ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY
Circle of Friends
by Michael McCleary

I'm happy to share with you a follow up to some of the ideas presented in my last column. In that column you may remember that I talked about the power of mentors and coaches to inspire us and to keep us on track. Through the power of example we can be inspired, and inspire others, through our actions and deeds. The power of our relationships is often greater than we can imagine and brings with it the ability to create wonderful opportunities if we are judicious enough to develop our relationships wisely.

It is the power of our relationships that is the real engine towards bringing our dreams and goals to reality. Only through strong, positive friends and associates can we bring to fruition any of the ideas and plans that we have. Think about it; in virtually any situation, if you do not have agreement or "buy-in" from colleagues, associates or other individuals it is virtually impossible to put in place the goals and actions that are necessary for carrying out our ideas and plans. As Ecademy Founder Thomas Power says so eloquently, "The winner of the game is the one with all the names".

As my friend, success coach Krissy Jackson stated in a recent e-newsletter, "Let's face it... for all the advances in technology, communications and the explosion in online businesses and internet marketing... referrals from happy customers and centres [sic] of influence in your personal network are still your greatest source of new leads and potential customers." So what does that mean for all of us? It means, continue to develop your network of friends and contacts, because our relationships are the number one reason we do, or don't, get ahead in life.

Now please, don't take this to think that you need to use your friends and associates simply to reach your aims. I'm not saying that at all. In fact these relationships are a two way street, we need to help others just as we would like to be helped as well. Krissy noted this fact in her newsletter when sharing some thoughts from a colleague, "Scott Stratten from Unmarketing.com suggests if someone interests you, look at their Haves and Wants and see if there is something you can do to help them. He notes that 'this reinforces the importance of the give first philosophy. Results are often not immediate, but they do come, usually in a big way if you are sincere and create real value for the people around you.'"

I have found these strategies to be particularly helpful in my own business and life. My personal network has found me far more jobs and resources than any marketing plan I could ever personally put together. Why do you think sales people call or visit you personally? They are looking to develop that personal relationship which is far more powerful than any other form of marketing you could imagine. Recently, a salesperson reinforced that point to me with his own actions.

Just this past month I was asked to speak on a teleclass for my friend Kevin Bracy. I quickly sent out an email to my mail list announcing the appearance and quickly received a response from an associate of mine who is in fact in sales. I gave him a call and we talked a bit about what I was doing and how I knew Kevin. Then knowing my "wants" he asked me if I wanted to interview a particularly famous speaker that I had been trying to convince to do an interview for Anything But Ordinary for quite a while. He quickly patched me through to a three-way conference call with this individual. While I didn't get a chance to talk with the person I wanted (we got his voicemail), what was developed from that personal attention was an even greater connection with this associate (and developing friend). Just last week I encouraged another friend of mine to look into his company's services and they have developed a relationship as well, all because he took the time to try and meet my needs and wants.

The power of reciprocity and networking is very strong indeed. In a March 13th, 2006, book review It Is Who You Know in BusinessWeek; author Hardy Green reviews the book Pull: Networking and Success since Benjamin Franklin by Pamela Laird. The book demonstrates how many achievers have come to know success and why others have failed. As you may have surmised from the premise of this column, the successful achievers didn't make it on talent alone, but due in part to the strength of their personal network. With the talk of glass ceilings and affirmative action in the 60s and 70s the thought of the personal network as an asset was largely thought of as antiquated, however, it is the push of minorities and women into the workplace that shows even more strongly what the power of a strong personal network can do.

As Hardy writes, "Laird tracks the emergence of such concepts as the glass ceiling, mentoring and networking to the efforts of women, beginning in the 1970s, to penetrate barriers. By the end of the 20th century such mechanisms were widely appreciated. Even as the activism that inspired them began to fade from memory, the words became commonplace. "Mentors, networks and role models now populate the index of every management book and every how-to-succeed treatise," notes Laird. In today's version of Horatio Alger literature, even self-made men have mentors."

From my journey creating my company and TV series, I have learned that the above words are incredibly true. While our talents help us create ideas and bring them to market, it is our network that facilitates making our dreams a reality. With this in mind, have you been talking with your friends lately?

Michael McCleary is the co-founder and CEO of Beacon Media, LLC, a video production, web design and new media company located in Bay Port, Michigan. He is also the creator, host and executive producer of the new TV series, Anything But Ordinary, coming to PBS and online in the summer of 2006. To find out more about Michael and his projects you can visit his website at www.beaconmediaonline.com, his TV series at www.anythingbutordinary.net, by stopping by his biweekly Vision teleclass at www.beaconmediaonline.com/teleclass.htm, or look for his audio podcast on iTunes (www.itunes.com) by searching under the title "Anything But Ordinary". You can also contact him directly by sending an email to: column@beaconmediaonline.com.