14 things I learned from attending/hosting 1000+ Networking events, seminars, training, sessions.?

14 things I learned from attending/hosting 1000+ Networking events, seminars, training, and sessions.?

Sharing my takeaways from pouring myself into a ton of personal development, training, and sessions, and meeting so many incredible people in my lifetime?

For context, this is after the course of my 36 years of my life so this didn’t happen overnight. In the beginning, it was always uncomfortable I was self-conscious and I remember attending a lot of financial services events and feeling so out of place. Eventually, I got over my fear and had a group of people that I would connect with deeply and we would attend a ton of networking events together.?

1. If you are uncomfortable thats a good thing. It means that you are growing and growth is essentially human. We innately love to challenge ourselves. It’s one of the 6 human needs as the Great Tony Robbins always says the other 5 are Significance, Variety, Connection, Contribution/Love, and Certainty. ?
2. You would be surprised at the things you will learn throughout the years. Things I never thought I would. I always enjoyed meeting people from other countries and in general I’m usually pretty curious and ask questions for different perspectives that might seem different than how many Americans think.?
3. You never know who you will sit next to. I met my buddy Edwin Aristor, MBA from Landmark’s Self-Development Leadership Program and we became best friends. That didn’t happen overnight but folks I met at the Summit of Greatness in Columbus, Ohio became friends that I hung out with when I traveled to Hawaii. Gina Hansen would visit us in NYC, keep an open mind. I’ve had some of the deepest conversations sitting next to me people whom I just met a second ago and now are still keeping in touch.?
4. When you host your own events you will never know the impact of the quality of relationships of people still hanging out/doing business with each other. I get told all of the time oh we became close friends after we met at the monthly happy hour you hosted. That always warms my heart.?
5. Don’t do it alone! Word of mouth is powerful when you add value to other people’s lives you will certainly get it in return. Givers get. If you haven’t read the Go Giver series. It’s one of the most inspiring stories and I promise it will impact you in a positive way.?
6. Being open to changing your habits. I used to hate waking up early but BNI (the world’s largest Networking group got me used to waking up at 6 a.m. for my 7 am weekly meetings). That ultimately helped me develop healthier habits going from being used to staying out late partying to waking up early and taking care of my body and mind by going to CrossFit.?
7. Being in the city certainly helped a lot. One of my colleagues at CoachHub asked me does it makes sense to move to NYC? I said 100% you will meet so many interesting people and when you live in a metro city area your life will be so different and you will be exposed to so much compared to living in the suburbs now where I have to really intentionally make networking events. There are so many more opportunities to meet people in the city.?
8. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m not going to lie I wasn’t 100% effective in 100% of my networking events. It’s okay to chat with your friends every once in a while. If you aren’t as “productive”. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s okay. You always have tomorrow. As long as you are having fun, then it’s won't feel like “work.”?
9. Your standards of excellence will change. Thank you to Scott Ingram 's Sales Success Summit in Austin, TX. Every time I attend I notice myself seeing what’s possible in earning potential. When you surround yourself with high achievers you will start to realize wow there is so much to play in this game.?
10. You just never know.? You can meet someone and your life can in a moment transform. I met Joslyn Yeager at a networking event and she kept inviting me to this Accomplishment Coaching Training program which changed the trajectory of my life to improve my emotional intelligence and dig deeper into what makes me tick. Anyone who has been following my content knows how obsessed I am with coaching, mentoring, and leadership development.?
11. Do it moderately, I have definitely burned myself out from trying to attend too many. Although, I don’t regret it at all because everything happened for a reason. Our marriage did suffer a bit because I just didn’t have boundaries around it. I have a much more measured way of allocating my time and resources nowadays but it did teach me to prioritize the important things in life.?
12. Be true to yourself. I remember forcing myself to go to networking events that I wasn't actually interested but I did it to go outside my comfort zone. Those just weren't as enjoyable but I did meet some interesting people so I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of time. When you are in your 20s you end up doing things that you look back at with confusion.
13. Be open to a yes. I've been working with my Executive/Life Coach for over 3 years now and it would have never happened if I hadn't stayed open to new possibilities and trusted myself when I'm experiencing discomfort.
14. I learned so much from the Tony Robbins community. I'm so grateful to have met so many incredible people through that. It is weird to travel to another country by yourself and meet people and become friends with them? I'm so glad I took the plunge.

If you are scared of attending a networking event. I promise you, it can potentially change the trajectory of your life!