Here's How To Find Out What's On Your Network's Mind

Imagine you went to the doctor this morning, and the first thing you heard from him was:

"Hey Gonzalo, great to see you. Ok so... you need 500 Mg of Azithromycin twice a day for the next 7 days. Hope everything continues to go well".

I'd be like - huh?

I just sat down on your chair! Funny right?

Not a fan of hearing a Doctor say "hope". Anyways, the this is that...

You Can't Really Help People If You Don't Know Where They Are First

Well, that's what I see (and hear) a lot of coaches do with their clients.

There is something to ethical sales where integrity is key. It follows a process that goes like this:

1. Understand what's going on.
2. Then figure out if it's something you can help with.
3. And at last, make sure you can connect with the other person to drive results.

This is true whether you're looking for your next career move, looking to bring in more clients into your business, or helping a loved one go through a challenge.

Which leads me to my next point - engagement

What Does Engagement Really Mean?

This is a term you'll hear on the internet left and right these days.

Social Media's "golden boy".

Call me old school, but I always like to find the real-life link. Sort of "where the rubber meets the road".

The other day I was meeting with my friend Juan Vila who is a Digital Growth expert. We did I deep dive on Social Media concepts and engagement.

When I told him I felt I didn't have a "large enough" audience, he said I had great engagement.

For me engagement is how much in tune I am with my audience. And I am always looking for ways to be engaged.

Connected.

Speaking the same language.

Staying relevant.

To their thoughts - problems.

That is what is fulfilling.

So I am going to show you an exercise I did to continue to engage with my audience.

And you can do it too.

Don't bother about "copying me" - just do it :).

Ask me ANYTHING

The other day I hit "enter" on a crazy social media post idea I had for some time.

I saw other people do it, and I really wanted to test it out on my network. But I couldn't justify the "why" behind the scenes, so I waited.

Until it eventually hit me.

Where's my audience at? What are they thinking? How are they feeling?

Great conversations started through the comments, almost immediately.

Some of them turned into DMs. Then conversations that I really enjoyed.

And even then one of them ended up forging a client relationship.

I'll Cut Through The Chase Now..

Here's what happened...

The "most asked question" or topic through both the post and DMs was something along the lines of:

"How do you keep your positive attitude on tough days?"

My answer was:

"That is an awesome question.

Ok - it's taken me 5 minutes to build the neural pathway to give you a (good) answer lol :).

Many things, depending on how tough days are. Get ready for a "post like comment" Anastasia Forrest ?? :

From smooth to tough days:

• Running (a non-negotiable). Minimum 3k run. If the day is really tough I do 5k min. If it's crazy tough. I do a Fartlek run with intervals.
• Protein. Make sure that my protein intake is adequate. I've noticed that my levels of protein and hydration affect my mood and how "tough" the day feels.
• Military Music - It's a mix of Spanish Legion Marches and Bagpipe marches. I have it on Spotify. I can share that if you'd like. Anyone DM me for this!
• Flying. (New One) I just bought an Xbox so I could get Flight Simulator. A little side of my soul is sad about me not flying that often lately (My ultimate passion!). So recently I started practicing takeoff and landing sequences as I would in real-time - before going to sleep.
• Look back. I look back and see how far I've come and I measure my progress not on my bank account but on how much I've learned and grown. Sometimes they go together.

(Cont'd)

• Love. I tell my girlfriend and family members that I love them. And they get back to me with the same :). That helps ;p.
• Connect. Voice it with my personal trainer - he just pads me in the back and tells me to keep going. He's in his 50s so he's at another stage in life. Gives me other angles.

I got some more Anastasia Forrest ?? - loved your question. Do you want me to continue? if so comment again so the algorithm doesn't wack the post lol??

"Sure! These are great."

We're game!

• Wine lol. I'm not going to lie... Some wine helps! White and cold.
• Sun. For 15/30 minutes. I've noticed that the effect is delayed. I get happier once i stop sunbathing. Funny :).
• Hot and Cold shower as a crash effect. Like really cold (I pull up my military mentality).
• Look back. I know some people that really really got it tough. I'm talking about anywhere from (unfortunately) disease to family members stuck in Ukraine, or Cuba. I don't just think and pad myself in the back. I reach out literally and help. Even if that's a nice message!

Before I continue, Anastasia Forrest ?? - define tough. Do you mean emotionally heavy? or tough as in a large workload?

"You mean there's MORE? ?? Tough - like you're dealing with unhappy people and the energy is heavy."

Anastasia Forrest ?? Hahaha could probably write a book on this!

Wow, that's a good one - "dealing with unhappy people". Long story short.:

"Hurt people, hurt people"

So make a decision if they're "too heavy" to deal with given the circumstances.

• If Yes: fire them. Literally, send them on their way.
• If No: give them love. The other cheek. Suffocate them in a loving hug. Smile at them. Empathize with them. Tell them they can do it. Tell them they're really not that way...

Everyone will come back to the point where "they were happy, where "I didn't use to be like that".

Would honestly love to continue this conversation. What do you say?"

[End of the conversation - for now. We have one pending over DM]

Here goes another interesting question about career choice...

"You said ask you anything, so here goes. What prompted you to leave the world of finance, and how did you select the career field you are currently in?"

Hey Ed Smallman - that's a terrific question! Many reasons for it, but if anything, I switched careers because I didn't want anyone to go through the fear and anxiety I experienced when Lehman Brothers fired me and another 3K employees.

Our careers are such an important fulfillment part of our lives so we should be in control of them. That's why I chose this career field!

And after, I got asked about my Investment Banking Career choice...

"You said you were in IB (Investment Banking)! How was the experience?? Upsides? Downsides???"

"Darnn that's a great (and tought) question ?? Joshua . Let's see:

Upsides:

• Attention to Detail. I acquired very (VERY) sharp skills. And my attention to detail is unreal. Seriously. That coupled with my aviation background made an incredible synergy. Speaking of which...
• Transferable Skills. Realizing that out of my 3 degrees.. the most applicable was my Aeronautics Masters and not my Bachelor's or Master's in Finance!! E.g. I applied Control Tower Airspace monitoring techniques to Audit practices in the bank.
• Street Smartness. I really Graduated with flying colors on corporate politics (not sure if that's an upside). Nobody can fudge with me now... I once stood up to the CRO of the bank. And told him to "it was the last time he ever yelled to me like that in front of 30 people in the office". That felt incredibly good. And guess what. I wasn't fired for it!

Downsides:

• Culture. The toxic - shark-eat-shark, mentality of many.
• Exhaustion [mental]. The burnout and exhaustion. 6 pm turns into 8 pm. 9 am turns into 7 am, turns into 5:30 am. Fridays become Saturday mornings, etc.
• Lack of Awareness. The exhaustion ended in a lack of awareness in other parts of my life. Getting injured, tearing my ACL. Having to go through a rough surgery and an incredibly tough athletic recovery. I'm much stronger today and wiser. So no regrets. but... you know. Could have saved that!

2/2

Got more?Joshua . Do you want me to continue? if so comment again so the algorithm doesn't see me as spam lol :) - love the conversation.

Gonzalo??????? CRO probably got what they deserved. Do continue! It’s so interesting!"

"How do you maintain consistent motivation?"

Two ways:

1. I'm a DREAMER by heart. I dream HUGE. When I say HUGE is mean HUGE. One of my dreams, build my own plane. This one. And I actually belief it's possible. After it's done I want to have enough time and money to become a missionary pilot. That's just one. I got like 20...
2. I help people like you and that's my fuel. When someone like you comes back and says "man, thank you. You've changed my life. You're a good person. One person saying that is cool. But when you have 20, 30, 40 saying it, it just becomes insane. It takes a lot of time and hard work. But you my friend... you... that's something you got boatloads of. Does that answer your question? I can keep going :) Looking forward to talking with you today!

"This Instagram Story question is surprisingly powerful :D. What are you most proud of?"

Hery-Christian Henry - There are many things I'm super proud of, my pilot licenses and ability to fly, my athletic capabilities that I've built through hard work, etc. But I must say I'm most proud of the person I've become.

Some may say I'm cocky or self-centered, but it doesn't have anything to do with that. I really take pride in my integrity and solid good heart. I wouldn't change my life for anything!

"What do you think is the top quality somebody can bring to the workplace in order to be successful Gonzalo?"

"What a terrific question - A great ATTITUDE Kevin Judge . An everything is possible attitude. I feel that is the epicenter to everything else - teamwork, integrity, excellence... you name it!

We got to catch up soon!"

"How many hours do you sleep a night? ?? ??"

I’ve avg. 7:47 full asleep… not in bed Hudson Rennie ??????

This Is It For Now Folks...

I hope you've enjoyed this real-life example of how I connect with the people around me and, understand what is it that "bothers" them so I can help them.

There were many many more questions in this post, but these where the ones that impacted me the most.

What are your thoughts?

-Gonzalo