Do you have the perfect idea, an opportunity of a lifetime, or something you are extremely passionate about but feel like you don’t have the resources to make it happen? There are several free resources that you aren’t using that can help you make your goals a reality today. I am going to give you a few along with some action steps to get you closer to making your dreams come true.
1) Your Phone Contacts
When is the last time you went through your phone contacts? Not just the last time you skimmed through your contacts, but legitimately sat down and went through every single contact in your phone? I promise when you do this, a couple of things will happen: 1) You will go down memory lane with some of the names 2) You will remember a conversation with someone where you both said you should keep in touch, but neither of you actually did 3) You will realize how many amazing people you have met in your life. Let this moment be a reminder that it is important to reach out to others, because if you rely on them to do it, it may never happen.
Action Steps
- Pick a day this week and set aside 30 minutes to an hour to go through every contact in your phone.
- Make a list with three columns:
- People that can help you today – These are people that you know can directly help or refer you to someone that can help you.
- People you need to follow up with – These are people that you have communicated with fairly recently, but forgot to make an official date to get coffee, lunch, drinks, etc.
- People you lost touch with, but who you want to know that you’re thinking of them – These are old acquaintances, friends, or family that have completely fallen off the map. This is a chance for you to get this relationship back on solid ground and to a new level of consistent communication.
- Pick one person from this list and contact them immediately.
- Make a game plan to contact all of these people within the next month.
2) Your Social Network
Social media is an really powerful tool if used correctly. Yes, it can be a great way of seeing what is happening in the lives of friends and family, but it can also be a great free resource to expand your network. You likely have hundreds or thousands of friends online, surely one of them can help you today!
Action Steps
- Go to your LinkedIn
- Go through all of your friends and make a list of people who you know that can immediately help you or can point you in the right direction.
- Look at the descriptions of your friends and if any of them meet the niche set of skills you are looking for help in, send them an authentic message asking for their assistance.
- Go to your Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Etc.
- Go through your messages first and make a list of people you know that can immediately help you or can point you in the right direction.
- Go through your list of connections and do the same.
3) Local Meetings
Being in proximity to people who are making moves in the same industry as you is an absolute game-changer. If there is someone or multiple people you want to meet, I guarantee if you do enough research you can find an event that they are going to be at. Even if they do not attend that event, you will most likely find someone who does know them and can help you get a meeting with them.
Action Steps
- Find an event
- Go to MeetUp and search keyword topics of things that interest you. From there you will see various groups that meet regularly to discuss that topic.
- Go to Eventbrite or FollowMyCal and search for events near you. You are highly likely to find something that sparks your interests!
- Attend the event
- It is one thing to find an event and mark it on your calendar; showing up for it is another thing. Yes, sometimes life gets in the way and prevents you from attending things. However, make the commitment to yourself to show up.
- Meet at least 1 new person and have a genuine conversation with them
- Now you are at the event and your nerves start to get the best of you. You feel nervous, uncomfortable, even awkward and do not want to start a conversation with one of these strangers. Take a deep breath, walk up to someone, shake their hand and tell them your name. They will take it from there.
- It is amazing how often this first conversation has a compound effect. That person then helps introduce you to another person. Then that person introduces you to another and so forth. One new connection turns into three and now you are on your way to expanding your network and finding someone who can bring you closer to reaching your goal!
Start Using Your Free Resources Today!
Do you need help with the initial steps to tapping into your resources? I can help! Contact me so that we can get started on using your free resources today.