I have been thinking a lot about networking lately...what is the point? Why do it? How do I go about doing it? What are the benefits of taking the risk of meeting new people in a new place? Why is this something that I don't want to do?

And then I heard a friend say the other day that:

your net worth is equal to your network.

And the more I think of it he is right.

I have also been told that:

you are the average of the people that you associate with.

Each of these are probably fairly accurate statements of how important it is to have a good, solid network of the type of people that are going to help you achieve your goals, both business and personal.

Because again, what's the point of networking? Is it because we just want to hang out with folks? Well that's just being with your friends. Is it because we are naturally social creatures? That's just human nature. Or is it because we want something? We want that sale, that referral, that connection that is going to land us the next great job or gig.

Networking is how we decide which people we can collaborate with, share ideas with and make an impact with. There are always going to be people in our communities that we never really associate with even though we run into them all the time. Then there are those that become colleagues, become our collaborators, people we share our ideas with first. Most of these people come into our lives because of networking. These are the core members of our business contacts. It's critical to cultivate those friendships and relationships. It's even more important that we help them develop their networks.

It would probably be a good idea for us to know how to do it well!