Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Elias Curtis and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

Transcript

Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Elias Curtis and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

• 0:17
  Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
• 0:20
  Connections, the show where relationships create
• 0:23
  opportunity, leadership creates influence, and
• 0:26
  purpose creates lasting impact. I'm your host,
• 0:30
  Michael Foreman. In today's world, success is
• 0:32
  often measured by revenue, titles, awards, and
• 0:36
  accomplishments. But what if success without
• 0:40
  purpose isn't success at all? What if the greatest
• 0:44
  challenge isn't building a business, but building
• 0:48
  one without sacrificing your values along the
• 0:51
  way? My guest today brings a refreshing perspective
• 0:54
  on leadership, mentorship, and personal growth.
• 0:58
  We're talking about how to build a successful
• 1:01
  business while staying true to who you are. how
• 1:05
  adversity shapes stronger leaders, and how some
• 1:09
  of life's meaningful victories happen beyond
• 1:11
  financial success. We'll also explore how authentic
• 1:15
  relationships become the foundation for both
• 1:19
  business growth and personal fulfillment. If
• 1:22
  you've ever wondered whether it's possible to
• 1:25
  grow your business, lead with integrity, and
• 1:28
  still find meaningful meaning in the journey,
• 1:32
  this episode is for you. I'd like to welcome
• 1:35
  to the podcast today, Elias, and why don't you
• 1:38
  give us a little cliff notes of how you got where
• 1:42
  you are today? Sure. Thank you for having me
• 1:45
  on, Michael. I appreciate that. And so just a
• 1:48
  little introduction about myself. My name is
• 1:50
  Elias Curtis. I'm a father. I'm a husband. I
• 1:54
  am a grandfather. And yeah, the journey has been
• 1:57
  very good. It's ups and downs, of course, as
• 2:00
  we walk with new things. But as far as the business
• 2:02
  side of things, I would say having the company
• 2:05
  for about 17 years, when my wife and I started
• 2:08
  it back in 2009, we just had a vision of just
• 2:12
  wanting to be able to help businesses with their
• 2:15
  brand design, logos, and websites and whatnot.
• 2:19
  Learning through a lot of that in the beginning.
• 2:21
  was important because to your point you're mentioning
• 2:23
  purpose right so it's okay what are we doing
• 2:25
  with our lives how's this fit and everything
• 2:28
  else we got going on our faith as well and so
• 2:31
  it was a very interesting journey I can tell
• 2:34
  you So Transform Design, back in 2009, we just,
• 2:37
  we started out in our home and I got really busy
• 2:41
  with work, with projects. And then we expanded
• 2:43
  out. I started hiring contractors to come alongside
• 2:46
  us to help us with projects. And then we got
• 2:50
  to a place where we did Onyx, right? So, okay,
• 2:52
  we have the pit, we have to expand, we have to
• 2:54
  do something different. And so we got into more
• 2:56
  services as far as like websites and SEO and
• 2:59
  marketing and really unpacking a lot of the...
• 3:03
  pain points that clients have, especially in
• 3:05
  the business world. So we targeted service -based
• 3:08
  businesses. We're like, okay, they're pretty
• 3:10
  straightforward with what they want. So that's
• 3:12
  where leads came in. And so, okay, this kind
• 3:15
  of works out the same way with our business.
• 3:16
  If we have somebody that we can work with, then
• 3:19
  we can build a working relationship and we can
• 3:22
  also see together with scaling and so forth.
• 3:25
  But yeah, there's just a lot of technical parts
• 3:27
  of that and what we're doing now currently. But
• 3:30
  yeah, it's been a great journey. Sounds great.
• 3:34
  Sounds wonderful. My wife does exactly what you
• 3:37
  do. She's been doing it for 40 years. Oh, wow.
• 3:41
  Okay. Yeah. And she moved up with the ranks of
• 3:45
  director, project management, and all this kind
• 3:48
  of stuff. And it wasn't until recently where
• 3:51
  she left that and she started her own. But my
• 3:55
  entire business was built with her behind me,
• 3:57
  with her giving me the right answers. But okay,
• 4:01
  so let me get some of these questions. Many people
• 4:04
  chase success at any cost. How can someone build
• 4:08
  a successful network and business without compromising
• 4:12
  their values? Yeah, I think it's important to
• 4:16
  stay true to yourself and what you believe, right?
• 4:19
  But also at the same time, know where you stand.
• 4:22
  As a person in a world or even in the market
• 4:24
  for talking business, what value are you bringing
• 4:27
  to the table, right? And so to your point, having
• 4:30
  a wife that helped and supported me even in business
• 4:33
  was very important and very good, right? Because
• 4:37
  I just think that motivation was helping me to
• 4:39
  go ahead and continue to work. Yes, we make the
• 4:42
  sacrifices, but we don't have to compromise our
• 4:45
  values in that process. So we plan things out.
• 4:48
  efficiently. We have our terms, we have our conditions,
• 4:51
  we have our policies and things in place to help
• 4:53
  with a lot of the prevention methods, if you
• 4:56
  will, to not get too caught up in a lot of different
• 4:58
  things that go against what we believe, number
• 5:02
  one. And number two, that possibly is not a good
• 5:04
  fit. So there has to be an alignment when it
• 5:07
  comes to working relationships. And so Flushing
• 5:11
  a lot of that out. We were doing that all before
• 5:13
  AI integration technology even started, right?
• 5:16
  So this is way back in 2000s, but early 2000s.
• 5:19
  And so working through that, it was like, wow,
• 5:22
  that's amazing having to do a lot of that manually.
• 5:26
  Looking back, I'm like, wow, we put in the work.
• 5:29
  But it was worth it because we really, not in
• 5:32
  a sense forced to work together, but we had to
• 5:34
  work together in order to succeed. And also,
• 5:36
  too, I noticed that you are a U .S. Air Force
• 5:39
  veteran. I respect that, man. And I appreciate
• 5:41
  your service and what you've done. My oldest
• 5:43
  son, he just got out of the Air Force, too. He's
• 5:46
  been in for eight years. So now he's in cybersecurity
• 5:48
  and doing well for himself. What did he do in
• 5:51
  the Air Force? He's a missiles engineer. He was
• 5:54
  into a lot of the automation, a lot of the technical
• 5:57
  engineering side of things. So he took a little
• 5:59
  bit of that into his career in cybersecurity.
• 6:01
  So that's helped him a lot. But yeah, it's been
• 6:05
  good. I was in for nine years, and I came out
• 6:09
  as a master sergeant. I was a security policeman,
• 6:12
  so I got to see all sorts of things. So how do
• 6:17
  you handle, because you work with your wife,
• 6:21
  how do you handle that work -life balance? How
• 6:26
  do you balance that? So it helps that we do work
• 6:30
  together, and so expectations are understood.
• 6:33
  As far as what our role and responsibility is,
• 6:35
  as far as finishing the home or in the business
• 6:37
  side of things. And so it really is being in
• 6:42
  agreement with what's important. Setting goals,
• 6:45
  setting expectations. We share same values and
• 6:48
  beliefs, so that helps a lot. And then just working
• 6:51
  through a lot of that as well. So as far as disconnecting
• 6:55
  the two, as far as a clean cut, you have to be
• 6:58
  intentional, right? I have to speak for myself.
• 7:03
  Plan date nights. Got to get away from the business.
• 7:06
  Go travel, whether you do a spa date or go out
• 7:10
  to a nice restaurant and just travel. Just do
• 7:13
  different things. Get away from the day -to -day
• 7:15
  work ethic. Because especially as business owners,
• 7:19
  we love to just jump into it and just work hard.
• 7:22
  And it's, oh man, we lose track of time. And
• 7:24
  about everything else. About everything else.
• 7:26
  You jump in and before you know it, it's 11 o
• 7:28
  'clock at night. Right, exactly. Where'd the
• 7:32
  day go? I know. And it does affect the marriage.
• 7:35
  It does affect the home. So it's definitely that
• 7:37
  balance, for sure. And that communication has
• 7:39
  to be open. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.
• 7:42
  How do personal values influence the types of
• 7:46
  relationships you build and the opportunities
• 7:49
  you attract? Yeah, first and foremost, as a believer
• 7:55
  in the Lord Jesus Christ, our faith is essential,
• 7:58
  right? When I'm working and I'm dealing with
• 8:01
  relationships or dealing with anyone at all,
• 8:03
  it's God first, right? My responsibility is to
• 8:05
  do good to everyone, everybody and to walk in
• 8:07
  love and walk in respect and that. So it's not
• 8:10
  always good and it's not always right, especially
• 8:13
  when it comes to working relationships. So I
• 8:16
  think setting expectations and just having that
• 8:18
  open communication with anyone saying, look,
• 8:20
  we may not share the same values. We may not
• 8:23
  even share the same beliefs. We may not even
• 8:24
  share the same goals, but. How can we work together
• 8:27
  to do something that's worthwhile in order to
• 8:30
  move this thing forward? So I'm always open to
• 8:32
  discussions about that without having to argue
• 8:35
  and debate, but to have a healthy conversation.
• 8:38
  Yeah, I think that's important. Are you, you're
• 8:41
  younger than I am, but I can tell. But do you
• 8:44
  remember the Brian song, the movie Brian song
• 8:48
  with Brian Piccolo, Gale Sayers? It sounds familiar,
• 8:52
  but if I haven't seen it. There's a verse. He
• 8:57
  goes, the Lord is first, my family is second,
• 9:00
  and I am third. And the name of the book was
• 9:03
  I Am Third. And a whole big thing on that. So
• 9:07
  it was right along the same lines of what you're
• 9:09
  talking about. Can people sense when someone
• 9:13
  is networking with an agenda versus networking
• 9:16
  with genuine intent? And what are the signs?
• 9:21
  Absolutely, yeah. We pick up on it. You can't
• 9:25
  hide it, right? Immediately. Right away, yeah.
• 9:29
  So they know if you're in it for the money, for
• 9:32
  just the sales, or they know that you're in it
• 9:34
  for them, right? So we always make it our aim
• 9:37
  to help others and to meet them where they're
• 9:41
  at, to close gaps, to fix systems, to really
• 9:45
  do high -quality work for our client base. And
• 9:49
  so genuine of it is so important. Knowing people
• 9:52
  is very important. That's like the first step,
• 9:53
  right? You got to get to know them first, right?
• 9:56
  And so listening helps a lot just to understand
• 9:58
  where they're coming from and just do what you
• 10:01
  can, do your best to work through that. You get
• 10:04
  to a place where it's, you know, we've done everything.
• 10:07
  We've talked about a lot of things, but yet things
• 10:10
  are just not working out. Then that's when, that's
• 10:13
  the discussion we have to do. When you go to
• 10:16
  a networking event, It's called having a servant's
• 10:19
  heart. You're looking to give and not looking
• 10:23
  to receive. You're looking to say, okay, how
• 10:26
  can I help whomever I'm talking to? How can I
• 10:29
  help you? And of course, there's a whole sequence
• 10:33
  of how you get to that point. First, you listen.
• 10:36
  You listen intently. You answer what they're
• 10:41
  saying. You're always concentrating on them.
• 10:44
  There's an 80 -20 rule. 80 % they should talk,
• 10:47
  20 % you should talk. And that 20 % should be
• 10:51
  thinking of questions to ask the 80%. So it's
• 10:54
  all about them. And by doing that, you'll get
• 10:59
  so much more out of it. Yeah, yeah. You've experienced
• 11:03
  adversity. How have life's challenges changed
• 11:08
  the way you build trust and connect with people?
• 11:13
  Yeah, it's just having a heart for people. It's
• 11:16
  you go through your own struggles, your own pains
• 11:18
  and your own suffering. But it's understanding
• 11:20
  that no matter how bad it feels, right? It's
• 11:24
  like we're not alone, even though we may feel
• 11:25
  it. But it is also something that is important
• 11:28
  to reach out to your point. It's better to give
• 11:31
  than to receive. So it's always putting the other
• 11:34
  person above you, which is humbling, right? It's
• 11:37
  a humility thing, but it is a virtue that is
• 11:41
  worth pursuing. And it does serve its purpose.
• 11:45
  and helping people to understand, okay, this
• 11:47
  person was actually for me, not against me, right?
• 11:51
  But adversity, yeah, we've tasted it so many
• 11:54
  times and so many different ways, right? Trials
• 11:56
  and tribulations, but whether it's caring for
• 11:59
  someone who's suffering or going through financial
• 12:01
  hardship, I can tell you in the beginning of
• 12:04
  our business was rough, right? I don't think
• 12:05
  we even made that much money in the first two
• 12:07
  years. And then it was really just... Working
• 12:10
  hard and over time and just to get to that place
• 12:12
  where, okay, we can now live off our business
• 12:15
  revenue now without having to go back to the
• 12:17
  95 job, right? And then over time, by the grace
• 12:20
  of God, it just went up and up. And then, of
• 12:23
  course, it dipped and we went through COVID and
• 12:25
  all this other stuff. But yet, we're still here.
• 12:28
  And so I'm thankful for that. Yeah, I did it
• 12:31
  backwards way. I was in the Air Force. I came
• 12:33
  out. I started my own business. I had restaurants,
• 12:37
  pizzerias. ice cream stores, all of that. And
• 12:41
  I got rid of all that and went corporate for
• 12:43
  about 15 years. And then I said, no, I'm going
• 12:48
  to stop that and go back on my own. So I kind
• 12:51
  of left the corporate world and went back on
• 12:53
  my own. And I'm 100 % happier for it. I can't
• 12:57
  work for anybody else. I think I'm too old. There's
• 13:01
  a lot of things changing out there too. A lot
• 13:04
  of things, a lot of things change. What role
• 13:06
  has mentorship? played in your journey? And how
• 13:10
  can professionals intentionally build relationships
• 13:13
  with mentors? Yeah, influence is leadership.
• 13:18
  So it's like you look for people who as well,
• 13:21
  okay, they're doing very well. So there's always
• 13:23
  a model to look at. For me and my church, our
• 13:27
  lead pastor, he's done a great job by grace of
• 13:30
  God to pour into my life, especially during the
• 13:33
  dark times, if you will. And it's just... changed
• 13:37
  me tremendously going through that process. And
• 13:39
  so, yeah, it's really, it's being mentored or
• 13:42
  in the church we call it discipleship. It's being
• 13:45
  mentored, but it's also being in a position to
• 13:46
  mentor others, right? So it's like, I'm being
• 13:49
  mentored. Okay, so who else can I mentor? So
• 13:52
  it should carry over from generation to generation.
• 13:55
  And I think for the younger people in your audience,
• 13:57
  I would say trust. Trust is huge. If you can
• 14:02
  build trust with people and they follow you and
• 14:05
  they believe what you're doing is worthwhile,
• 14:07
  then that's it, right? At least in the beginning.
• 14:12
  And I've seen that proven time and time again
• 14:14
  in the business context. When clients were leaving
• 14:17
  five -star reviews left and right all over the
• 14:20
  place over the years, it's okay. We've proven
• 14:22
  that we can do great work, right? Now they're
• 14:24
  putting a face to the work. It's okay. He's done
• 14:27
  very well and perhaps we'll follow him, but others
• 14:30
  won't. Right. Not everybody will do it, but that's
• 14:33
  part of it. And so we just want to be able to
• 14:35
  show what goodness looks like, what trust looks
• 14:38
  like and where we can go, which is a good place.
• 14:42
  Trust is a major factor. You never stop learning.
• 14:47
  Now, if you're lucky, I'm fortunate. I have a
• 14:50
  mentor and I'm an executive business coach. And
• 14:54
  here I am being coached by somebody else. And
• 14:57
  so I'm always looking for it. Now I have. a number
• 15:00
  of students, but you never want to stop learning.
• 15:06
  You never want to stop learning a different way.
• 15:08
  And you always have to be humble. And no matter
• 15:12
  how big and bad you get, you always have to remember
• 15:15
  where you came from. Mentoring is so important
• 15:20
  to me because I see where somebody else is thinking.
• 15:26
  I don't have yes men around me. I have people
• 15:28
  who say, You're an idiot. What are you doing
• 15:30
  that for? I'm like, okay. And then I have others
• 15:34
  that I can do that with. So to me, that's so
• 15:36
  very important. How do strong leaders create
• 15:40
  meaningful connections without relying on their
• 15:43
  title, position, or authority? It goes back to
• 15:48
  humility, right? It takes us right back there
• 15:52
  again, because it's like, we're not doing this
• 15:54
  for accolades and titles and recognition. and
• 15:58
  applauses of people and the fame which the world
• 16:01
  can give you and you can receive that kind of
• 16:05
  push yourself up there but strongly believe in
• 16:08
  the more strength right and so guys building
• 16:11
  it in building in us and allowing us to take
• 16:14
  place then i'm just like that's where he gets
• 16:17
  all the glory and i just trust him and thank
• 16:20
  him for it right so that's where we're heading
• 16:21
  right so staying home absolutely Okay, absolutely.
• 16:25
  Good piece of advice. What happens when someone's
• 16:29
  definition of success is based solely on achievement
• 16:32
  or financial results? And how does that affect
• 16:36
  relationships? Yeah, I think it comes down to
• 16:40
  a heart, the heart behind it. That's the goal
• 16:44
  is to be famous and to be accolades and to have
• 16:47
  success. And people are not part of that equation
• 16:50
  and care for them and doing well for them. then
• 16:54
  that's a very short -sighted thinking, right?
• 16:57
  It's very small. And even though it may be grandiose
• 17:00
  in one's mind, it's very short -thinking, short
• 17:03
  -sighted, if you will. So yeah, it's more than
• 17:06
  that, right? It comes down to significance, comes
• 17:10
  down to value, and it also comes down to purpose.
• 17:13
  So, and then ultimately legacy, right? So if
• 17:17
  I pass away, what am I leaving behind? What are
• 17:20
  people going to remember me by? So, you know,
• 17:23
  I'm intentional when it comes to that, at least
• 17:25
  nowadays. It wasn't always that way because I
• 17:28
  was very selfish for a long time. So it's like
• 17:30
  I think about me, right? Well, you got older,
• 17:33
  you got wiser and certain things had to happen
• 17:36
  to you. I'm a firm believer. Everything happens
• 17:39
  for a reason. You are where you are today because
• 17:42
  of who you were yesterday. And you had to get
• 17:46
  through that. to get to be the person who you
• 17:49
  are today. So it's very important. So, you know,
• 17:52
  when somebody asks you, if you were to change
• 17:54
  this or that in your life, how would you like
• 17:58
  that could happen? I said, well, if it changes
• 18:01
  the way that I am right now, don't do it. Don't
• 18:05
  take it out of my life. Because it took that,
• 18:08
  because you learn so much more from your failures
• 18:10
  than your successes, that don't change a thing.
• 18:14
  I lived it. I'm here, I'm living, but don't take
• 18:17
  that away. How can professionals align their
• 18:21
  networking efforts with a deeper sense of purpose
• 18:24
  instead of simply pursuing transactions? It goes
• 18:30
  to the why. Why am I doing this? And what am
• 18:35
  I doing it for? Or who am I doing it for? So
• 18:39
  these are questions we just have to ask ourselves.
• 18:41
  It's like a self -examination question. or introspection
• 18:44
  or whatever we do on the inside. It's the why.
• 18:48
  It's okay. I know I enjoy doing this. I love
• 18:51
  doing it and I'm good at it. Or perhaps I'm even
• 18:54
  gifted at it. So it's worth pursuing. If the
• 18:57
  desire is there, it's just a matter of just walking
• 18:59
  in that and seeing where it goes. But yeah, it's
• 19:03
  having a plan and having a purpose, but it's
• 19:06
  also knowing who is this for, right? Absolutely.
• 19:11
  Otherwise, why are you doing it? Yes. So why
• 19:14
  are you doing this? You're doing it just to make
• 19:16
  money. You can do anything just to make money.
• 19:19
  You can make money, but you have to see what's
• 19:21
  important to you. So, yeah. What qualities do
• 19:25
  you look for in relationships that have the potential
• 19:28
  to become long term partnerships? It's a good
• 19:32
  question. All right. So at the moment, we do
• 19:36
  have partnerships and clients that we've been
• 19:38
  working with for many years. So it goes back
• 19:41
  to trust. We can go through virtues and talk
• 19:44
  about what that looks like as far as a high quality
• 19:46
  relationship and especially in the context of
• 19:49
  business. But it is communication. It is hard
• 19:53
  work. It is discipline, right? It's being consistent
• 19:57
  over a long period of time because as we build
• 20:01
  a relationship with people in general, the longer
• 20:04
  you work together, the more you know more about
• 20:07
  each other, right? And so to continue to keep,
• 20:12
  That goal and objective in place helps out a
• 20:16
  lot, especially when it comes to expectations.
• 20:19
  So if I'm planning something out with a business,
• 20:21
  for example, and we're saying, hey, these are
• 20:24
  the goals that we have for over the next year,
• 20:27
  right? We don't necessarily have to go five,
• 20:29
  10 years, but okay, can we make it through this
• 20:31
  first year together as a business is working
• 20:34
  together and scaling together? Because if the
• 20:37
  answer is no. then the working relationship is
• 20:40
  not going to work, right? So for us, it's a very
• 20:42
  long -term solution, right? We solve problems
• 20:46
  in the market for businesses, but can we work
• 20:49
  together over the next year, right? We've been
• 20:51
  in business for 17 years. We plan to be in business,
• 20:54
  Lord willing, for another 10 more years. And
• 20:56
  we have ideas and plans about that. But the way
• 21:01
  things are going, we're still in this. And so,
• 21:04
  yeah, it's planning, seeing how we're aligned.
• 21:07
  big picture moves. Yeah. Consistency and persistence
• 21:12
  are the two main functions in business. If you
• 21:16
  over -deliver and under -promise, if you don't
• 21:21
  promise it, but you give them a lot, it's little
• 21:24
  things like that will show somebody else, all
• 21:27
  right, he's not just a one -trick pony. He's
• 21:30
  going to consistently do this and he's persistent
• 21:33
  in doing things correctly. Or I'm a military
• 21:37
  guy, so I conduct my meetings. I'm very simple.
• 21:41
  If you're on time, you're late. If you're early,
• 21:44
  you're on time. So I have people coming to the
• 21:48
  meeting right at 2 o 'clock, right at 1 o 'clock.
• 21:53
  I'm like, how can you prepare for this meeting?
• 21:57
  How can you do preparation work for this meeting
• 22:00
  if you're just coming in now? And after that,
• 22:05
  I was in a mortgage company and my brother and
• 22:08
  I started it. And we had, I think, 15 loan officers.
• 22:12
  And 15 minutes before the meeting, it was packed.
• 22:17
  Everybody was in there. Everybody was going over
• 22:19
  their notes. And it was very interesting because
• 22:23
  I only had to say it once. We have to say it
• 22:25
  once. Okay. So let's bring this podcast full
• 22:29
  circle. If a listener. wants to build a network
• 22:33
  that supports both professional success and personal
• 22:37
  fulfillment over the next 90 days, what one change
• 22:42
  would you encourage them to make? Wow, that was
• 22:47
  a loaded question, but I'll do my best to answer
• 22:49
  it. So 90 days. Yes, I could say come up with
• 22:54
  a plan and all those things, but it really is
• 22:57
  thinking deliberately through this. Take some
• 23:01
  time to really process what's going on, right?
• 23:05
  Because you're making a long -term commitment.
• 23:07
  We're talking business and we're serious about
• 23:09
  building a strong business that lasts throughout
• 23:12
  pandemics, if you will, right? We have to be
• 23:16
  very intentional as far as the plan, what we're
• 23:19
  doing. You have to ask questions, hard questions.
• 23:22
  Why am I doing this? What am I doing it for?
• 23:25
  And so forth. And really come to terms with that.
• 23:29
  And it's going to be very difficult if we just
• 23:31
  jump right into a business without really considering
• 23:34
  what's going on. So that's the point. You're
• 23:39
  so right. I can't even add on to that because
• 23:42
  you're so on point. If somebody wanted to contact
• 23:47
  you, wanted to be mentored by you, want to partner
• 23:50
  with you, how would they get a hold of you? Very
• 23:53
  easy to get a hold of me. So I have my website,
• 23:56
  transformdesign .com. I'm also on all the social
• 24:00
  media channels under Transform Design, LinkedIn,
• 24:03
  Alignable, all different networks. So yeah, you
• 24:06
  can feel free to even shoot me an email, elias
• 24:09
  at transformdesign .com. And yeah, I'll be happy
• 24:12
  to answer any questions and help navigate through
• 24:15
  any of these things. Perfect. Perfect. This conversation
• 24:20
  is a reminder that success is about more than
• 24:24
  numbers. At the end of the day, most people won't
• 24:27
  remember how many deals you closed, how much
• 24:30
  revenue you generated or how many awards you
• 24:33
  won. They'll remember you treated people, the
• 24:37
  lives you impacted and the relationships you
• 24:40
  built along the way. The strongest networks aren't
• 24:43
  built on transactions. They're built on trust,
• 24:46
  shared values and a genuine desire to help others
• 24:50
  succeed. Take one step this week. Reach out to
• 24:55
  someone in your network and with no agenda other
• 24:58
  than strengthening the relationship. Those are
• 25:01
  often the conversations that create the greatest
• 25:04
  opportunities. So if you found value in today's
• 25:07
  episode, make sure you like, follow and subscribe
• 25:10
  to Networking Unleashed, building profitable
• 25:12
  connections so you continue getting the best
• 25:15
  insights on networking and communication. And
• 25:18
  share this episode with someone who believes
• 25:20
  success should include both achievement and purpose.
• 25:24
  If you'd help strengthening your communication,
• 25:27
  building your stronger professional relationships
• 25:29
  and creating opportunities. through meaningful
• 25:33
  connections, visit michaelaforman .com. So until
• 25:36
  next time, lead with integrity, grow with purpose,
• 25:40
  and build connections that matter long after
• 25:43
  the business card game is gone. Elias, you're
• 25:47
  a great guest, and I just wish you all the luck
• 25:51
  in the world. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank
• 25:53
  you for having me on, Michael. insights today.
• 26:03
  And of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
• 26:06
  listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
• 26:09
  with us. If you're interested in my digital courses,
• 26:12
  being coached or having me come and talk to your
• 26:15
  company, just go to Michael and fill out the
• 26:19
  request form. Remember, networking isn't about
• 26:22
  being perfect. It's about being present. So take
• 26:26
  what you've learned today, get out there and
• 26:29
  make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed
• 26:32
  this episode, please don't forget to subscribe.
• 26:34
  Leave us a review and share it with someone who
• 26:38
  could use a little networking inspiration. Let's
• 26:41
  keep the conversation going. You can find me
• 26:43
  on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website,
• 26:48
  foreman .com slash podcasts.