The Power of Who: Master Authentic Networking

What do you believe stands between you and the level of success you want in life?

What is the one thing that if you activated right now will take you higher in every area of your life?

What truly unlocks the door to extraordinary achievement and creation in life?

What is the missing ingredient to accelerate your growth and personal mastery?

I often ponder these questions but the question to ask is not what but rather “who.”

And the answer is also “who”!

‘The Power of Who’

I recently just completed the Mindvalley Quest, Mastering Authentic Networking with Keith Ferrazzi, and one of the many amazing insights that has begun to shift the way I go about goal achievement is this concept called “The Power of Who.” This is the main theme of the course and it states:

Success in life = the people you meet and what you co-create with them.

More concisely put, RELATIONSHIPS are the one thing that can supercharge (or limit) your success.

It’s not online courses or reading more books.

It’s not more money so you can invest in your business.

It’s not the newest marketing tactic or sales funnel hack.

The relationships you build and nurture will have the biggest impact on our success in life.

If you think about it, relationships have the power to keep taking you to the next level, or they can keep your success capped.

I know this isn’t an earth-shattering concept but I think it’s a simple idea that often gets overlooked.

Not Another Course on Schmoozing

If you don’t know Keith Ferrazzi, he is recognized as the global thought-leader and foremost authority on networking and building relationships. He also authored two New York Times bestsellers on these topics, Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back.

You can learn more about the principles that are in this course in Keith Ferrazzi’s books.

So it might be safe to say that there probably isn’t another person on the planet who has dissected the nuances of building authentic relationships more than him.

But the key term here is authentic. It’s not a course on schmoozing. Keith actually warns against schmoozing by describing it as something done by “The Networking Jerk” — that slick, over the top form of interacting that usually comes off disingenuous.

Instead, authentic networking is about creating real connections built on generosity and intimacy.

Keith describes this as a mindset shift in which you move into a state of “I will do extraordinary things with and through other individuals.”

It’s about taking that mindset and leveraging the help that is all around us. And this help is in the form of people.

This concept reminded me of the basic truth that we are all creators — every person on the planet is. And when multiple creators get together for mutual benefit, who are aligned in values and purpose, magic is bound to happen.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in all the tools, methods, online courses, books, etc. — thinking they’re the ticket to our success and growth.

But we ignore “The Power of Who” — all the people we have access to in every area of our lives who can help take us higher.

Some other key insights from the “The Power of Who” that moved me:

Poverty and scarcity is not the lack of money, it’s the lack of relationships.
Our health is predisposed to the relationships we have.
While we have all felt alone, you have to recognize that it is your responsibility to not be alone.
You don’t have to be born into relationships that lead you into success—you have the ability to create these relationships.

Have you’ve been opting out from connecting with who’s available to you?

I was asking myself this question from the very beginning of day 1 of the course when Keith asked it. It forced me to notice that I tend to have a go at it alone mentality when it comes to pursuing most of the goals in my life.

Whether its goals for career, business, or personal growth, my pattern has always been to rely solely on myself for success.

I try to do everything myself.

Maybe at times, it’s because my ego gets in the way — feeling threatened that another person might know more than me on a particular subject.

Or fear of them getting all the credit and accolades.

Maybe it’s because of stubbornness and feeling I need complete control of my projects.

Or maybe sometimes I think I am bothering others if I ask them for help.

Or I assume they are too busy.

Whatever the reason, these limiting beliefs have prevented me from tapping into the many great individuals I currently know and the many people who I have crossed paths with at some point throughout my life.

And as a result, I might’ve missed out on fostering some amazing relationships and creating something awesome with them.

I spend so much time learning the latest marketing tactics, adopting new life hacks, and studying business strategies that at times I blindly ignore the greatest resource that is all around me — which is PEOPLE.

But more importantly, it’s about RELATIONSHIPS and the responsibility we all owe to ourselves to proactively activate them.

Generosity, Intimacy & Co-Creation

The rest of Keith’s course is about how to create these types of relationships that are grounded in co-creation, generosity, and that take each other higher.

It’s about getting very specific on the individuals you currently know and the types of individuals you want to know that can really transform your life and creating an action plan around it.

These ideas already have shifted the way I show up and interact with people in the last two weeks alone. Merely becoming conscious of “The Power of Who” and aware of my pattern of going at it alone has already caused me to start thinking differently.

If you want to learn more about these ideas, you can check out Keith Ferrazzi’s free masterclass and his books.

So what about you, have you been going at it alone?

Have you fully leveraged the individuals and relationships you have around you to help take you where you want to go in life?

If have questions about any of these insights, interested in resources in going deeper, or just want to share your experience with “The Power of Who”, I’d love to hear from you.