Keeping Your Connections Warm....and the Love Real.

Another idea popped-in Spring Cleaning 2022 and Valentine’s Day 2022.

This one around how to keep your network warm and keep the love pumping.

Take a moment to ponder:?how many contacts do you have in your network....not social networks or followers, but real network members that if you called or texted them now they would respond?

I'm not going to publish my "number" here, but for those of you that know me....you know the number is large. A mentor of mine told me many years ago: "every 2-3 weeks, get in touch with 2-3 people that you haven't heard from in 2-3 months." Think about that ask....then think about the number of people in your network...then think about the number of people you're in contact with it now? How healthy is that number?

When my wife was in the hospital with Leukemia in 2015 (she’s in molecular remission now since 2016 and doing great in case you were curious)…..we had an AMAZING outpour of outreach to every one of us.?In the form of written and verbal communication, gifts of services, tangible gifts, food, and so much more.?In that process (which I still need to document out for myself, my wife, and children….many folks have been waiting, I know).

What I learned from this outpour is that our network is part of who we are….we grow by it, we are fueled by it, and yes…we both receive by it and send love to it.??The only true times I think we all share in seeing how important that network is….is when we get the lucky chance to turn 100, celebrate a 50th anniversary, go through something traumatic (like we did), or die.??That is when the true network shows up….and those of you that have shown up in mine (you know who you are) are appreciated.

So…the idea.

Take a look at the image I put in this write-up.

What you see is not just a pile of business cards.?These are business cards that I received and kept over the years because they were contacts that I actually had exchanges with past receiving their card.?They are the real ones and yes they are a lot.

The idea is to get back into my mentor’s ask of a cadence of 2-3 contacts every 2-3 weeks that I’ve not spoken to in over 2-3 months.??

To work my way there, what I’m going to do is take the lead from the local Meat-and-Three:

Every month, I’m going to randomly draw a card from the list….call to re-connect.

If they remember, I’ll give them an Amazon Gift Card.??

This should be fun.??Keep a lookout for my call.

#WWMD,

kev.