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

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

0:16
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
0:20
Connections. I'm your host, Michael Foreman,
0:23
and today's conversation goes far beyond business
0:26
cards and job titles. We're talking about how
0:30
relationships shape entire lives, how one conversation
0:34
can lead to a career shift, how the right people
0:38
around you can support longevity, purpose, and
0:42
growth. and how networking shows up not just
0:46
in business, but in writing, spiritually, and
0:50
the way we move through life. Today's guest brings
0:54
a rare blend of insight and experience around
0:57
connection as a force for positive change. If
1:01
you believe, relationships can open doors, steady
1:05
you through transitions, and help you live with
1:09
intention. I'm sorry, help you live with intention,
1:13
this episode is going to resonate deeply. I am
1:17
so glad to have you on my podcast today. My guest
1:21
today is Calvin Schwartz, and he has his background.
1:26
It'll take three people to get his background,
1:28
right? But I want to introduce Calvin Schwartz.
1:31
Calvin, thank you so much for being on my podcast.
1:40
I am such, we talked about it. We've talked about
1:43
it a bunch just before. A week ago, what your
1:47
mission is, it is just so critical and essential
1:51
for modern life going forward. The whole networking
1:56
thing. I'm such a believer in your mission. And
2:01
it's been part of who I am for a long time. And
2:03
it helped me get to where I am with sometimes
2:07
subconsciously not even knowing what I'm doing.
2:10
But some of these things should come natural.
2:12
I grew up in the 60s. Should I just do a little
2:15
background here? Give me a little bit about who
2:18
you are and why you're here today. Oh, okay.
2:22
I'm here today because I am such a believer in
2:26
your mission. I sit with this and I look at it
2:30
a lot since I got it. Your little manual networking
2:35
unleashed. I'm a Rutgers guy. I went to Rutgers.
2:38
Pharmacy school back in the 60s. I became a pharmacist.
2:41
Didn't want to be a pharmacist. That's another
2:44
show. And after 12 years, I quit pharmacy, sat
2:47
home, and drifted into sales. And I wound up
2:51
working in the eyewear business. And I wound
2:54
up working for a company called Exotica Group,
2:56
which was then beginning to grow. And of course,
2:59
it grew now to become a major global corporation
3:03
that's even making sunglasses for Mark Zuckerberg.
3:08
Long story there, too. I spent 25 years there.
3:12
And what I learned, part of the things I learned
3:15
from this man who became the richest Italian
3:17
in the world, part of all of that blended in
3:20
was this thing called networking as an adjunct
3:25
to sales. So I spent 25 wonderful years there.
3:29
And then some spirituality overcame me one day.
3:31
And boom, I watched Casablanca and I wrote a
3:34
novel based on that. Now, 15 years ago at 65,
3:39
I'm telling everybody my age, so be it. I can't
3:43
hide that stuff. 15 years ago that I, quote,
3:45
retired, and now I wrote a novel, I decided to
3:48
become a journalist. And here is networking.
3:52
So I became a journalist and started meeting
3:54
lots and lots of people here in the Jersey Shore.
3:57
And before I know it, I networked my way into
3:59
a place called NJ Discover. And before I knew
4:02
it, I'm doing journalism for them and I have
4:04
a cable TV talk show. I'm producing and co -hosting,
4:07
bringing in Gilbert Gottfried. All these things
4:10
are happening. Why? Because the coals in the
4:14
fireplace is networking. I just made that up.
4:18
I just made that up. So it was all networking.
4:21
So now I'm doing a TV show and then more networking.
4:24
I decided to give back to my alma mater because
4:26
I'm learning things. I'm learning things. In
4:29
the middle of all this, networking. And before
4:31
I know it, I'm mentoring 12 students. And before
4:34
I know it, I was asked to teach. So with no teaching
4:37
experience whatsoever, I'm now, quote, some kind
4:40
of a professor at Rutgers. And more networking.
4:44
More networking. I'm at the Garden State Film
4:47
Festival. Networking, meeting, doing the things,
4:50
smiling, shaking hands. All the things you talk
4:54
about here, I'm doing. because I didn't read
4:59
this then, but some of this becomes natural.
5:01
And boom, I meet Dr. Gloria Bachman. She's the
5:04
director of the Women's Health Institute at Rutgers
5:06
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. And before
5:09
I know it, I'm on the advisory committee of the
5:11
Women's Health Institute, not necessarily knowing
5:14
much about women's health, but there I am. And
5:18
it's all networking. And the last bit of networking,
5:21
which is so astounding, and I'd love to go on
5:24
Jimmy Fallon and talk about you. And the work
5:27
you do is pure networking. That began a year
5:31
ago in December from my LinkedIn. Somebody saw
5:35
that I'm a writer. I had the right kind of information
5:37
up there on LinkedIn. And he suggested I join
5:40
this thing called Bold Authors Network. It's
5:43
a support group for authors. I was an author
5:45
because I wrote this. It got published two years
5:48
ago. There's a tortoise in my hair, Journey of
5:50
Spirit. I've gotten six awards for this. And
5:53
he suggested I join this bold author's network,
5:55
which I did. It's run by Kay Wagner, a brilliant
5:58
bestselling author and marketer. And when all
6:01
the dust settled, she and I collaborated and
6:04
we published this together three weeks ago, 10
6:08
Things I Learned from the Billionaire. And that,
6:11
all of this, long -winded, Michael, is networking.
6:17
Absolutely. Absolutely. And Calvin, that's one
6:20
of the reasons why I'd love to have you on this
6:25
podcast, because you are so passionate about
6:28
it, as I am. I spoke about how one conversation
6:32
can change everything. Looking back, Was there
6:39
a single connection that quietly redirected your
6:43
life or career in a way you didn't expect at
6:46
the time? Yeah, sure. There were conversations
6:50
as I'm in my early time in the eyewear business.
6:55
I'm working for a really small company. I'm out
6:57
here in the world and I'm meeting people. And
7:00
of course, I wanted to move up. the latter. And
7:04
there were some great companies out there. So
7:07
I knew I had to get my message out. I had to
7:10
get who I am out. So you start meeting the right
7:12
kind of people. You're doing networking. You're
7:16
selling yourself. And I did the right kind of
7:18
networking with a couple of people. And that
7:21
networking led to somebody at Luxottica Group,
7:25
this growing, this is the early 80s, finding
7:28
out about me because I networked. And one thing
7:31
led to another and the chain of command and that
7:34
networking led to me getting a chance to talk
7:38
to somebody at Luxottica. And then I get hired.
7:40
And of course, my life changed wonderfully by
7:45
being there. It's pure networking. It's pure
7:48
meeting people and getting your message out there,
7:51
shaking hands, smiling, all that stuff. Well,
7:54
it's not only networking, but the proper way
7:57
to network. Right. So it's not you don't you
8:01
didn't just walk up to them and throw up all
8:03
of your everything that you did. You don't say,
8:06
look, I'm the greatest because I did X, Y, Z.
8:09
And pretty, pretty people would pretty much turn
8:12
you off. But apparently you went up to them.
8:16
You spoke with them. You align with them on a
8:19
certain level. And once you made that connection,
8:23
then you are remembered in such a way that, oh,
8:27
wait a second. Remember Calvin? He was like this.
8:29
You know something? We have a spot for him. And
8:31
it just rolls and rolls and builds itself up.
8:35
Okay, so let's do a little bit of networking
8:37
beyond business. Most people think networking
8:41
is transactional. How has it shown up for you
8:45
as something far more personal and life shaping?
8:50
It's every step of my journey, especially these
8:54
last 15 years, because I've gone. I've made such
8:58
radical changes in a life. 25 years in a selling
9:03
career, in sales, and then the networking and
9:07
the meeting of people and all the changes that
9:10
it facilitated. And thinking back, when I was
9:16
conscious enough, again, without knowing necessarily
9:19
what I'm really doing. But I'm conscious, and
9:22
when I'm meeting people, I'm asking probing questions.
9:26
Do you like the Giants? Do you like the Yankees?
9:28
And so these become things that I file in my
9:31
back pocket. So these are bonding things. You
9:34
want to bond. It's more than networking. It's
9:37
bonding. It's showing you care. And if you ask
9:41
enough questions, you file those up here. And
9:44
then when you're in a situation with them again,
9:46
then you bring up, oh, by the way, you know,
9:48
tell me about your brother -in -law we met. And
9:50
so you're bringing in personalizations that increase
9:54
the bonding. And you write, of course, before
9:58
cell phones and stuff, I had these four by six.
10:02
pieces of paper called index cards. And I was
10:07
really meticulous about that. Michael and I wrote
10:09
everything down. It's a whole, it's a whole,
10:12
it's a whole awareness. Every, everything you
10:17
do, it's not, it's natural, but everything you
10:22
do is for a purpose to just elevate where you
10:26
are and, you know, what you're doing and everything
10:28
I've done these last 15 years. It's thought.
10:32
It's thought. And it's meeting. And it's everything
10:38
I say. It's not that it's false. And I'm not
10:42
being true to myself. As I'm meeting all these
10:45
people in my world, I got really involved in
10:47
music here as a journalist. And I'm meeting,
10:50
I'm hanging out in Asbury Park three, four nights
10:52
a week. It's for a reason. It's networking. You
10:56
practice all this stuff. And I had gone to a
10:59
comedy festival years ago here as a journalist
11:02
and then went to the Wonder Bar afterwards. And
11:06
boom, there was a guy I recognized. He was the
11:09
son of a major, the son of a major, I don't mention
11:12
names, but he was the son of a major rock and
11:15
roller. Went over, we talked, boom, networking,
11:19
business card. Here's my business card, boom,
11:22
a writer. And two weeks later, I get a phone
11:25
call. Hey, do you want to write a book about
11:27
my dad? Why? I had a business card. It's true.
11:33
One thing that I do whenever I have an exchange
11:37
of business cards is on the back of the card,
11:40
I write down the date, the name of the function,
11:43
and something I spoke about. Because that will,
11:48
because in two weeks, I'm going to see the business
11:51
card. I'm going, what did I talk about with him?
11:54
Or when did I talk about it? Or where was I when
11:57
I met? But that will give you all the information.
12:00
So I use something called FORM, family, occupation,
12:07
recreation, and a message. And if I think of
12:11
form, every time I go up and speak with somebody,
12:14
I'll... deal with somebody on a certain level.
12:18
And I'll get to that level a little bit faster
12:20
because I'll see what their interest is. And
12:24
then I work from there. But yeah, that's very
12:26
good. Let's do a little bit about career shifts.
12:30
Career changes often come moments of clarity.
12:34
How did relationships influence the courage it
12:37
took to choose a new path? Listen, relationships
12:41
are everything, and I've known that, and here
12:44
I am. It's so wonderfully entrenched at Exotica
12:48
and loving every second of it. Never in a million
12:52
years dreaming I would ever retire. I became
12:54
a regional manager. It was a perfect thing. Then
12:57
I wrote that book, and suddenly that first novel,
13:01
and suddenly you look in the mirror and say,
13:03
gee, I'm a writer. And then how do I express
13:06
that? And it was difficult. It was difficult,
13:10
but I was also really confident in myself, in
13:12
my ability to meet people and to talk. And that's
13:15
when I decided I'd become a journalist. Who,
13:19
what, where, when, and why? How do I become a
13:21
journalist? So it's relationships and people.
13:24
You start with people and maybe they know somebody.
13:26
I want to become a journalist. You start asking
13:29
probing questions in your world and the people
13:32
whom I knew in the eyewear business because I
13:35
didn't know anybody else. That was my whole world.
13:37
Hey, buddy, I'm looking. I think I want to become
13:40
a journalist. Boom, boom. And you think, and
13:43
you go through. Before the internet, before any
13:48
of this stuff, you start going through some of
13:50
the people who might know somebody. And you know
13:53
what? Somebody knew somebody who had a magazine
13:55
here in central Jersey. It was a Jersey Shore
13:58
magazine. I said, hey, Kevin, why don't you check
14:01
this guy out? Checked him out, and boom. I'm
14:05
now writing for a magazine. And it didn't put
14:09
me into a higher tax bracket, but I'm writing
14:11
for a little magazine. And that became a piece
14:15
of energy for me, a platform for me to find another
14:20
magazine. So I'm writing for two magazines. And
14:22
then because I'm now a writer, you need to put
14:28
yourself out there in writing groups. I joined
14:33
an author's group here in Monmouth County. I
14:35
used to meet at the library. And religiously,
14:38
I went. Why did I go, Michael? Because I know
14:41
I'm going to network, and I'm going to meet.
14:44
I'm going to network, and I'm going to meet.
14:46
And that's writing group. I became friends. Her
14:49
name's Dolores. She's great. We're still friends.
14:52
We just talked the other day. And she said, hey,
14:55
Calvin, I know you're writing for the magazine.
14:57
There's another magazine that's getting a startup.
15:00
You ought to check it out. I just heard about
15:02
this. She networking. Michael, it's networking.
15:06
So because I'm at this writer's group, she said,
15:08
here's the email thing. I saw it the other day.
15:11
I thought of you. Why don't you check it out?
15:14
Checked it out and got a job. That was my third
15:17
writing gig. And that and the woman who hired
15:20
me, we became great friends. And she said, Calvin,
15:23
you're a good writer. I think you ought to check
15:25
out this NJ Discover. It's a production company.
15:30
Here's the guy there. Actually, he's doing some
15:32
filming next week. Why don't you and I go down
15:35
and meet him? And he's a production company.
15:38
Why don't we meet him? And I did. And boom, it
15:41
was one of the great changes in my life because
15:44
now the TV, we eventually produced and co -hosted
15:50
a cable TV talk show, bringing in some national
15:52
guests. I knew nothing about. What is your channel
15:57
about? It's what we're doing now. Bring a guest
16:00
and just talk. It was called NJ Discover Live.
16:04
We just talked. And like I said, we had Gilbert
16:07
Gottfried. We had Frankie Previtt who won an
16:10
Academy Award for Dirty Dancing. We had Tim Wright,
16:13
who's Locker. The New England Patriots was right
16:16
next to, he was right next to, I forgot his name.
16:19
He was a great receiver. Tom Brady was on one
16:22
side. There was another receiver on the other.
16:24
But wow. Talking about New England Patriots.
16:26
And this is all. Mike Marino or one of the funniest
16:30
comedians in the country. All of this stuff is
16:36
networking. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, so
16:40
let's change up a little bit. When you think
16:43
about longevity in a career and in life, what
16:47
role do meaningful relationships play in staying
16:51
relevant, grounded, and fulfilled? Meaningful
16:57
relationships. Everything, you know. And actually,
17:00
I can take that longevity thing in two different
17:03
areas. The whole networking aspect and meeting
17:06
people. And it keeps growing and growing. Like
17:09
the stuff I'm doing now on my channel, it keeps
17:12
growing. And I marvel at that because you have
17:16
something. And if you've done the right kind
17:18
of things and you position yourself at the right
17:20
kind of things. When I started my channel. Who
17:23
am I going to interview? How's this? But because
17:25
people and you've got people that you had relationships
17:29
with, I know somebody you can interview and that
17:31
little tiny little seed, it branches off into
17:35
a million different branches and it's direct
17:38
result of networking. And I also take longevity
17:41
to another perspective. Longevity is also living
17:48
longer. So you can do all these things. And I've
17:51
practiced that kind of stuff since 1969. When
17:56
I studied pharmacology, I said to myself, which
17:59
is a little out of the thing, but not too much
18:02
out. But I said, 1969, see, Calvin, sometimes
18:06
I talk to myself. I say, you know, Calvin, I
18:09
don't think I really want to age traditionally.
18:12
So what can we do not to age traditionally? And
18:15
buried underneath all this is knowing the right
18:17
people, knowing the right... kind of places to
18:20
go to get that right kind of information. That's
18:22
all a byproduct of networking. And so extrapolating
18:26
my pursuit of longevity as I'm now over 80 years
18:31
old, and this thing works better than it ever
18:33
did before, longevity. Longevity now in the things
18:37
that I'm doing, because you make the right kind
18:39
of people, the right kind of connections, it
18:42
just keeps growing. And sometimes you have to
18:45
invoke that old saying be careful what you ask
18:48
for yeah because you might get it that's true
18:52
and you have to be careful with that let's change
18:54
a little bit to spirituality how does spirituality
18:57
influence the way you connect with people especially
19:01
in a professional or creative space do we have
19:07
three hours to do this no we don't i've been
19:11
in i've been gifted with wonderful spirituality
19:16
That's why I wrote this. There's a tortoise in
19:20
my hair. The last part of it is a journey to
19:22
spirit. Spirituality has been such a part of
19:25
my life. It's such a gift. And part of that whole
19:28
umbrella of spirituality is doing some good deeds
19:33
and meeting people and helping. And it governs
19:38
me. And it guides me along. I don't know if I'm
19:41
explaining myself, but spirituality for me is
19:44
everything as I've learned. 15 years ago, all
19:46
this stuff entered me. And there are things,
19:49
a lot of people think the earth is, I'm not getting
19:53
too heavy, but the earth is here, but there's
19:55
just so much more out there to absorb. And I've
20:00
been gifted. Hey, I wrote the Pope three months
20:03
ago, and I'm proud that I did that. I wrote the
20:06
Pope. And by the way, networking. Why some of
20:10
the pieces of energy of writing the Pope, spirituality,
20:12
is I once went to midnight mass my first time
20:16
at St. Leo's in Irvington, New Jersey, and he's
20:19
Pope Leo. Boom. So that's a piece of energy.
20:25
Spirituality, maybe synchronicity. Again, I could
20:29
talk about this, and maybe we shared some of
20:31
this stuff. last week or whatever. But spirituality
20:34
is that there's more to it and there's forces
20:39
and energies that can help you and guide you
20:43
along if you jump on that little beam of light
20:46
that Einstein used to talk about, that beam of
20:49
light. So true. Yep. Yeah. So true. Okay. We'll
20:53
leave that for now. Sure. Listening is a very
20:57
important part of networking. I call it active
21:02
listening. But let's say strong connections often
21:06
come from listening, not talking. How has deep
21:10
listening changed your relationships over time?
21:14
Deep listening is everything. It's subliminal.
21:21
You listen and you absorb and you take and you
21:25
learn about. that person so that when you're
21:28
with that person again and you feedback some
21:32
of the things that when you listened and you
21:35
learned about that person and you're in another
21:38
situation and you whip out some of those wonderful
21:41
things that person shared with you it it shows
21:44
that person you care you're interested and that
21:49
in in my opinion is such a bonding because we
21:54
live in such a crazy plastic world, and we're
21:58
all thinking, oh, nobody really cares, and everybody's
22:00
interested in themselves. So when you can whip
22:03
out stuff you learned about that person. By the
22:06
way, how's your brother -in -law doing? I know
22:08
he started a graphics business. How's that going?
22:11
Wow. And it's subliminal and also liminal, the
22:17
bonding that when you listen and you learn and
22:21
you file it here, or you write it down somewhere
22:23
about this person, The effect that has in furthering
22:29
a relationship and making that person on your
22:32
team, that person wants to bend over backwards
22:34
to help you because you care. And that's so rare.
22:39
It is rare. And there's a mantra in networking,
22:44
right? If they know you, if they like you, if
22:46
they trust you, then they'll do business with
22:49
you. If they know you, look, everybody knows
22:53
you. You're on LinkedIn. You have 15 ,000 followers
22:56
and all this, right? But like you, now that narrows
23:00
the scope just a little bit because everybody
23:03
isn't going to like you. But trust, you have
23:07
that trust. When you're speaking with somebody,
23:09
everybody has a wall up in front of them. And
23:13
the more that they trust you, the lower that
23:16
wall becomes. And then the higher the trust value
23:19
comes. So, once you get to there, once you get
23:24
to that wall being down below, and that trust
23:27
is up here, then all of a sudden, your conversations,
23:30
A, will be memorable, but there'll be a whole
23:33
lot more meaning to it. I find that when you
23:38
build that trust, Michael, that people want to
23:41
bend over backwards to do things for you. Yes.
23:45
People are instinctually good. Right. All this
23:50
stuff on social media and everything, all about
23:52
everything is bad and the world's blowing up.
23:54
It's not true. Right. The majority of the people
23:57
that you run into, they're good people. And if
24:01
you do, when you go to a networking event, you
24:04
go in with what's called a servant's heart. You
24:07
look to help anybody and everybody that you can.
24:11
Don't look for anything in return. Right. You're
24:13
going there and you say, look, after you speak
24:16
with them and you have a conversation, you say,
24:19
you know something, Calvin, I like you. I like
24:23
the way you do business and how you do it. How
24:26
can I make you more successful? How can I be
24:31
a good referral source for you? And by you doing
24:36
that, it takes all the pressure off your shoulders
24:38
because you don't have to perform. You don't
24:41
have to say, oh, my God, this has to be super
24:43
intelligent. Otherwise, I'll never listen to
24:45
me. You're just there trying to help everybody
24:48
else. And if you do that, you'll go so much further.
24:52
And it works. It does. Works. Again, sometimes
24:56
I don't know what the hell I'm doing because
24:59
I also think. My generation is a little bit different.
25:04
We just had to scurry around and make things
25:09
work. I just said the other day, my gateway to
25:14
the world when I grew up, it's almost like a
25:18
movie, a Christmas story, which is just priceless.
25:22
One channel airs it 24 hours in a row. But that's
25:27
the 50s, and it depicts the 50s in Indiana. And
25:30
in my world, you had to really rely. You had
25:34
to rely on yourself and things, because my gateway
25:39
to the world was something called the World Book
25:42
Encyclopedia, 15 books. Are you kidding me? 15
25:46
books. That was my gateway to the world. So you
25:49
really have to rely more on yourself and self
25:53
-taught and stuff. And of course, you now, you
25:56
take all of that and you mix it in. It's like
25:59
a stew. You mix it in with everything going on
26:01
now and you have all these different ingredients
26:03
that really help you. So I think I've got a couple
26:07
of steps up on the kids today. You've been doing
26:11
it your whole life. Yes. You've been practicing
26:14
this without even knowing you were practicing
26:16
it. Correct. But everything is just that basic.
26:20
Just give the other person the time. Listen to
26:23
them. Actually, don't just come up with the next
26:26
thing that you want to say. Listen to what they
26:29
are saying and respond to it. It goes so much
26:33
further. All right, let me go on. Let's go back
26:35
to writing. Writing can be a bridge between people
26:39
who have never met. How has your writing created
26:43
connections that surprised you? Yeah, that's
26:47
a great question. My first novel. That was just
26:52
a perfunctory thing. But this, this has opened
26:55
up doors. The message here, people have reviewed
26:59
it and read it. It's also rekindled some older
27:02
relationships. And the message is here as people
27:05
get back to me. They enjoyed it. And some of
27:08
the reviews I've gotten. The writing, for me,
27:11
it's a way to say the things that have been inside
27:14
that you want to say and you never had the opportunity
27:18
to say. It's been a gateway to a whole new world
27:22
of people. And of course, this has opened up
27:26
so many different doors for me. I don't necessarily,
27:30
it's funny, I just sent him, before we came on,
27:32
I just sent a note to a woman who's in this bold
27:35
authors network with me. What you begin to realize
27:39
when you become an author, it's a rough road.
27:43
It's a really rough road. And it really depends
27:48
on what you write about. But it's, I can't agree
27:53
with, I can't agree with you more. I'm about
27:55
to finish my second book. And it's just after,
28:00
I mean, my first book, I can probably fill another
28:04
45 pages of all the things that I learned since
28:07
I finished that book. That's what's making the
28:10
second one come out a little bit longer. Okay.
28:14
The quality of your circles. As life evolves,
28:18
so do our circles. How do you decide which relationships
28:23
to nurture as you grow into new seasons? Difficult.
28:29
That's really difficult because you get older
28:34
and you value relationships. You put relationships
28:39
up high, but where and how, that's really hard.
28:43
And it's just a natural attraction. where you
28:47
feel, as an author, I try to throw myself, listen,
28:51
because I'm a little OCD, I've joined, I'm embarrassed
28:54
to say this on air, but what the hell, I'm in
28:57
800 Facebook groups. And I don't know if anybody
29:01
in America is in 800 Facebook groups. It's all
29:04
about writing and authors. The algorithm sees
29:07
I'm joining groups and it keeps feeding me. But
29:10
I can't find a particular group that I'm comfortable
29:13
in yet. And I don't think I'll ever be able to.
29:17
And when you get older, the relationships become
29:21
even more meaningful and your time is spread
29:24
out. So you really have to think and really ponder
29:29
about a relationship, a person, or a group where,
29:34
I don't want to sound mercenary, where you get
29:37
your best ROI. You have to because when you're
29:41
doing it for business, when you're doing it for
29:44
personal, that's different. But doing it for
29:46
business, you have to see where your connections
29:49
lead you. The connections that don't really lead
29:53
you anywhere, yes, keep them because you never
29:56
know. But you have to take the ones that will
29:59
take you somewhere because that does increase
30:02
your ROI. And that's what you're looking for.
30:05
Listen, when you're a multi -billionaire, you
30:08
can turn around and say, oh, no, okay, I'll go
30:10
with this person. Although by that time, you
30:12
won't have to, but that's beside the point. Okay,
30:15
so let me say, many people chase success early
30:19
and meaning later. What did networking teach
30:23
you about slowing down and choosing relationships
30:27
that actually matter? That's key. Key. You look
30:34
in the mirror and you start to assess. And again,
30:38
it's not mercenary, but you want, listen, a lot
30:42
of time is limited. I got to go to football games,
30:44
basketball games. I got to infiltrate that into
30:47
my routine. So where I'm setting up shop. and
30:51
it is mercenary but then again it's practical
30:54
if somebody's receptive to me and i'm receptive
30:57
to them and there's you concentrate on that and
31:00
you spend what limited time you have developing
31:03
and nurturing that most of the time that'll work
31:06
out but i think it's a i think it's an art form
31:11
Knowing who, what, where, when is this going
31:14
to pan out? And it's tremendous nurturing. You
31:18
meet somebody and you're beginning a relationship
31:21
and it's a tremendous amount of energy and time
31:23
that you're putting in and hopefully you get
31:27
something out of it. But it's an art form. Where
31:29
do you set up shop? And it's also a talent, right?
31:34
A talent where you... Once you practice it, because
31:37
all of this can get, it's a skill, it's a talent,
31:41
and as well as I do, any skill or talent, you
31:44
just, you can be born with it, but you have to
31:47
practice it. You have to go out and practice
31:50
it. And I tell everybody, all of my clients,
31:54
and every time I do a workshop or a keynote or
31:56
something else, listen, you're not going to know
31:59
unless you go out there and try, right? You go
32:02
out there and go to a networking meeting per
32:05
week. or a networking event a week. And the first
32:08
time, the second time, you're going to suck.
32:11
It's horrible. But you'll learn from it. The
32:14
fourth time, the fifth time, then all of a sudden,
32:16
you'll be good, and you begin to enjoy it. Okay,
32:20
let's bring this podcast full circle. If someone
32:24
listening feels stuck or unseen right now, what
32:29
kind of connection should they be seeking first,
32:31
and why? They have to look at their inner self,
32:36
the things that mean things to them. And as I
32:38
fall back on LinkedIn, LinkedIn gives you an
32:41
opportunity to pick and choose. And I use LinkedIn
32:45
to help grow myself. And so I'm looking, I hope
32:49
I'm answering the question, but I'm looking for
32:51
people who maybe were pharmacists. I was a pharmacist
32:54
and I'm also looking for students who are studying
32:56
pharmacy because I think I have things I can
33:00
help them with. And so that's how I would. proceed
33:03
to look in one particular case on LinkedIn. I'm
33:06
looking for people who have been pharmacists,
33:08
who were pharmacists, who are going to school
33:10
to study that. And I'm reaching out and saying,
33:12
hey, I studied pharmacy and you're studying and
33:15
if I can help you. Why? Because I'm such a great
33:19
believer in the power of networking. So I'm using
33:22
my pharmacy background. I'm using the fact that
33:24
I'm on the Women's Health Institute. So if I'm
33:27
floating around LinkedIn and I see some people
33:30
who are women's advocates. I say, hey, I'm on
33:33
the advisory committee of the Women's Health
33:35
Institute. So I use that as a piece of energy
33:38
to reach out and see. I'm such a great believer
33:42
in throwing things on a wall, old -fashioned
33:44
stuff. Just throw it on a wall. And that's how
33:47
I proceed these days. So I'm looking for women's
33:50
advocates, and I've done so much advocacy for
33:53
five years with the women's health. So I look
33:55
at that. I'm an athletic guy, and I got a basketball,
33:58
and I'm a booster. So I reach out to Rutgers
34:01
boosters and talk about Rutgers. And one thing,
34:04
and by the way, part of networking, I put this
34:07
hat on 15 years ago. It was an easy, identifiable
34:12
thing to tell people. It's like a lighthouse.
34:15
hey, I'm a Rutgers guy, and we got 450 ,000 living
34:20
alumni. And this is a form of networking. And
34:24
it's conscious. So wherever I am, and somebody
34:27
sees it, and boom, we start talking. And you
34:29
know what, I built relationships from, hey, you're
34:33
Rutgers, boom, let's talk, here's my card, call
34:36
me. And I've always been conscious, always been
34:39
conscious of that. So I want to spend time developing,
34:44
throwing things on the wall, and seeing if things
34:47
pan out. And again, I've built relationships
34:50
from this hat, enduring relationships, including
34:54
Dr. Gloria Bachman, who saw my hat and asked
34:58
me if I was a Rutgers professor. At the time,
35:00
I wasn't. And it's because of this piece of energy
35:04
changed my whole life. And now we have this great
35:08
friendship. We meet once a month for dinner.
35:12
Absolutely. Absolutely. That conversation is
35:16
a reminder that networking isn't only about getting
35:19
ahead. It's about becoming more grounded, more
35:23
aware, and more connected to who you are and
35:27
where you're headed. If this episode stirred
35:29
something in you, new idea, a fresh perspective,
35:33
or a sense of direction, share it with someone
35:36
who's navigating change or searching for meaning
35:39
in their next chapter. Thanks for listening to
35:42
Network Unleashed, Building Profitable Connections.
35:45
Michael Foreman, keeping building relationships
35:48
that support your work, your life, and the person
35:52
you're becoming. If this episode helped you,
35:54
think of that one person who needs it, sent it,
35:57
sent it to them today, and just that's it. If
36:00
you like it, please subscribe to my channels
36:03
and you'll get much better for it. But before
36:06
we go, Calvin, if somebody wanted to get hold
36:10
of you, What's the best way they can get hold
36:13
of you? They get me at calvinschwartz .com, my
36:17
website for my books. They can find me on Facebook.
36:21
I'm Cal Schwartz. I'm all over Facebook. And
36:24
they can find me on LinkedIn. I'm Calvin Schwartz.
36:26
And the nice thing about it, as best I can tell,
36:29
watch this. As best I can tell, and I do my research,
36:33
there are only five Calvin Schwartzes in America.
36:37
So don't tell me you can't find me. I looked
36:40
to see how many Michael Formans. When I was living
36:43
in New York, I was going to try to take a website
36:46
and this and that. There were 50 Michael Formans
36:50
in New York alone. So I said, all right, that's
36:54
why I did MichaelAForman .com. Wow. Yep, absolutely.
36:59
It's really strange. Okay, Calvin, thank you
37:01
so much for coming on my podcast. This was a
37:04
great, I think we could have talked for another
37:06
hour. Oh, for sure. but we had to limit this,
37:09
right? So thanks for coming on. Thank you, Michael.
37:12
Thank you. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere.
37:19
Let's hear from our sponsors. David Neal, co
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for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888.
38:10
A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such
38:13
insights today. And of course, a big shout out
38:16
to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in
38:20
and spending your time with us. If you're interested
38:23
in my digital courses, being coached or having
38:26
me come and talk to your company, just go to
38:29
Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,
38:33
networking isn't about being perfect. It's about
38:36
being present. So take what you've learned today,
38:39
get out there and make some meaningful connections.
38:42
If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't
38:45
forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share
38:49
it with someone who could use a little networking
38:51
inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going.
38:54
You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube,
38:59
or my website, foreman .com slash podcasts.