Are You a One Man Show?

In Napoleon Hill's Positive Action Plan, he gives a thought-provoking meditation for each day of the year. Today's entry was worth sharing:

No one can succeed and remain successful without the friendly cooperation of others.
In todays interdependent society, it is virtually impossible in any business, profession, or occupation for an individual to achieve great heights of success without the help of others. The best way to get friendly cooperation is to give it. When you make it a practice to encourage others and to help them advance in their careers whenever possible, most will reciprocate when you need their help. Give generously, and you will benefit in kind.

I was reminded of Mark LeBlanc's Target 25 and Napoleon Hill's Mastermind Group teachings when I read this. Networking is a powerful business strategy, but an inner circle or your personal network is a success strategy.

It's very common when working from home to 'go it alone' and ultimately to become isolated as an individual. I think that part of this is just natural for the environment, and part of this has to do with our personalities. Regardless, it will take a little work to build a solid 'personal network' for yourself... But it is well worth that time and effort.

Take Joint Ventures for example. They work less successfully with perfect strangers, more successfully with close peers. Wouldnt you agree? The idea is to create a network of friends and associates when you dont need anything, as those are the people that will support you when you do.

Starting an at-home business, many of us are learning as we go and in completely new territory. I would venture to guess even that the majority of home business owners are not involved in a business for which they've recieved any formal education. That was certainly the case with me... in fact, I didnt even know the terms "web development" or "affiliate marketing" when I was exploring career options.

But here I am, almost 10 years later, still successfully working from home full time. Much of my motivation and success can be directly attributed to my 'personal network' - which includes friends, other business owners... and even what some would consider "competitors".

To read more on my thoughts about that, see Business Networking and Using Competition to Your Advantage. In that last article, I discuss the importance of competition... and how to capitalize on it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it 😉

Back to the topic at hand though, these principles are not just beneficial in business - but in our everyday lives. At some point we all need counsel, feedback, support and even help. Here is my advice on the matter in a nutshell:

Figure out what you have to offer. Who are you? What are your talents? How can you contribute to the lives of other people? What are your skills? What are you best known for? Etc.

Next, examine the people in your life - your personal relationships and business relationships. How can you benefit each other? Identify the skills and talents of those in your personal network.

Put pen to paper and make a list of the people in your personal network. This is what Mark LeBlanc refers to as the Target 25. These are the people that you recommend to each other. They are the ones that you go to when you need something done. They are the people that you should keep in touch with through phonecalls, emails and even holiday cards.

Obviously how you handle your personal connections will be different from how you handle your business connections, but the principle is the same. Each person in your life is either "part of the problem, or part of the solution". Knowing that, it pays to look at ourselves and figure out ways that we can be 'part of the solution' for others. This is what makes you a valuable person in someone else's network 😉

Best,