Summary

An aspiring writer shares their transformative experience of networking by genuinely engaging with the work of a renowned writer, leading to an unexpected collaboration.

Abstract

The article recounts the writer's journey from admiring a prominent figure in their field to establishing a professional relationship with them. Initially viewing writing as a potentially lucrative hobby, the writer soon realizes the challenges of standing out in a saturated online content market. The key to their success lies in changing their perspective on networking, focusing on giving rather than taking. By authentically engaging with the work of Michael Thompson, a respected writer on Medium, the writer not only learns and grows but also catches Thompson's attention, resulting in a collaborative opportunity. The narrative underscores the importance of genuine interest, selflessness, and leveraging one's current resources to create growth opportunities.

Opinions

Networking should be approached with a mindset of service and contribution, rather than seeking personal gain.
Success in content creation requires consistent production of high-quality material and the ability to stand out in a crowded market.
Personal growth and success are driven by a strong desire to excel and a willingness to learn from those who are already successful

When Your Idol Calls, It’s GameChanger

How to network without actual networking

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

“Man, I’ve never read something like that. That is the best About Me story I’ve ever read

Let’s do something George…Let’s work on an article — you and I.”

At this point I was buzzing, my mind running 150km per hour. I could not believe who I had on the phone, telling me this.

A month ago, even a week ago, if you had said this would happen, I’ll call you a liar.

The premise of any growth or any success story is a strong unwavering desire to succeed at something. To develop the will to get past mediocrity and strive for excellence.

When I started writing, I thought it would be a fun hobby as well as a good source of income. The problem I later found out was not that it wasn't, rather that it would take more than I thought.

The big sharks who are winning at this game churn out quality content, consistently.

The moment you realize and accept the fact that you're not good enough, yet — you've done yourself a huge favour.

Successful people are never satisfied with themselves; not from a place of greed or from not having more, but from the desire to master their craft and be the best they possibly can. They realised in the world of commerce, it's a battle; you're either on the way or in the way.

The change desired for growth as an entrepreneur is two-fold, as I came to realise; first, to improve in skill, and secondly, to get noticed.

The bigger struggle is to get eyeballs on the content you are producing. The online sphere is over-saturated at the moment. Everyone is virtually a content creator.

A key element that would help budding entrepreneurs or individuals with online careers is to learn how to better network for the following reasons;

To succeed takes time.
The social platforms are over-saturated.
Your network is your net-worth — literally.
You need the experience of those ahead to avoid pitfalls.
The same or similar contents causes deflation.

For rapid growth, you must learn how to better market yourself. But first, you must…

Change how you see Networking

The conventional take on Networking is what’s giving Networking a bad rap that rubs off as exploiting or manipulating others.

Networking is about giving, not taking.

It is to be of service to others, how you can better serve their need. There needs to be some level of interest and selflessness to get to win people’s trust.

The book Give and Take, talks about how the world has come to believe that givers are losers. While the takers are the sharks who eventually gets to win in the end.

The purpose of Adam Grant, the author, was to dispel this myth, that on the contrary, givers are the ones who win in the end. As rare breeds, they volunteer and give their time, energy and feedbacks, not for personal gains, but for the benefit and satisfaction of others.

When I started engaging with Michael Thompson contents, it was purely out of admiration and awe of such quality. I was drawn to his style, and through his content, I could perceive similarity in my personality.

My focus was solely placed on learning from him, highlighting his works and jotting down how he structures his pieces. Soon his name started appearing on my contents, giving praise to whom it is due — making references to his works and recommending his contents to readers.

It came as a shock when he liked my piece, then commented — and then followed me back.

Most times we may think great things only come from doing big things. That isn’t what leverage means. Leverage is using the little you have to maximise your growth potential.

I wasn’t known, I had nothing that I could offer to him. Notwithstanding, I still did not neglect to do what I could do. And I did it not expecting anything in return.

That to me is what sets an effective networker apart. Even though sometimes, as in my case, they don’t know they’re actually networking.

I’ll admit, I never saw this coming because I never hoped for anyone, let alone Michael Thompson to put in the effort to connect with me. I was solely focused on learning from him; not just what he is impacting but how he is impacting it.

How am I sitting here on my writing desk, speaking to Michael Thompson, one of the Medium greats, a role model — talking on the phone, with just three months of writing on this platform? It still leaves me baffled.