Winning With Your Past

The experiences of our life are what they are. We can’t go back and change anything, all we can do is move forward with purpose.

So many people tell me they connect with their old friends, while other people insist they don’t want to connect to old companions. The stories I like the best though are from those people who are not only connecting via social networking sites to people from their past, but they are also using the power of those long-term relationships (even if they did get a bit stale) to reinforce their credibility and to find new opportunities today.

Believe it or not, people tend to remember the best of times and forget the worst. Unless what you did in your past was so awful that the mess you caused was memorable, your old classmates, colleagues and acquaintances are more likely to remember good things about you.

Now is the time to connect with those people on LinkedIn, build your network with people who will at least say something nice in passing, and ask for recommendations for specific projects that went well. That will show consistency in your performance across multiple positions and help open doors when you need an important introduction made.

There are other benefits as well, but let’s hear from you. Have you connected with old friends? Has anything positive happened because of it? Even if it just felt good, you’ve improved your quality of life just a smidgen! Leave your comment and share with us.

Together we can learn to win with old friends.

Originally appeared on Integrated Alliances.