How to Become One of Those Highly Involved Professionals
By Jeff Beals
The American philosopher Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “I went to the woods, because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to love deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”
As we do our work, we need to live deliberately and suck out all the marrow of our “career lives.” Being highly engaged with the world that surrounds us puts us in the middle of the action. That’s important, because the vast majority of major clients are acquired only through relationship building and nearly three quarters of all job openings are never advertised.
In order to be successful, you must be involved. As professionals, we have to be active, energetic and engaged in our communities. We have to get out of the cubicle, jump off the couch and embrace the world around us.
Involvement helps you find new clients. It taps you into the job-market grapevine. It allows you to be “top-of-mind” in your profession.
Simply put, involvement helps you reach your goals. As long as you don’t burn the candle and both ends, being involved can actually make you more effective in your work.
But what’s the best way to get involved? There are many options, and what you choose to do is entirely up to you. To make your choice a little easier, here is my list of the Top 10 Ways to Get Involved:
- Professional & Trade Associations – bring people of one profession together for educational and networking purposes. These groups are particularly useful for career advancement assuming you want to stay in your current field.
- Chambers of Commerce – offer an array of programs designed for professionals. Chambers provide an opportunity to learn from and network with professionals from a wide variety of businesses from all parts of your city. They are great for client acquisition, B2B sales, discovering behind-the-scenes information and for bolstering your career opportunities.
- Philanthropy & Non-Profit Boards – allow you to make the world a better place while fostering friendships with fellow board members and philanthropists who can help you reach your business goals.
- Networking Organizations – are carefully chosen groups of professionals who get together on a regular basis to share ideas, give each other referrals and talk about rumors in the marketplace. In order to receive value from these organizations, you must first be willing to give value.
- Service Clubs & Fraternal Organizations – are groups such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus, etc. These organizations can be demanding of your time but allow you to build meaningful relationships with fellow members. People who join these groups tend to be social, caring “go-getters” who have done well in their careers.
- Religion – provides spiritual and emotional benefits while exposing you to people who hold similar beliefs. What’s more, places of worship tend to be among the most active, lively organizations you can find and are especially good at connecting people.
- Politics – include interest groups, political parties and election campaigns. Political involvement is “hands-on” and allows you to grow close with fellow members as you work toward a common cause.
- Youth Organizations – Kid’s activities need parents and grandparents to provide leadership. In so doing, you are connected with other adults. The downtime provides great networking and relationship-building opportunities.
- The Arts – allow you pursue an enjoyable passion while making contacts and establishing name recognition. Most arts organizations are in need of many volunteers and will welcome you with open arms.
- Sports & Recreation – keep you healthy and fit while building friendships. There’s just something about physical activity and team competition that naturally fosters healthy relationships.
Jeff Beals is a professional speaker and award-winning author, who helps professionals enjoy greater success through effective sales, marketing and personal branding techniques. He delivers energetic and humorous keynote speeches and workshops to audiences worldwide. To discuss booking a presentation, go to JeffBeals.com or email at info@jeffbeals.com or call us at (402) 637-9300.
Click here to subscribe to Jeff’s weekly articles!http://bit.ly/1l86RC6
Click here to see sample videos of Jeff speaking to live audiences! http://bit.ly/1gZqcoA
You are welcome to forward this article (with author citation) to anyone else who might benefit from it.
Jeff Beals helps you find better prospects, close more deals and capture greater market share. He is an international award-winning author, sought-after keynote speaker, and accomplished sales consultant. He delivers compelling speeches and sales-training workshops worldwide. He has spoken in 5 countries and 41 states. A frequent media guest, Jeff has been featured in Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, Men’s Health, Chicago Tribune and The New York Times.
To discuss booking a presentation, go to JeffBeals.com or send an email to info@jeffbeals.com.