Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E65 An Interview with Alan Lazaros and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E65 An Interview with Alan Lazaros and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:16
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
0:20
Connections, the show where we turn handshakes
0:24
into opportunities, conversations into clients,
0:28
and your network into net worth. I'm your host,
0:31
Michael Foreman, and today we're diving into
0:34
something that's often overlooked in the networking
0:36
world, consistency. Because let's face it, one
0:40
flashy event won't build your business, but intentional,
0:44
repeated action. Will. Joining me is Alan Lazarus,
0:51
an expert in habit formation, consistency, and
0:55
the power of the compound effect. He helps professionals
0:59
stay accountable to the small actions that lead
1:02
to massive results. And today, we're talking
1:06
about how those same principles apply to building
1:09
and sustaining powerful professional relationships.
1:13
From daily networking habits to tracking progress
1:16
to breaking the cycle of random reach -outs,
1:20
this episode will give you the tools to make
1:23
connection a habit, not a hustle. So if you're
1:27
ready to stop networking at bursts and start
1:30
building a consistent, profitable system, you're
1:33
in the right place. Alan, I welcome you to the
1:36
podcast. I'm so thankful to have you here, and
1:40
hopefully we're going to have a good time doing
1:42
it. Thank you for having me. And thank you for
1:45
that great intro. I actually just created something
1:48
called the next level sales system. And it's
1:50
very much about how to build meaningful relationships
1:53
with people on the internet. So it's very good
1:55
timing as well. And I didn't actually plan on
1:58
that. It just happens to be something I now have
2:00
a four day streak of doing this every single
2:02
day. So we can get into that as well. But thank
2:03
you so much for having me. I appreciate it. No
2:06
problem. No problem. So listen, let's just start
2:08
right out with with a few questions that focus
2:12
the habits and compound effect. You teach people
2:15
how to leverage consistency for long term success.
2:19
How does that apply specifically to building
2:23
a powerful network? Yeah, so if you I have this
2:27
pinned on my Facebook, it's my favorite post
2:29
that I've ever done. And it talks about the power
2:32
of the compound effect. So If you go to a financial
2:36
calculator, I know you have a lot of finance
2:38
minds listening. $1 growing at 0 .1 % per day.
2:44
That's one -tenth of 1 % per day. For 365 days,
2:48
at the end of the year, you have $1 .44. So you
2:52
only grew by 44%. Still a big deal. At the end
2:57
of 10 years, if you stay consistent, for 3 ,650
3:00
days, you have $38 .4. 20 years, you have $1
3:06
,475. 30 years, you have $56 ,643. This is where
3:17
it starts to get wild. This is why older people
3:20
have a lot more success statistically than younger
3:24
people. It's this. $1 growing at 0 .1 % per day,
3:29
one -tenth of 1 % for 40 years is 14 ,600 days.
3:34
is 2 .17 million. This is the biggest number
3:40
and this is what I have written on my whiteboard.
3:42
This is what I remind myself of. 0 .1 % per day,
3:46
$1. You start out with $1 and you grow it by
3:49
1 10th of 1 % per day for 50 years and you have
3:52
$84 million. That is the power of the compound
3:56
effect. And I'm a math guy. I'm an engineer.
3:58
I'm a computer engineer. And I've always been
3:59
a big math guy. I was the obnoxious kid at high
4:02
school who got all the math and science awards.
4:05
I just think in numbers. That's one of the four
4:07
modalities of thinking. And for me, building
4:10
relationships is the same thing. You have to
4:13
water the plants consistently if they're going
4:16
to grow and if they're going to bear fruit. Some
4:18
of them will and some of them won't. But you
4:19
can't. You have to treat and value people. and
4:23
lead people as if that might bear fruit one day
4:28
and i always say this focus on the sale the relationship
4:31
will go focus on adding value and the relationship
4:35
will come so you can attract and if the goal
4:38
is to add value first and then to invite someone
4:42
second i think that's a big deal you're absolutely
4:46
right and i found that as of the pandemic people
4:51
really lost their minds. They lost the feeling
4:54
of networking, communication and everything else.
4:56
So the art of building a client really is past.
5:02
The art of building a relationship is present.
5:06
And that's really what you're talking about.
5:08
You build a relationship first, the sale will
5:10
come afterwards. 100%. So it's a very good point
5:13
you made. Thank you. In your experience. What
5:17
daily or weekly networking habits make the biggest
5:20
difference over time? So the next level sales
5:24
system that I created, it's five things a day,
5:27
five times a day. It's five posts. So an Instagram
5:31
post, a Facebook post, a LinkedIn post, a story
5:34
post, anything I call outbound compelling value.
5:38
So five posts, five likes, meaning, and these
5:42
need to be authentic, by the way. You don't just
5:44
go through Instagram and start liking stuff.
5:46
You have to like things that are actually things
5:48
that you resonate with because it's common core
5:50
values. I think relationships are a byproduct
5:52
of a common core value or a common goal. So right
5:56
now you and I have a common core value of personal
5:58
development. We have a common core value of networking.
6:00
We have a common core value of podcasting. We
6:03
have a common goal of reaching more people and
6:05
impacting more people. So this relationship we're
6:08
building right now is a byproduct of common core
6:10
values and core goals. So the next level sales
6:15
system is five things. Five posts, five likes,
6:17
five comments, five DMs, and five invites. If
6:22
you don't do the first four well, you don't get
6:25
to do the fifth. That's very good. That's very
6:27
good. I would like to add something to that,
6:29
but you said it so eloquently that I don't have
6:31
to. Okay. So let's talk about the compound effect.
6:37
How does it show up in relationships and professional
6:40
connections? It's one of my favorite books ever
6:43
written. And a lot of people say, was it because
6:46
Darren Hardy? It's not because the author is
6:48
so great. I don't, I do like Darren, but the
6:51
compound effect is just, I think the principle
6:53
is so powerful. And the compound effect is what
6:56
I articulated in the beginning, which is small,
6:59
seemingly insignificant choices compound over
7:01
time. 10 years ago, I was out of shape. 10 years
7:05
ago, I started my business and it was crickets.
7:07
You and I joked about that offline. I always
7:10
say in the beginning, It's people are very certainty
7:13
driven and in the beginning when you first start
7:16
a company No one knows you and you don't have
7:18
credibility yet because you don't have consistency
7:20
yet And I always say coca -cola and Sam's Cola
7:23
everyone's gonna buy a coca -cola because no
7:26
one knows who Sam is and That's okay in the beginning.
7:29
No one knows you so you can't charge a ton You
7:32
have to learn how to build the compound effect
7:35
over time. I started mentoring ten years ago
7:37
coaching eight years ago which basically means
7:39
I started getting paid and I started for free
7:41
and then I got paid a little bit and then I got
7:43
paid a little bit more and then I got paid a
7:44
little bit more. Now I have 18 people that I
7:47
coach. One of them is four times a week, which
7:50
is insane. But in the beginning, it was coaching
7:53
for free. And then I built my practice and eventually
7:57
you get referrals, you get really good at what
8:00
you do, you stay focused, then it does, it compounds.
8:02
So the compound effect is the little things you're
8:06
doing each day that stack up and add up. and
8:09
compound just like what we talked about with
8:11
the math in the beginning you can mathematically
8:13
if you work on something for 50 years and you
8:17
are consistent every single day you can get 84
8:21
million times better and that's how apple was
8:25
built apple started in a garage and now it's
8:29
50 years old and it's 84 million times better
8:32
for sure i was a systems engineer with apple
8:37
computer I was around the time when they had
8:40
the Mac Lisa, the SE30, SE80. Okay. So I remember
8:46
those changes within Apple, what they were going
8:50
through, the trials and tribulations. So I know
8:52
exactly what you're talking about. But that's
8:55
a conversation for another time. Sounds good.
8:58
Because I'm sure we can talk about it forever.
9:01
Okay. Many people network in short, intense bursts.
9:06
Why is that approach less effective than small,
9:09
consistent actions? It's unsustainable. Yeah,
9:15
that's the main thing is it's not sustainable.
9:17
So my beautiful girlfriend and I, future wife,
9:20
March 1st of 2022, we started, I came to her
9:24
and I said, I want to beat my old best. She said,
9:27
what do you mean? I said, I, the longest I've
9:29
ever consistently exercised is three and a half
9:31
months. And I want to go for four months. I want
9:32
to beat my old best. We did it. She said I'll
9:36
do it with you. And here's the key. This is the
9:39
key. It was a half an hour a day jogging counts
9:42
walking counts weight training counts soccer
9:46
counts basketball we set a timer for a half an
9:48
hour a day and All we have to move our body for
9:52
a half an hour a day. That's it sustainable sustainable
9:55
sustainable We crossed the four -month mark and
9:59
I go I did it. That's awesome. She said okay
10:01
Let's see if we can do a year we get past a year
10:03
and we pull into the garage after a workout i
10:05
said now what and she said let's do this for
10:07
the rest of our life and i had a mini panic attack
10:10
i said sweetheart i can't commit to this unless
10:14
you're really serious are we actually going to
10:16
do this that was 1168 days ago march 1st of 2022
10:23
We decided to exercise once per day for a half
10:25
an hour. We bumped it to 35, then 40, then 45.
10:29
We've been at 45 now this year in 2025. And we
10:33
are 1 ,168 days in a row of consistent exercise.
10:37
Sometimes it's a walk with our dog. Sometimes
10:39
it's an intense weight training session that
10:41
is beyond. beyond painful. But we never miss.
10:45
And the key to that, and I point to that, is
10:47
not to talk about us. It's to talk about the
10:50
power of the small things over time that compound.
10:54
Because, and this is what I say in my speeches,
10:56
I say, I was a fitness coach for a long time,
10:58
fitness model, fitness competitor, last piece
10:59
here. If we all go to the gym tomorrow, I was
11:04
at a live event doing this, for nine hours, that's
11:06
not going to change your life. But if we... take
11:10
that nine hours and split it into half hour increments
11:12
and we do 18 days in a row together, we might
11:15
build a habit and that can change everything.
11:17
So to me, that's the best answer I've got, which
11:20
is if it's not sustainable, you might as well
11:23
not even start. They say that you have to do
11:27
something 10 ,000 times before it becomes a habit.
11:31
10 ,000. My goodness. 10 ,000. That's a lot.
11:34
That's from 20 or 30 years ago when... Every
11:38
time that I was being coached, that's what they
11:40
would tell you. When honestly, it's a mindset.
11:45
If you make your mind up like you did with your
11:48
girlfriend slash fiance, and you say, okay, I
11:52
just want to do this for a half an hour each
11:54
day. And you think it's, what's that going to
11:57
do? It's so small. But if you do it consistently.
12:01
it will pay off let me ask you a question now
12:04
you do that monday to friday or monday through
12:06
sunday oh always always every day okay yeah we
12:10
haven't missed yeah yeah we haven't missed the
12:12
day in 1168 days i have it downstairs on the
12:16
whiteboard i track it first thing in the morning
12:18
every single day yeah good good i'm glad i i
12:22
can't say that i do it every day but i'm good
12:26
for three or four days out of the week nice where
12:30
I do some sort, and I do it for an hour. So some
12:33
sort of physical activity for an hour, three
12:35
or four times a week. And I'm saying this being
12:40
almost 63, so I can tell you that it helps me
12:45
definitely. I feel better, stay better, mentally
12:49
I'm better, and everything is better through
12:52
that consistent workout training program. The
12:56
way I see it is what's the one decision you can
12:59
make now that solves a thousand future problems?
13:02
Absolutely. And to me, exercise, it's one of
13:05
the most, it's a pillar. It's a pillar. And so
13:07
why not just make that decision? Keep the streak.
13:10
Once you get a streak going, you want to keep
13:13
the streak. And I don't know if 10 ,000 hours
13:15
is necessarily what you need to be able to have
13:17
it. I think it's 67 days is the latest research.
13:20
But I do know 10 ,000 hours is... famous by malcolm
13:23
gladwell of the 10 000 hour rule and i just surpassed
13:27
my coaching training and podcasting 10 000 hours
13:29
of coaching training and podcasting like i said
13:30
i was an engineer so everything's metrics and
13:33
numbers for me and so i track everything and
13:36
honestly the only way to stay on track in my
13:38
opinion is to track That's a very good way to
13:42
do things. And I try to do that most of the time,
13:45
but I fall short. I'll tell you right now, I
13:47
fall short. I do uncertain things too, no stress.
13:50
There's a couple of things I've tracked consistently
13:52
over the years and certain things that have fallen
13:54
off. Okay. Okay. What are three micro habits
13:58
somebody can build right now to start creating
14:02
more meaningful and profitable connections? The
14:06
first one is tracking metrics. Okay. I figured
14:09
that. yeah that's by far the most important in
14:11
my opinion when you track and you get a streak
14:15
going you're it's such a powerful thing such
14:17
a powerful thing number two would be tracking
14:19
habits so there's a lot of habit tracking apps
14:23
i use google sheets one means you did it zero
14:26
means you didn't 0 .5 means you did it i call
14:28
it green yellow red green means yes yellow means
14:31
sort of red means no all my clients all my team
14:34
we all track metrics and habits everybody big
14:36
numbers guy And then ChatGPT can analyze where
14:39
you're putting your time, all this kind of stuff.
14:40
The third micro habit would be probably exercise.
14:44
Yeah, because if you're not exercising, and I
14:46
didn't in the past. Ten years ago, I got in a
14:48
tough car accident, and it was my wake -up call.
14:52
And I started exercising consistently. I quit
14:54
drinking, all that. Exercise will keep your physical
15:00
state in a positive place. and it helps your
15:04
mindset i have one client actually and team member
15:07
his name is brandon he just started coaching
15:09
me he's done a mile a day every day for more
15:11
than a thousand days and he calls it miles for
15:14
mindset and he used to be a football player but
15:17
it keeps his head right keeps his head right
15:19
i'm talking in the middle of the winter he's
15:22
big on grit and if you're not exercising consistently
15:25
you will feel the negative detriments over time
15:29
The science is there. Your brain health is predicated
15:32
on great sleep and great exercise. I agree wholeheartedly.
15:36
I went through a health scare myself when I was
15:40
50 years old. It paralyzed half my body. And
15:45
it took me three months to get back in shape.
15:49
And that was my wake -up call. I was never really
15:53
a heavy drinker. I never smoked. playing sports.
15:58
I did everything right. And I still got this
16:02
problem. I found out what the problem was. I
16:05
got through it and it changed me. And this was
16:08
right after my wife had just been through a cancer
16:12
scare. So between the two of us, it's like, okay,
16:16
it's time for us to get right. And we changed.
16:20
We changed completely after that happened. So
16:24
I know exactly what you're saying. Sometimes
16:26
you need that wake -up call to make that decision
16:32
for you or put you in a position where you make
16:35
that decision. I think it's the humble pie we
16:38
need. It's the humble pie we need sometimes to
16:41
commit. And my car accident was humble pie for
16:44
me. And it changed my whole life. And I just
16:46
decided to... spend my whole life trying to reach
16:50
my potential and help others do the same and
16:51
that's actually why i'm here now just trying
16:53
to help people reach their potential it sounds
16:55
like you're well on your way to doing that thank
16:57
you how can professionals stay accountable to
17:01
their networking goals especially when results
17:03
aren't immediate the first ones get a streak
17:08
going i know i keep saying that i sound like
17:10
a broken record here i have a four -day streak
17:12
of my next level sales system i just created
17:14
this i actually created it for a client and then
17:16
i was like wait I need this. That's how coaching
17:19
works. And I'm four days in a row. And once I
17:23
get a streak going, I'll do anything to keep
17:24
it. And that's just a human mindset thing. There's
17:27
a lot of studies on that. And so I would say
17:30
try to create some sort of a system that is sustainable.
17:35
Mine is pretty hefty. Five times a day, five
17:38
posts, five likes, five comments, five DMs, and
17:41
five invites. That's hard to do, especially if
17:43
you're new. It's challenging to sustain that.
17:47
Kevin and I, my business partner and I are both
17:49
doing that. But I would say get a streak going
17:51
and create it into something that becomes a part
17:53
of your identity. Because at the end of the day,
17:57
we're trying to help people. We're trying to
17:58
have an impact. And your company can't help people
18:02
if no one knows about you. That's right. And
18:05
you do your best to spreading the word, such
18:08
as this podcast. If you do your work well. and
18:13
you are truly authentic and you believe in yourself,
18:16
that belief that goes out to your clients and
18:21
your clients believe in you and your clients
18:23
then begin to multiply. I have my clients that
18:28
are through all the stages of networking. I have
18:32
the beginning stages of the people, which I don't
18:36
even know where to begin with them, but I'm starting.
18:38
The people who know what they're doing. but need
18:41
a push. And I have the mid -level to senior leaders
18:46
who are teaching their juniors how to do what
18:50
to do and everything else. So I have all the
18:53
different levels. And you treat each of them
18:56
differently, of course, but I'm authentic. I'm
19:00
myself. I tell them right off, I said, look,
19:03
I'll make mistakes because you don't want perfection.
19:08
You want somebody who's real. And we make mistakes
19:11
together. We solve them together. But I always
19:14
say, if you have a problem in management or not
19:19
management, if you have a problem with somebody
19:22
in your company or else, and you want to bring
19:25
the problem to their eyes, you better bring a
19:30
solution with it. Don't just complain. Don't
19:33
be a complainer. Go there with a solution with
19:37
the complaint. And then you'll be heard a lot.
19:40
better but that i digress okay so you work with
19:45
people on tracking progress what does a simple
19:48
system for tracking relationship building look
19:51
like yeah so a prospect list okay there's a lot
19:57
of people in my space so the personal development
19:58
industry i don't so i came from a sales background
20:01
i was a sales engineer for a company called cognex
20:04
you might know cognex they sell industrial automation
20:07
equipment machine vision The eyes of robotics.
20:10
I managed a territory of Vermont, Connecticut,
20:12
and Western Massachusetts. So I came from business
20:14
to business sales engineering. And then I came
20:17
into the personal development space after my
20:19
car accident and I realized, oh, I'm not good
20:21
at selling to consumers because I think like
20:22
an engineer. I'm going from selling to engineers
20:25
and automation engineers and continuous improvement
20:27
managers, similar to at places like Apple. And
20:31
actually, in some cases, Apple. And then I went
20:35
into the consumer space. The mindset's completely
20:37
different. It's not ever yeah completely different.
20:40
Whoa, I Realized I actually suck at business
20:44
to consumer sales because I'm an engineer and
20:46
I have to learn how to do this So prospect what
20:49
I realized is no one has a prospect list and
20:50
no one has a system I'm a big systems guy. I'm
20:54
a systems thinker systems engineer computer engineer.
20:57
I Have a system for everything and I don't think
21:01
a lot of people in this space necessarily do
21:03
I think in your space maybe they do but You need
21:07
to have a prospect list. So I have 15 departments.
21:11
And when someone comments on our YouTube channel
21:13
asking a question, they go on a prospect list.
21:16
And we add them on social media and we connect.
21:19
And it can be Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn,
21:21
TikTok, whatever, right? But I realized that
21:24
not a lot of people have a system and not a lot
21:26
of people have a prospect list. So I keep it
21:29
simple, green, yellow, red. We have cold leads.
21:32
They don't know you like you or trust you yet.
21:34
Warm leads is they know you like you and trust
21:36
you a bit. Sorry, by the way, if the audio is
21:38
my landscapers are outside. Can you hear it?
21:41
Yeah, I can hear a little bit. I'm sorry about
21:43
that. Yeah. So listeners, I apologize. I'm very
21:46
grateful for the landscapers because I get to
21:49
be here while they're doing that. But OK, so
21:51
cold leads, people don't know you, don't like
21:53
you, don't trust you. Warm leads are they do.
21:56
And then hot leads are people who trust you a
21:58
lot. And then there's dead leads, which are people
22:00
who are never going to work with you and who
22:02
you never want to work with. But you have to
22:05
have a prospect list. There has to be categories.
22:08
And then there has to be ratings that help you
22:10
identify what is cold, warm, and hot. And then
22:13
there's converted clients, which is people who
22:16
are customers and or clients. And by the way,
22:17
I don't think a lot of people, and again, maybe
22:19
some people know this. I'm sure you do. But I
22:22
made this connection I thought was fascinating.
22:24
Customers are when you buy a product. Clients
22:28
are when you have a service. And I've noticed
22:31
a lot of people never made that connection before.
22:33
So people go, oh, that's the difference between
22:34
a customer and a client. A client is a service.
22:37
A customer is a product that you buy maybe once.
22:40
And that's the only difference between a customer
22:42
and a client. It's very true. But I feel that
22:46
ever since the pandemic, as I said before, people
22:51
lost their minds. They don't know how to network.
22:54
They think that building a client list is what
22:58
they have to do when realistically, they have
23:02
to build relationships. A client list is a byproduct
23:06
of building meaningful relationships toward common
23:08
goals and dreams. Yeah. That's right. But that's
23:11
after the relationship building. Exactly. And
23:14
that's really where the switch has happened.
23:16
I think that switch happened during the pandemic
23:19
because it used to be. When I was selling, build
23:24
that client list, build it up and up and up.
23:26
But now it's more relationships. When I used
23:29
to go to a networking event, a three or four
23:32
hour networking event, I would come home with
23:35
a shoebox filled with business cards. Yeah, nice.
23:38
And thinking, I did a great job. Look at all
23:40
these cards. Well, now with a three or four hour
23:44
event, what I tell people is you should have
23:47
about 15 or 20 cards. Because those are people
23:50
that you built that relationship with. Exactly.
23:54
We have clients that we work with. We work with
23:57
106 podcasters and business owners. We have clients
23:59
that we met at events. I call it the triangle.
24:03
I went to a Brendan Burchard event. Do you know
24:04
who Brendan Burchard is? Yeah. He had something
24:07
called High Performance Habits. It's a book.
24:09
And he created something called High Performance
24:10
Academy. We went to an event and it's a triangle.
24:14
So me and the other person are both there for
24:17
growth. We're there for learning and growth.
24:19
And then we happen to meet each other. When you're
24:22
there to sell, it doesn't work as well. It's
24:25
a triangulation. So you and I are here to add
24:28
value first and to serve first and to sell second.
24:31
So the primary intention for you and I is to
24:34
connect and add value to each other and add value
24:36
to your listeners. The secondary intention is
24:38
to network and to sell. And I think that a lot
24:41
of people get that wrong. I think you're right.
24:44
I think you're 100 % correct. Have you seen a
24:48
real world example where consistent intentional
24:52
networking led to an unexpected breakthrough
24:55
or opportunity? There's a woman, her name is
24:59
Dr. Taryn. I'll keep first names only. And she
25:03
and I met at a Brendan Burchard event. We were
25:06
there for growth. We were there to learn. We
25:08
weren't there to necessarily network. Networking
25:10
was a byproduct of mutual growth and development.
25:13
She, years later, she's been working with us
25:15
for... We've been producing her podcast for Four
25:22
years now four or five years now and but when
25:25
we first met it was just a conversation about
25:26
becoming a podcaster She was in she was a dentist
25:29
and orthodontist and she wanted to start a podcast
25:32
and we had already had a podcast with 300 plus
25:34
episodes and so we were just teaching her how
25:36
to do it and the to do's and to don'ts because
25:38
we had learned the hard way on what to do and
25:40
what not to do and eventually she became a client
25:42
i coached her for a while kevin coached her for
25:44
a while and we've been producing her show for
25:46
almost probably four plus years now really great
25:51
that's really great okay let's flip it what bad
25:56
networking habits should people break if they
25:59
want to build better and more authentic connections
26:02
a bad networking habit going into things with
26:09
service second it's passion purpose and profit
26:13
in that order passion is you and i both love
26:17
podcasting and we both love networking and we
26:19
both love learning and growing that's passion
26:22
purpose is we are serving the world with those
26:25
things profit is third Profit's important. It
26:29
can't be 10th. It has to be third, but it can't
26:32
be first. If you're going in with profit first
26:35
and you're only at the event to try to get clients,
26:38
you'll repel people because they'll feel the
26:41
neediness. They'll feel the intentions aren't
26:43
pure. Whereas if I'm here to serve first and
26:47
share first, profit might come as a byproduct,
26:50
but it doesn't have to. It doesn't have to. That's
26:53
so true. I go around all over and I talk about
26:57
networking, communication, but I always tell
26:59
everybody, no matter who I talk to, you go in
27:03
with a servant's heart. Yeah, exactly. Go in
27:05
looking to give and not receive. And when you
27:10
sit down with somebody and you're talking with
27:12
them, you say, I like what you do. I like how
27:14
you're doing it. How can I make you more successful?
27:19
How can I be a good referral partner for you?
27:23
And that usually blows them away. You're not
27:25
trying to sell me something. You're not trying
27:27
to make me better. What's going on? How can I
27:31
make you more successful? I feel like people
27:34
can feel your intentions. And you can always
27:37
tell when there's another shoe about to drop.
27:41
And I think that intentions, if your intentions
27:43
are pure, I think there's primary, secondary,
27:45
and tertiary intention. My primary intention,
27:49
96 % of me, is right here with you to add value
27:52
first. Secondary intention is I really have to
27:55
go to the bathroom. Third intention, tertiary
27:57
intention is who knows, maybe one day something
28:00
comes of this. But if it doesn't, that's okay.
28:03
I agree 100%. Let's bring this full circle. If
28:09
you could give our listeners one piece of advice
28:13
to build a networking habit that compounds over
28:17
time, what would it be? Find your people. and
28:23
you're absolutely not people. So I have two,
28:25
I have my absolutely people and my absolutely
28:27
not people. And I'll give you mine. It took me
28:29
30 freaking years to figure this out. Yeah. And
28:33
again, I know that sounds early to some people,
28:34
but to me that the amount of time and effort
28:36
I wasted on the wrong people, my goodness. So
28:38
my absolutely people have high humility, inward
28:41
humility. They have high work ethic and they
28:43
are into growth. They have a growth mindset.
28:45
They love personal development. Okay. Those are
28:47
my absolutely people and I can size them up quick.
28:52
More importantly, my absolutely not people are
28:56
the opposite. They're arrogant, they're entitled,
29:00
and they want big rewards for minimal effort.
29:03
Those are my absolutely not people. I'm someone
29:07
who came from very little, very humble beginnings.
29:10
Lost my birth father at two, stepfather left
29:13
at 14, bootstrapped my way. And I have created
29:19
where I've gotten to out of just... brute force
29:22
work ethic and i didn't realize that because
29:24
until my 30s and i realized okay this is very
29:27
different and anyone who wants big rewards with
29:30
minimal effort and has any level of laziness
29:32
we're just not going to work well together because
29:34
i'm very tenacious i guess that's what i would
29:38
say that's very true i grew up with a single
29:43
mom my whole life and i went to the school of
29:47
hard knocks I went to the school of learning
29:50
my mistakes and I've made plenty of them. But
29:54
they're not really a mistake if you've learned
29:58
from them. So I built my entire business around
30:01
that. I've been a business owner. I've owned
30:04
different businesses. I was in the military.
30:07
I learned how leadership from many different
30:10
ways. And I learned networking in many different
30:13
ways. And it was a culmination of all of that
30:17
for me to get where I am today. So I know exactly
30:20
what you're saying to a certain point. I don't
30:24
know your heartaches and things like that. But
30:26
I see what you've become. You overcame all of
30:31
that. And you are a good person that came out
30:36
of it. And so you are, you're thumbing your nose
30:40
to all the bad things that happened to you and
30:43
said, see? I can do this anyway. And you did.
30:46
And you're right on the right path. And you're
30:50
so good in this section, in this place where
30:54
you are. You're building your business. It's
30:57
all great. It's all great. It's a growth journey.
31:01
It's been a challenge, but it's also been really
31:03
meaningful. And I appreciate it. At the end of
31:06
the day, all of us have certain people that we
31:09
work really well with. and certain people that
31:11
we do not work well with and i think that it's
31:16
really important to identify who you work really
31:18
well with and who you don't that way you can
31:20
be a little bit more strategic in the way in
31:24
which you build relationships absolutely alan
31:28
this was a fantastic you're a fantastic guest
31:32
i really appreciate you coming on i really appreciate
31:36
the knowledge that you've shared with my listeners
31:39
if somebody wanted to contact you for coaching
31:43
or otherwise how would they do it yeah thank
31:46
you michael for having me i appreciate it thank
31:48
you thank you thank you If you are out there
31:50
and you are humble and have high work ethic and
31:52
a growth mindset and you really are committed
31:55
to reaching your potential, you're going to love
31:56
what we do at Next Level University. You're going
31:58
to love everything we do. We have a book club.
32:01
We do monthly meetups. So nextleveluniverse .com
32:04
has everything on there. Like I said, we have
32:06
15 departments. Next Level University is a place
32:08
where you go to learn how to reach your own unique
32:11
potential. I also have something called Podcast
32:13
Growth University. I just started something called
32:15
Business Growth University. So everything's at
32:17
nextleveluniverse .com. The podcast Next Level
32:20
University has 2 ,068 episodes as of yesterday.
32:27
Yeah, as of yesterday. As of today, actually,
32:29
as of today. We recorded two of them yesterday.
32:33
And it's 1 % improvement in your pocket from
32:35
anyone on the planet completely free. What I
32:36
opened with, the $84 million, the 0 .1 % improvement,
32:39
that's what the podcast is built around. It's
32:43
built around if you get 0 .1 % better each day,
32:46
over the long term, it is unbelievable what you
32:50
can become and what you can achieve. And that's
32:53
what our podcast is about. So if you're interested
32:55
in that, reach out. Perfect. Thank you, Alan.
32:59
Thank you for coming on to my podcast. And I
33:02
hope all of my listeners got something out of
33:04
it. Thank you, Michael. I appreciate it. Well,
33:07
hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. Let me just
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-U -P -K -I -D -S -O -R -G. Well, that's a wrap,
34:25
folks. A huge thank you to our special guests
34:28
for sharing such incredible insights today. And
34:32
of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
34:35
listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
34:38
with us. Remember, networking isn't about being
34:42
perfect. It's about being present. So take what
34:45
you've learned today, get out there and make
34:48
some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this
34:51
episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave us
34:54
a review and share it with someone who could
34:56
use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep
35:00
the conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
35:04
Spotify, YouTube or my website. Michael A. Foreman.
35:08
Remember, until next time, keep practicing, keep
35:12
connecting, and keep building those relationships.
35:15
This is Michael A. Foreman signing off. Take
35:18
care and happy networking.