Brian Tracy says that knowing the right people and being known by them, can open doors for you that you would hardly believe. The quality and quantity of your contacts and your relationships will have more to do with your success than any other factor.     Here are three things Brian Tracy says you can do to expand your list of contacts. Make a list of the 25 people you feel would be most useful for you to know. Develop a strategy to meet each one of them over the next 12 months. That's one every two weeks.     List the people in charge of the major corporations that would be useful for you to know. List your mayor, list your congressmen, list your senator. List all the important people that could be helpful to you. Then make a plan to meet them.

Network at Every Opportunity

    Next is for you to network at every opportunity. Join business and trade associations, Chambers of Commerce. Attend meetings. Get involved. Volunteer to serve on a key committee. This action alone can put your career years ahead.     Tracy tells of when he was working with his local Chamber of Commerce, he came to the attention of a senior executive who hired him away from his current employer for triple the salary. Meeting people is very important. Network at every opportunity.

Get Involved in Your Community

    Get involved in community service organizations. The best people in every community, the people you should know and who should know you, are usually involved in public service in some way. Start with the United Way in your own city, or get involved in any charity that you care about or that you're interested in. You'll be amazed at the quality of people you will meet doing voluntary service.     Will you do this?       (Yes, Frederick! And I want you to mentor me, too!)

Create Good Work Habits

    A powerful form of leverage that can help you is good work habits. Good work habits make an extraordinary difference. Brian Tracy recently conducted a study of 104 chief executive officers. They all agreed that the ability to set priorities, and then to get the job done fast, were the two qualities that most often led to promotion and increases in pay. Good work habits will bring you to the attention of the important people in your life as fast or faster than anything else you can do. In the final analysis, you always get paid for your results, whether you are an employee or own your own business. If you develop a reputation for being the person who gets the job done quickly, this can easily put you on the fast track in your career and your business.

Your Action Assignment

    Here are two things you can do right now to leverage your financial potential —
– First, get involved in the business, trade, civic and social organizations in your community. Once you become a member, offer to help and serve on committees. This will bring you to the attention of people who can help you faster than any other way.
– Second, develop excellent work habits. Be punctual. Plan your work and work your plan. Always concentrate your conscious energies on high priority tasks and make sure that you are doing things that are important.

  Are you ready to begin? I am.

          (Yes, Frederick! I am. Let's do it!)

  Not ready yet? — Read on >> Personal Development >>