Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E93 An Interview with Andy Semotiuk and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E93 An Interview with Andy Semotiuk and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:16
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
0:20
Connections, the podcast where we explore the
0:23
art and science of building powerful relationships
0:27
that drive real business results. I'm your host,
0:31
Michael, and today we're diving deep into the
0:35
intersection of networking, motivation, and communication,
0:39
especially as we relate to immigrant experience.
0:44
Our guest is a dynamic expert whose journey spans
0:48
overcoming barriers, motivating others and mastering
0:52
the nuances of cross -cultural communication.
0:56
Whether you're new to networking or a seasoned
0:59
pro, you'll discover actionable insights to foster
1:03
authentic connections and unlock new opportunities.
1:07
So get ready to be inspired. as we uncover practical
1:12
strategies for building networks that are not
1:15
just expansive, but truly profitable and meaningful.
1:20
So let's get started. I'd like to introduce Andy
1:24
Semichuk. Semichuk, okay. I'm almost there, almost
1:31
there. No problem. He does have this vast background,
1:33
but Andy, I would like to introduce you and tell
1:37
us a little bit about your background. Sure.
1:39
Well, I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
1:42
and raised half in Canada and half in the United
1:46
States. For example, school -wise, I was going
1:50
initially in Canada, but later in high school,
1:54
I went to school in Los Angeles. And that's because
1:58
My mother had a sister who lived in Los Angeles,
2:01
and they bicycled me back and forth. So, for
2:03
example, summers I spent in Los Angeles, but
2:06
during the school year, I spent up in Edmonton
2:09
in the cold. And then as time went on, as it
2:13
turned out, my whole life was like that. Half
2:15
of my time was in Canada and half of my time
2:18
in the United States. So, for example, although
2:22
I studied in Canada at UBC in Vancouver, got
2:26
my law degree and so on, I actually practiced
2:29
for 10 years in Los Angeles. I practiced for
2:33
five years in New York. And I am now practicing
2:36
in Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Wow, that's great.
2:41
That's quite an expansive background you have
2:43
there. So that's good. All right. So I'm going
2:46
to jump right into the questions that I've developed
2:49
for you. And hopefully we've made the mark. We've
2:53
hit the mark. What role has networking played?
2:57
in your own journey as an immigrant, and how
3:00
did it shape your success? That's a great question,
3:05
and you don't even realize how good a question
3:08
that is, I think, and I'll tell you why. For
3:11
three years, when I was in Los Angeles, I was
3:15
chairperson of the Beverly Hills Bar Association
3:18
Networking Committee. And during those three
3:22
years, we had monthly meetings where I had to
3:27
get things going and get people networking. And
3:31
I had a philosophy that I espoused during those
3:34
meetings. And the meetings went like this. After
3:37
everybody got settled, they picked up some drinks
3:40
or whatever and spoke to some people. I would
3:43
call the meeting to order. And we're all standing
3:46
around. And I would say I'm Andy Semichuk, and
3:50
I'm chairman of the Beverly Hills Bar Association
3:52
Networking Committee, and I want to welcome you.
3:56
And I'd like to express a philosophy of networking
3:59
that I'm hoping you will like and perhaps adapt
4:03
in your networking efforts. And that philosophy
4:07
comes from one of the great speakers in the United
4:10
States, a guy named Zig Ziglar. Absolutely. You
4:16
probably know him, yeah? Yes, I do. I follow
4:18
him extensively. Okay. So he used to say, you
4:22
can get anything in life that you want so long
4:25
as you help enough other people get what they
4:27
want. And I believe that's a great philosophical
4:31
approach to networking. And I would say to the
4:35
people there, focus on the people you're dealing
4:38
with. See if there's anything you can do to help
4:41
them and see how that in turn comes around to
4:44
help you. And I'd often share a story or a joke
4:48
just to liven things up and then set them loose
4:53
to doing the networking. But there were a few
4:57
things about networking that I sort of picked
5:00
up. And I was an immigrant there because I was
5:04
born in Canada. That's why it's special that
5:07
you asked that question. So as an quote unquote
5:10
immigrant to the United States, I myself had
5:14
to employ my networking skills to make a go of
5:18
me as a U .S. immigration attorney in Los Angeles.
5:23
And here are some of the tactics that I employed
5:27
to advance my cause. I learned that All of this
5:33
stuff, it's hard to come up with a unique idea
5:35
or original idea. A lot of our ideas are borrowed
5:38
from other people or developed from other people's
5:41
ideas. Certainly that's the case with me. I can't
5:44
claim originality to everything I'm talking about.
5:47
That's mission impossible for me. But one of
5:51
the thoughts that did me well. in my networking
5:54
efforts. And I'm so glad that your program is
5:58
about networking. It's a real treat for me to
6:01
be on your program and talk about networking
6:03
and also about motivation that we'll talk about,
6:07
I'm sure. A few little tips. Number one, I learned
6:12
long ago that in terms of networking, it's very
6:17
handy if you're a newcomer to come early to meetings.
6:23
Vince Lombardi, the great coach of the Green
6:26
Bay Packers, used to say, if you're 10 minutes
6:30
early, that means you're 15 minutes late to his
6:33
players. What he was saying was, of course, come
6:36
early. Don't come just on time. Come early. It's
6:39
always helpful to come early. And in networking,
6:42
that's especially true because if you're early
6:46
as people come into the room, They have nobody
6:50
to really deal with except you. If you're standing
6:53
there smiling and looking to say something. That's
6:57
true. I'm a military guy, Air Force. And we had
7:01
one saying that if you're on time, you're late.
7:05
If you're early, you're on time. Yeah, that's
7:08
great. Love it. I live my life that way. My poor
7:12
children who had to grow up with that, now they're
7:15
doing it. So I know exactly what you're talking
7:18
about. Zig Ziglar was the best. And that's what's
7:23
called a servant's heart. Now, I follow more
7:26
of Zig Ziglar's son because Zig isn't around
7:30
anymore. But it's a giver's game. It's what BNI
7:35
has structured their whole thing about. But it's
7:39
true because when you go to a networking event,
7:43
it's... what you can do for somebody else, not
7:47
what they can do for you. I didn't mean to interrupt.
7:49
No, I'm happy you threw that in. That's exactly
7:52
right. That's gold level thinking in my world.
7:56
But that was one key because they'd show up and
8:00
they don't have anybody to talk to. So they wander
8:02
over to talk to you and you then start on a journey
8:05
with them. And my approach was like this, and
8:09
I teach my young people here in my law practice
8:13
this approach. If you're talking to someone in
8:18
networking or just talking to someone in a cocktail
8:21
type situation, your job is to focus on that
8:27
person and never mind what else is going on in
8:31
the room. Never mind if President Trump just
8:35
is walking by behind the person you're talking
8:37
to or any football star or baseball star or whatever.
8:42
It's important to train yourself on the person
8:45
you're talking to. Everything else is irrelevant.
8:49
That's the whole idea here. It's inconsiderate
8:53
to use another person you're dealing with. You
8:59
see these guys, they're talking to you, but they
9:01
watch as someone goes by. You know how you feel
9:04
when that happens. Absolutely. It's called active
9:07
listening. So you listen to the person who you're
9:11
with. You give them 100 % of your attention.
9:15
And here's the funny part about active listening.
9:19
It's after they finish speaking, you pause. And
9:23
that's such an important pause because it gives
9:26
you time to digest what they said. It gives them
9:30
time to say he was listening to me. And then
9:34
you respond to him with something that he spoke
9:37
about. So you don't want to talk about something
9:40
that you have on your agenda because that really
9:43
doesn't matter. You want to respond to something
9:46
that. he was talking about because it shows that
9:49
you were paying 100 % attention. So active listening.
9:56
Yes. Very insightful. I have a lot of these.
9:58
Okay. Let me go with the second question. Sure.
10:02
What unique challenges do immigrants face when
10:06
building professional connections and how can
10:09
they overcome it? A big challenge is cultural.
10:15
You're coming into a new society, obviously a
10:18
society different than the one you're used to.
10:21
And a big deal about that is language, learning
10:26
the language of the new society. Now, in my life,
10:30
like I speak a few languages, I'm Ukrainian in
10:34
background, so I learned Ukrainian growing up
10:36
and stuff like that. And I've been able to pick
10:39
up a little bit on the Slavic element. I've also
10:44
studied Spanish and French, and it's been hard,
10:49
a hard goal. And so I'm thinking from the point
10:52
of view of someone new who's trying to learn
10:55
English, what can I do to offer them some help
11:00
in picking up the language? And one of the big
11:04
things that I learned in studying other languages
11:07
was about cognates. I don't know if you know
11:11
the word cognated. I didn't know the word when
11:14
I first heard it. And it's words that are the
11:19
same in other languages. So, for example, transportation,
11:24
the word transportation or communication in French
11:29
or in Spanish, transportation in Ukrainian, they're
11:34
all the same. It's a cognate. Because languages
11:38
are a mixture of various languages. Over time,
11:41
they're influenced by each other. Communication,
11:45
transportation, pretty much all words ending
11:49
in T -I -O -N are such cognates. And other words,
11:54
and I can't give you examples because I wasn't
11:55
expecting to talk on this exact topic right now,
11:59
but I looked it up. And as much as perhaps 30
12:04
or 40 % of a new language for you may consist
12:09
of words you already know because they're cognates.
12:13
And if you go through a dictionary, you can pick
12:16
up those cognates. And it's astounding that you
12:20
may know 30 or 40 % of a language even before
12:23
you started. What a gift, what a boost that is.
12:27
A great thing. For you, just because I know two
12:32
languages, English and English. My two languages.
12:37
I took Spanish in school and I can understand
12:40
somewhat. But that's very interesting that those...
12:45
Cognates, you're talking? Cognates. That's the
12:48
word for it. Very interesting. Yeah. Now, in
12:52
picking up languages, other things, and why am
12:56
I focused on language? Because I would say language.
12:59
is the critical element to integrate into a new
13:03
community. And if you don't focus on it and get
13:07
it down hard, you're going to be behind in terms
13:12
of getting ahead in that community. A lot of
13:16
my clients, English is a second language. And
13:21
the first thing that I go over with them is that
13:25
they have to enunciate. their words because they're
13:30
either saying them too fast or they're putting
13:33
the words together. So when I help them with
13:36
their diction, when they're enunciating, it slows
13:39
them down and people can actually understand
13:43
them that much better. So it all has to do with
13:47
the language. Good tip. Now, there's a lot we
13:50
could talk about language. For example, I just
13:52
share a little insight from my uncle who's passed
13:56
away. But during World War II, he was a translator.
13:58
He knew 13 languages. But he didn't know English.
14:03
And when the war ended, he was in Vienna. And
14:08
he thought, gee, the American zone, I got to
14:11
learn English. And what he did is he bought a
14:14
German -English dictionary. He knew German. And
14:20
he... He had a photographic memory, so he read
14:24
the whole dictionary. And then what he did is
14:27
he listened to Allied Radio Army broadcasts on
14:33
the hour of the news. And they repeated the news
14:37
every hour on the hour. And he read newspapers
14:42
and underlined words he didn't understand, looked
14:45
them up in the dictionary, and kept just word
14:47
by word, sentence by sentence, Sound by sound,
14:51
he picked up English within, he said something
14:53
like six months. And he reported to the general,
14:57
to the chief general, American general. He comes
15:00
up to him, somehow he got in there, and he says,
15:03
I'm reporting for duty. And the general says,
15:05
duty? What kind of duty? He says, translator.
15:09
I don't need a translator. What languages do
15:11
you speak? He said, what language do you want?
15:14
He spoke 13 of them. The American general goes,
15:17
Russian. French or whatever it was through 13.
15:20
Because, okay, report over to so -and -so. You're
15:24
hired. That's great. That's great. Yeah. Okay.
15:27
So let's go on to another question. Sure. Can
15:30
you share a story where networking directly impacted
15:33
an opportunity or breakthrough in your career?
15:37
That's a tough one for me, but I've already mentioned
15:40
it. I became chairman of the Beverly Hills Bar
15:44
Association. networking committee because I used
15:48
the skills we talked about earlier to rise to
15:52
that level. And that opened the door to me to
15:57
a whole community of lawyers, at least, who wanted
16:03
to get to know me because of my position. And
16:08
so it made it easy for me to, as an immigrant,
16:11
as we were talking earlier, integrate into that
16:14
community. And through that community, I was
16:18
able to reach out to other communities and become
16:22
involved, entrenched in other. I was in the Century
16:25
City area of Hollywood, which is where they used
16:30
to meet. And I got to know a lot of people in
16:33
that area. I used to go, there's nothing like
16:36
attending meetings to get to know people. And
16:39
if you have networking skills, you're automatically
16:42
like, they had a thing called speed dating, networking,
16:46
networking stuff. Sure. I know. Sure. Absolutely.
16:51
I know it all too well. Okay. We had those sessions
16:55
where you had whatever, three or five minutes
16:57
with someone and then each. telling each other
17:00
what you do, and then go on to the next chair
17:03
and talk to another person and so on. And over
17:06
time, you develop a nice string of people that
17:09
are friendly and start socializing and so on.
17:12
So it helped me break into American society.
17:16
And what society? The Beverly Hills Bar Association
17:20
and Hollywood and Century City, which was really
17:24
valuable to me. Which was, I'm sure, which was...
17:29
And the fact that you were trying to integrate
17:32
yourself with everybody else, it was just an
17:37
easier way. And by you knowing all of what you
17:40
know, networking wise and communication wise,
17:44
made it that much easier. Okay. So how do you
17:47
stay motivated to keep building and nurturing
17:50
your network, especially through tough transactions
17:53
or setbacks? Okay. Here we're touching on a key
17:58
area of focus, and it's what I call your unique
18:03
ability. And I'll share it with you in this way.
18:07
There's a good story that kind of focuses on
18:10
the area. It's the story of Carl Wallenda, who
18:14
was one of the world's leading tightrope walkers.
18:19
I know him well. Ah, okay. So you may probably
18:22
know that he tried to walk a tightrope between
18:27
two high -rises in San Juan, Puerto Rico, I think
18:31
in the 1980s, and fell to his death. Fell to
18:36
his death. But before he died, he was interviewed
18:40
by reporters, and they asked him, why do you
18:46
walk the tightrope? Why do you take such risks
18:50
with your life? And he answered this in this
18:53
way. He said, I live my life on the tightrope.
18:59
That's when I really live. And everything before
19:04
is a mere prelude to, and everything after is
19:09
a postscript following my life on the tightrope.
19:14
And that's now. What he was saying is, it's so
19:20
important to me. I'm willing to even risk death
19:23
to do this. And from reading about other people,
19:29
for example, Elvis Presley, he felt really alive
19:34
only on the stage when he performed in front
19:37
of audiences. There's a tennis player, I think
19:42
his name was Roger Ash. who used to talk about
19:45
flow, that there was a state that he would get
19:49
into, and all these sports personalities, they
19:51
all talk about flow, where they're just in a
19:57
moment when everything else doesn't matter. They're
20:00
just in their unique abilities, what I call unique
20:05
ability. So the key is, what is your unique ability?
20:11
And if you can find it, can you find activity
20:14
and work in that area and the reason why that's
20:19
so significant is because if you're working in
20:24
your area of unique ability you're at your best
20:29
it's where your passion is you're giving the
20:34
world the best you have and the world senses
20:39
that And it responds to you. Now, a good story
20:43
about that is, if you look over my shoulder,
20:45
you'll see a tab up there. It's from Toastmasters,
20:48
some organization you probably know a lot about.
20:51
Sure do. So I was in Toastmasters for 35 years.
20:56
And I attended club meetings for 35 years, weekly
21:00
club meetings, where we practiced public speaking
21:04
and leadership skills for 35 years. And I thought,
21:10
this is my unique ability. This is where I am
21:12
the best. But the world didn't want me there.
21:16
No, they said, Andy, you don't belong there.
21:19
The world said, we want you to write articles,
21:23
journal, books. And so the world guided me to
21:29
where I needed to be. It helped me find my unique
21:33
ability. Now, my unique ability, I believe, is
21:36
in the area of communication, so verbal and written.
21:39
But it's just an indication of how you get to
21:42
your unique ability. Absolutely. Very good. Very
21:46
well said, by the way. Thank you. Okay. What
21:49
communication strategies have proven most effective
21:52
for you when connecting with people from diverse
21:55
backgrounds? Okay. I'm a big believer in stories,
22:01
sharing stories, especially, for example, with
22:07
people who are disadvantaged or young people,
22:10
especially childhood memories, for example. We
22:14
are all vulnerable to strong stories. I'm just
22:20
reminded of an event that just took place last
22:23
night where I was at a funeral celebration. And
22:27
I talked about... I shared this story. There's
22:31
this group of people called Lemkos who live in
22:36
the mountains in western Ukraine, in the Carpathian
22:40
Mountains. And they had a belief. And the belief
22:45
was that when a person is born, a star appears
22:50
in the sky. And when they pass on, when they
22:54
cross, the footstep into eternity, the star disappears
23:01
from the sky. And that's just a little example
23:06
of a story that's captivating. It goes deep.
23:11
There's a symbolic part to it, and there's something
23:16
about the human experience in that story that
23:20
makes it compelling. You know, where I'm concerned,
23:26
at least for public speaking, corporate speaking,
23:29
workshops, stories, people tend to remember stories.
23:35
If I told them what to do out of a textbook,
23:38
one through 10, and I told them a story with
23:41
the same information, they'll remember 80 % of
23:45
it more through the story than if I just gave
23:48
them the text. So stories sell. Not only that,
23:52
there's one other. aspect of this. I'm a big
23:55
believer in humor. I think comedy goes a long
24:00
way. That's me. Okay. Especially when you're
24:03
trying to connect with an audience, the connection,
24:07
an emotional connection through humor. If you
24:11
can pass on some humor, maybe I can give you
24:14
an example. Say, for example, this lady buys
24:19
a parrot. And she brings him home. And she thinks,
24:24
I'm going to teach this parrot how to talk. I
24:26
wonder, what could I teach him? And she's got
24:29
people coming in and out of her house. So she
24:31
figures, when they knock on the door, I'll have
24:34
the parrot say, who is it? So she taught the
24:36
parrot to say, who is it? So now the parrot knows
24:40
how to say, who is it? And she goes shopping
24:43
one day and leaves the parrot back home. And
24:46
someone comes to the door. A guy knocks on the
24:48
door. Parrot says, who is it? The guy answers,
24:51
it's the plumber. And the parrot says, who is
24:54
it? The guy says, it's the plumber. Parrot says,
24:57
who is it? And the guy says, it's the plumber.
25:00
And the guy gets so exasperated, he faints and
25:04
falls down on the steps. Meanwhile, the woman
25:07
comes home and she opens the door and she sees
25:09
this plumber, this guy lying on the ground. And
25:13
she says, oh my goodness, I wonder who is it?
25:16
And the parrot says. It's the blommer. Blommer.
25:20
There's a joke like that can break the ice when
25:24
you're trying to. Yeah, I always inject humor
25:31
into every presentation that I give. And it usually
25:35
just I use it more to have them pay attention
25:39
to what I'm saying, as opposed to breaking up,
25:44
because usually I have a good connection with
25:46
the audience. But. When I throw humor in there,
25:49
it's always just that much more. They connect
25:52
with you that much more. Okay, so how can professionals
25:58
ensure their networking is mutually beneficial
26:01
rather than transactional? I guess the key answer
26:07
there from my point of view is what's in your
26:11
head? Why are you connecting with someone? And
26:16
I'll tell a little story about that that will
26:18
make the point. I had a close friend. His name
26:22
was John Kolaski in Canada. And he was a unique
26:26
individual because for 30 years, he was a member
26:32
of the Communist Party of Canada. And it was
26:36
a devout communist. And then one day in the 1970s,
26:40
he was invited to the Soviet Union, to the upper
26:43
higher. party school, and he went there for two
26:47
years. And when he was there, he realized, oh,
26:51
this is all garbage. I've been living a life
26:56
of garbage for 30 years. And he came back. It
27:00
was a traumatic experience for him. But he came
27:03
back, and he reconciled himself with democracy
27:06
and a more liberal kind of a point of view. One
27:11
day, I'm in the library studying at UBC in Vancouver,
27:16
and he was in Vancouver also. He was an author.
27:18
He wrote books, and I saw him coming. And I look
27:22
up, and I see him coming, and I think, I'm in
27:24
for a workout here, because he'd always lecture
27:27
me. And he says to me, Andy, and I think, how
27:31
am I going to answer this question? He says,
27:34
does the end justify the means? And I'm thinking,
27:38
I don't know the answer. Yes? He says, no. No,
27:43
Andy. Because every means, especially with people,
27:48
is an end to itself. Never use people for another
27:55
end. You can work with people, and if they consent
28:01
to work with you, work with them to achieve another
28:04
end. But never consider people a means to an
28:10
end you have. And I think that's the key to when
28:14
you're talking, communicating with people, the
28:16
way to deal with it. Absolutely. Absolutely.
28:19
I also feel that when you're beginning that communication,
28:26
you're looking to bring value to the conversation.
28:32
You're looking to bring value because if I, instead
28:35
of it being transactional, before the pandemic,
28:39
everything was transactional. After the pandemic,
28:42
we've become more relationship oriented. And
28:46
if I'm reaching out to you, I'm not going to
28:49
reach out to you and say, oh, by the way, I have
28:51
three widgets for a dollar. Would you like to
28:53
buy them? I'm reaching out to you and I may cut
28:56
an article out and say. I saw this article, would
29:00
you be interested? So on and so forth. So I try
29:03
to bring value to the conversation three, four,
29:06
five times, and then I'll slowly hit you with
29:09
my services. So that's a different way. How can
29:13
professionals ensure their networking is mute?
29:17
Wait a second. I just asked you that. Okay. Are
29:21
there specific tools or platforms that immigrants
29:24
or newcomers should leverage to accelerate their
29:28
integration into new professional communities?
29:32
Wow. I mentioned Toastmasters. I think that's
29:37
an excellent organization to join to practice
29:40
your speaking skills and learn leadership skills.
29:44
I wasn't a member for a while. Yeah, there you
29:47
go. And if you get good enough, you could join
29:50
the National Speakers Association. So, for example,
29:53
I see your speaker. Oh, you are. Okay, so that's
29:57
definitely a place to hang out from your point
29:59
of view if you're working in your area. Professional
30:02
associations are also very handy. In my area,
30:06
the American Immigration Lawyers Association,
30:09
for example, is an organization I belong to.
30:12
I think you've got to do things like that. All
30:15
the service clubs, like Rotary. Kiwanis, optimists,
30:20
and so on. I think they're great places to belong
30:24
and to find meaningful activities, share experiences
30:28
with the members. I've attended many Rotary meetings
30:33
and so on, and I got a lot of value from Rotary.
30:37
So those would be some of the areas that I would
30:39
recommend. Of course, going to school and college
30:42
and so on never hurts. And the more skills you
30:45
can learn, the better. Yeah, I've... spoken to
30:49
a great many rotaries, Lions Clubs, things like
30:53
that, business associations, because I feel that
30:56
they get the most out of what I have to say about
31:00
networking, communication, everything else. Everything
31:03
for me, networking is the baseline for every
31:08
business. And you work up from there. Okay, so
31:13
what advice would you give to someone who feels
31:16
intimidated or unsure about reaching out to established
31:20
professionals? I know in my case, I welcome if
31:26
someone reaches out and asks, say, listen, I'm
31:29
having a hardship. Would you be willing to spend
31:31
a little time with me to see how I can get over
31:34
this hardship or how can I become a lawyer or
31:38
what am I missing or whatever as an immigrant?
31:42
I think most people, especially accomplished
31:45
people who are not egocentric, and I think most
31:51
people, a lot of people, see the world as something
31:55
bigger than just themselves. And such people
31:58
are more than willing if you just reach out and
32:01
ask for guidance or to consult with them. So
32:06
I would recommend that, no matter how high up.
32:09
you think they are in the world and how low you
32:12
feel. But here's a little tip that I got from
32:16
a friend of mine, Wally Patrician, who was a
32:18
lawyer. He's passed on now, but he shared this
32:21
tip with me, which is when he was practicing
32:24
law and he didn't know what to do and got into
32:27
an area, had no idea what to do about. He looked
32:31
up in the directory, who are some of the top
32:34
lawyers, attorneys in the field? He would call
32:38
up the office and he'd book an appointment for
32:40
a consultation and pay $400 or $500 more, $1
32:46
,000 for an hour. And he'd go and see them and
32:51
say, look, I'm a young lawyer. I'm just starting.
32:54
I need to learn how to do mergers and acquisitions.
32:57
You're the star in the area. Can you share with
33:01
me what I need to know so that I can learn this
33:03
field? And they would open up to him and help
33:07
him. enormously, way over the whatever amount
33:10
he paid. But it was a very clever way to do networking.
33:15
Money's hard. People don't want to give money
33:18
up. That's always the most difficult thing. I
33:21
know about when I first started speaking, I reached
33:25
out to a very well -known, highly respected speaker
33:30
within the country. Everybody's always trying
33:34
to get him and everything else. I reached out
33:36
to him through LinkedIn, through an email. And
33:39
I just, look, I'm going to give it a shot. If
33:41
he answers me, that's wonderful. If not, I understand.
33:45
And I reached out to him. I asked him two questions.
33:49
And I think within an hour, he responded through
33:53
his cell phone. But he responded. And I was like,
33:57
little old me? He reached out to me? But yeah,
34:02
because every time they're at it. It's not a
34:06
big ask. They're willing to help you and extend
34:10
their, I'll say their greatness, but it's amazing.
34:14
All you have to do is ask. Never be afraid to
34:17
ask. Yeah. Okay. So how do you measure the profitability
34:21
of a connection? What makes a networking relationship
34:25
truly valuable? I'll tell you from my practice,
34:32
and I've been practicing for many decades. I
34:35
learned that when I focus on the money, nothing
34:41
seems to go right. When I focus on the person
34:45
and the problem, the money takes care of itself.
34:50
In fact, it's even better if I do that than if
34:54
I focus on the money. I'll make more money focusing
34:57
on the person and the problem. now i know there's
35:03
a school of thought how much should i earn this
35:05
year set a target and work towards it i don't
35:10
know i'm not saying you shouldn't do that it's
35:13
probably helpful but in my own experience the
35:18
way i got ahead in life and the friendships and
35:22
the colleagues that I made in my life, I made
35:26
most of my advances and what I am thankful for
35:30
because of the focus on the idea, the ideals,
35:35
the person, the connection to the person, and
35:40
like you said earlier, providing value in relationships.
35:44
That's where I found the most reward came from.
35:49
And not every reward is economic. Look, I had
35:53
clients who'd come in and they couldn't afford
35:55
to pay me. They're immigrants. So they'd bring
35:58
me a jar of pickles or a dead chicken for dinner.
36:04
I'd bring it home to my wife. She'd say, what
36:06
are we going to do with this? Eat it. Go get
36:10
it and eat it. There's all kinds of stuff like
36:12
that. But it's memorable. It is. Yeah. I'm known
36:17
in... this area as being a connector. I see two
36:22
people that are in need of each other's services
36:24
and they did not know of one another. I'm going
36:27
to introduce them and then back away. I'm going
36:31
to say, Andy, this is Michael. Michael, this
36:33
is Andy. This is what Michael does. This is what
36:36
Andy does. I think you can use one another. Have
36:39
at it. I step away and I let them. Now, they
36:43
usually include me on their email chains, so
36:45
I know what's going on, but it's not necessary.
36:48
And I try to do that once a week. So I've been
36:52
doing it for two years now. So every week I put
36:56
two people together and whatever comes out of
36:59
it, it comes out. And that way that I feel I've
37:03
done something. Yeah, yeah. Good work. Okay,
37:08
now let's bring this podcast full circle. For
37:11
women and minorities navigating new environments,
37:14
what empowering mindset or habit has helped you
37:19
overcome barriers to build an authentic relationship?
37:24
Okay, I'm going to talk about motivation here.
37:28
And this is a topic dear to me. and it's dear
37:33
to me because i learned about it from one of
37:35
the great speakers in toastmasters many years
37:39
ago when i was in toastmasters i came up with
37:42
an idea i learned that toastmasters each year
37:46
had what they called a golden gavel speaker that
37:49
would come to their convention and give them
37:52
a talk about their life and they would award
37:55
him the gold or her the golden gavel for the
37:58
year So I wrote to Toastmasters magazine and
38:02
I said to them, hey, listen, I'm a Toastmaster.
38:05
I would be interested in hearing these Golden
38:08
Gavel recordings and writing about them for Toastmasters
38:12
magazines. And they sent me a whole bunch, a
38:15
collection of these speeches. And among the speeches,
38:20
there was a guy who won the Golden Gavel way
38:25
back, probably about 40 years ago, maybe 30 years
38:28
ago, whatever. And he talked about motivation.
38:35
And I was really impressed. I really took it
38:39
to heart. And he talked this way. His name was
38:42
Bob Richards, a Golden Gobble winner. And he
38:48
said, in the course of this talk, he said, when
38:51
I was a small kid, I lived in a town and we had
38:55
a baseball team. And the best baseball player
38:58
on the team was a guy named Lou Boudreau. And
39:02
everybody, all the kids like me when I was a
39:05
kid, this is Bill, Bob Richards talking, admired
39:09
Lou Boudreau. The sun set, rose and set on Lou
39:14
Boudreau. And one day, Richards went to the baseball
39:19
field and was in the stadium. in the far end
39:24
of the stadium when Lou Boudreau hit a home run.
39:28
And Richards caught the home run. And he was
39:32
just ecstatic. He ran to the players' change
39:37
area, waiting for the players to come out, so
39:40
he could get the autograph of Lou Boudreau on
39:43
the baseball. And he was standing there. Lou
39:46
Boudreau came out. And he was going down the
39:49
line. And he came to Richards. He says to Richards,
39:52
and what's your name? And Richards said, Bobby.
39:56
Bobby Richards. And Lou says to Bobby, oh, and
40:00
what are you going to be when you grow up? And
40:03
Richards, I think he said, I'm going to be a
40:05
great baseball player. And Boudreau said, oh,
40:09
that's great, Bobby. I can see it. One day you're
40:13
going to be great. really great. And he took
40:16
the ball and he signed Luke Woodrow. And Richards
40:21
in this speech said, you can't imagine how motivating
40:27
it was to hear some encouragement from a person
40:31
like him who was so big in my life, such an idol
40:35
for me in my life. And then he went on to talk
40:39
a little bit more about motivation. And this
40:41
is what he said. Back then, when he was speaking,
40:45
America was in the skids, you know, economically
40:49
in trouble. And a newspaper decided to canvas
40:54
some of the leading economists in America, asking,
40:58
what does America need right at this moment to
41:01
get out of the economic malaise? And three economists
41:06
all answered the same thing. They said, what's
41:09
needed is motivation. And then Richards said,
41:15
this is how I define motivation. He says, motivation
41:21
is painting a picture of the life of the person
41:29
you're dealing with that's bigger than the image
41:34
that he or she has for themselves at that moment.
41:39
And the moment of motivation, is when that person
41:44
clutches onto that bigger image for themselves
41:47
and adopts it in their life. And I thought, wow,
41:53
that to me explains everything. Yes, it does.
42:00
Yes, it does. Andy, I got to tell you, I'm out
42:03
of questions, but I can probably talk to you
42:05
for another two hours. Time is limiting. If anybody
42:11
wanted to get hold of you for a discussion, for
42:14
some consulting, to hire you, whatever the case
42:17
may be, what's the best way for them to get hold
42:19
of you? Okay. I work with a group called Pace
42:23
Law Firm, P -A -C -E Law Firm. And our website
42:27
is pacelawfirm .com. So you can just go to the
42:31
website and you'll find my name and you can get
42:34
all my contact information. anything about my
42:36
books or what I'm doing there. That would be
42:40
the best way. Great. Andy, thank you so much.
42:44
You were so insightful. And with the stories
42:47
and everything else, I can't thank you enough
42:50
for coming on my podcast. I enjoyed it immensely.
42:53
Thank you, Michael. Well. Hold on, folks. Don't
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go anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. David
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44:02
A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such
44:05
incredible insights today. And of course, a big
44:08
shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for
44:11
tuning in and spending your time with us. If
44:14
you're interested in my digital courses, being
44:17
coached, or having me come and talk to your company,
44:20
just go to Michael and fill out the request form.
44:24
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
44:27
It's about being present. So take what you've
44:30
learned today. get out there, and make some meaningful
44:33
connections. If you've enjoyed this episode,
44:36
please don't forget to subscribe, leave us a
44:39
review, and share it with someone who could use
44:42
a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the
44:45
conversation going. You can find me on Apple,
44:48
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44:53
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