I am just back from an amazing experience talking to over 20 smart Wellesley students about networking (and I don’t mean the kind that requires hardware!) I sometimes wonder if “networking” has not gotten a dirty reputation–if it has been cheapened by people who use it as a superficial way to get what is in their interest. Those same people who exchange business cards and who expect to get your business because you have met them once. I think that is the wrong way to think about networking. The really good networking is about connecting to other people and letting them know that we are genuinely interested in them. We are curious about who they are and what their story is. Real networking is as much about giving as it is about receiving. It is about connecting with people because we are curious about them. Then, sometimes, if we have created good meaningful connections, sometimes our “network” is the place where we get a payback–we find a job, a friend, an internship, a lead…but that is really only secondary!
Of course, like everything in life, when we are young (as the Wellesley students were!) we are not fully conscious of what we have to give. Nor do we know how to ask for help! Don’t be shy. And remember–networking is an art and a skill that requires practice and patience. Hire a coach and set your goal to conquer shyness and acquire people skills…it can be done!
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
www.lifeinbalancecoach.com
Posts Tagged ‘friends
The importance of connecting
It is becoming my experience that nothing keeps me younger and more close to the world than to befriend young people. Today I spent some time with a remarkable young woman who will soon be graduating from my alma mater, Wellesley College. Spending time with such a lovely person provided me with a great connection to today’s world and reinforced for me how useful experience is. Sometimes sharing my wisdom also opens me up to the miracle of the journey I have undertaken through the years. What a beautiful story each one can weave through our lives…whether it is a story of resilience, courage, struggle, persistence, each one of us is our story!
So, if you are challenged and feeling lonely, think about your story and go out there in the world to find a young person–don’t just tell your story, but show your interest, ask questions, support them…and be open to receive joy in return!
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
www.lifeinbalancecoach.com
Women with grace and power
What a way to start a new week! I had breakfast with two women who are both mothers, powerful attorneys at large firms, and generous community volunteers. Although they are blessed to have much help in their lives, they are in stressful careers and make life look easy. I am amazed and in awe of their ability to juggle so much with grace and with generosity towards others.
This morning the discussion was about Dress for Success–an organization I am looking forward to learning more about.
One thing is for sure–when you put on your outfit to go to work tomorrow, there is much to be grateful for! May you look in the mirror and see the confident beauty of being a strong woman reflected back to you. May your day be full of brilliant and generous people all around…and may your own heart radiate with the knowledge that together, as women, we can accomplish much!
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
My graduating class only had 35 kids…very few indeed. One of my best pals back then was a dynamic young woman named Johna. For 20 years, she and I lost touch. Then recently, through the use of linkedin and facebook, we reconnected. As luck would have it, we found ourselves in the same city at the same time and we both had time for a dinner. I went with some trepidation–what would it be like to see someone whom I had not talked to in 20 years? We really used to be best friends when we started college, and then our lives drifted.
Well, suffice it to say, that our experience of meeting again was a magical experience of reconnecting. We both concluded that this was the right time to meet each other…and how curious to see how in 20 years our paths had at times been parallel and at times not, but we are in similar good places in our lives now.
So, to those of you out there reading, what are you doing to use social media to reconnect person to person? How is the experience for you? I’d love to hear!
Life is amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
www.lifeinbalancecoach.com
So I have been doing more reading and thinking about the new “social media”…especially relevant after my recent arrival on Facebook!. According to a NYT story on the Austin Festival South By SouthWest, folks attending the most successful part of the festival are not musicians…they are people dealing in the new media!!! Says the NYT, however, that the folks creating content seem too busy to have time to consume it! And in any case, I wonder…what does this content really mean? Do I really gain from knowing that my 21 year old nephew is “stoked” about an upcoming weekend of sports? (Which, in my old fashioned mind, might mean simply a weekend of watching too much television!) What about the old friend who thinks Florida is too pretty? What am I gaining here? What is the content?
It feels to me like I am entering a whole new culture. But the question for me is, does the connection pay off or does it simply mean a huge loss of privacy? What do the young people out there think? What does it mean to be truly connected?
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna
At the urging of my young Italian cousin, Luisa, I have recently joined FaceBook. I have been on LinkedIn for a while, thinking of it as a professional network. The function of LinkedIn has been to reassure me that as I face a huge transition in my life, there are people to whom I am connected–and that those bonds will follow me wherever I go. But what does FaceBook do? My husband John asked me “do you like it?” The answer is…I don’t know yet. Clearly, it makes me notice the difference between being old and young. There is a whole new lingo to learn (really, what does it mean on FaceBook to tag someone? To poke them?) and then there is a level of discourse that does not really conduce to deep conversations. I still have to find my way around it.
Would love to hear what other people are getting out of these social networks and how they use them….
In the meantime, I remain confident that
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna
I have been reading The Only True Genius In The Family, the latest novel by Jennie Nash. I highly encourage you to pick it up–what a great story about the complex relationship between mother and daughter. I also came across an interesting website with information on a virtual book club where Jennie will discuss the book as well as creativity. Why not have some fun and explore your creativity while you are at it? Visit creativity portal for more information and enjoy! And if you want a coach to channel your creative your creative self, send me a note!
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
Was that time really wasted?
I just came across a John Lennon phrase “Time you enjoy wasting, is not wasted.” A couple of days ago I was listening to a friend who was lamenting how people at a meeting were wasting time and how she had no patience for that kind of waste. The words from John Lennon seem to provide an explanation for how subjective one’s perspective really is–at that meeting where my friend found she was wasting precious time, other people were probably enjoying the time wasted immensely.
Sometimes those of us who are task oriented become so focussed on the task at hand that we don’t appreciate that our world is made richer by those people around us who are more oriented towards community and fellowship than task. Mercifully, the world is a wonderful place and there is room for both types of people: those who are task oriented will get things done, and those who are seeking connection, will also get things done, albeit at a slower pace. There is no doubt in my mind that at the end of my days I will not be looking back to ask how many tasks I have accomplished–did it really matter that a 1000 envelopes were addressed and sealed in a hour? Or will I long for the joy of the people who came together to give of their time, even if they seemed to be wasting mine?
So next time you think someone is wasting your time, think how much the other person may be enjoying herself! What would it take to see it from her point of view?
Engaging conversations
Recently, I found myself in a wonderful conversation at the dinner table of a family with three young children. The fourth grader quickly brought up the topic of politics–yes, the upcoming election is on the mind of children as well. I suspected that this bright and spirited child was not a supporter of my candidate. In fact, he was quite surprised when I brought up that I would not be voting for his candidate. What ensued was a very engaging and civil conversation with the parents about our differing political views. What a wonderful experience, especially when compared to the constant barrage of negative ads and defensive views that surround us these days when we bring up the issue of politics. I felt completely safe exposing my view (albeit one that might be different from those of the parents) and at the end we had the same respect for each as we did when we started. What I learned is that if we could keep our minds open and out judgment in many of our conversations (not just those difficult ones on politics), we may live richer lives. I encourage you to try it next time you are entering a conversation on a touchy subject…you may not change anyone’s mind, but you will be touched by what listening with an open mind can do for you.
Life is Amazing! Live Well.
Anna Grassini
What is the value of experience?
Sometimes I wonder what is the value of experience. On a personal level, I think we find our own experiences mean something. What we have lived through in the past may guide in the present and prevent us from taking a similar path to the one we have taken before. After all, the definition of insanity is to do the same thing every time expecting different results. So, if we cannot plead insanity, we use experience to change our response or our course of action when we see a pattern that is familiar.
Still, I wonder–is there any value in sharing our experience? Can it be so powerfully communicated to another person that it will change the way that person walks in her life? I do not know the answer–maybe it will become more obvious as I age a little longer. What do you think? Would love to get the conversation going!
Life is amazing! Live well.
Anna Grassini
