to REALLY use LinkedIn” is about.

To celebrate the launch of the book on March 17, there is a special launch package with a LinkedIn Profile Self Assessment, a LinkedIn Activity Self Assessment, access to advanced webinars and more for anyone who buys the book on that day: www.how-to-really-use-linkedin.com/en-buy.html

Watch the video you will see what I mean and may be able to relate.

Please let me know your thoughts on this video, and after you implement the same strategy, put in the comments the results you were able to received!

*Make Sure That Your Sound Is Turned Up*

Liz Lynch was kind enough to send me a copy of her book Smart Networking, and she is just that…one smart networker! Her tag line says it best, "Attract a following in person and online."

I really enjoyed her book and recommend that you pick up a copy.

From the previous "networking books" I have read in the past, this one has a different and unique tone.

Not only does it go over the networking techniques we all know and love, but further delves into the likes of how to use social media to make powerful connections and increase your "networking gravity" as Liz calls it.

You will definitely get some great information out of this book including…
*How to effectively "pitch" yourself to new connections that you make.
*How to get over the initial fear of networking and putting yourself out there
*How to use the many free resources and tools on the internet to expand your network and do more business.

My review only touches the surface of this 180pg book, so I would recommend that you go and pick yourself up a copy at amazon .

Happy Networking and have a great rest of your day!

You find out the new contact that you have created needs some help with a project and you know the exact person to introduce them to. You make it happen and the relationship turns out to be a success. The new contacts gets what she needs and is so thankful that you helped her.

As the weeks and months pass you fail to keep in touch with this contact that you helped…for no other reason other than you "were too busy" to stay in touch with them.

As you kick yourself for not sending the person an e-mail every two months to check in with them, or fail to send them a card every 3 months from time to time, you find yourself in a situation where the other person that you helped a year ago could definitely help you with a new project that you are currently working on .

As you go to pick up the phone and begin to dial the number, a hesitation strikes you and you think, "Hmm maybe I shouldn’t…I haven’t talked to them in over a year…it would just be too awkward."

As you put the phone down you find yourself saying…"Oh crap why the heck did I let this relationship run astray…that contact was such a great find…I am mad at myself for not staying in touch."

You begin to get so stressed out about getting this current project done, and it makes you even madder knowing that this contact could really help you out. As you begin to struggle to successfully complete this project, the thought of the old contact that you know can help you, for some reason cannot escape your thoughts.

You sit there wondering…"What should I do to call this contact, ask for a favor, and not make it sound so awkward?"

So I ask you…what would you do if you were in this exact situation ?