The 6 Most Powerful Words In Networking

Hey, did you hear Mark Zuckerberg announced an update to Facebook's privacy settings?

"When?"

In May.

"Why?"

Because people have complained for a long time the settings are too confusing. So the company made a change.

"How?"

Now, new users of the site will have privacy settings default to "Friends," instead of "Public," which had been the case for many years.

"Why?"

You ask a lot of questions, don't you?

"Ha, yeah. I guess I do."

—

Want to be a great networker? Learn to love WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW.

The six words demonstrate maturity, selflessness, and a natural curiosity. They prove you can set yourself aside and be genuinely interested in another person's life. You know, authenticity. And perhaps through all your questions, you'll find new ways to connect or advance your career.

"Curiosity is more important than knowledge." ― Albert Einstein

WHO should I talk to like this?

Anyone. A stranger at happy hour, someone you ask to meet for coffee, or a person you sit next to on a plane. Everyone else knows something you don't. Why spend the entire time talking? What will you learn? 

Sample question: Who are some of your clients?

WHAT do I talk about?

You talk about what the other person wants to talk about. Let that person guide the conversation. If that person says, "I like my job, but it can be tough at times," then you come right back with, "What makes it tough?"

Sample question: What kind of projects are you working on?

WHEN is the most appropriate time?

Anytime. People love to talk about themselves. In fact, they'll probably give you as much info as you can handle. They think: "You're curious about what I do for a living? Of course I'll blab about it!"

Sample question: When did you decide to focus on that aspect of your career?

WHERE are the best places?

Anywhere, but specifically situations where you could aid your career. Networking events, work conferences, and job interviews are great places to give these words a whirl.

Sample question: Where do you go most often for work? Do you travel?

WHY is it such an effective strategy?

With each question, you take the conversation deeper and build trust. Plus, if you two find a way to network further, the person is more likely to help because that person likes you — and all you did was let that person ramble on about themselves!

Sample question: Why did you decide to pursue a master's degree?

HOW do I keep up all the questions?

You listen intently. You stay in the moment, absorb what the person has to say, and come back with a thoughtful response.

Sample question: How did you start your own business? What was the process?

—

In conversation, our instinct is to dive right in and say, "Well, I ... "

But you … you're smarter than that. You understand the power of WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW.

Those six words allow you to forge relationships, broaden your knowledge, and create new career opportunities.

"Why?"

When you focus on others, the world starts to shift in your favor.

via businessinsider 

10 Ways Rich People Think Differently

Microsoft cofounder and chairman Bill Gates, who is consistently ranked as one of the richest people in the world, speaks at the 2013 Microsoft shareholders meeting.

If you ask Thomas Corley, being rich has very little to do with luck and everything to do with habits.

Corley, who spent five years monitoring and analyzing the daily activities and habits of people both wealthy and living in poverty (233 wealthy and 128 poor, specifically), isolated what he calls "rich habits" — and many of them are simply patterns of thought.

"I found in my research that wealthy people are by and large optimists," he says. "They practice gratitude and look at happiness like a habit."

Corley, who presents and explains many of his findings in his book "Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits Of Wealthy Individuals" and on his website, defines "rich people" as those with an annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million or more, and "poor people" as those with an annual income or $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less.

Here are 10 ways Corley found that rich people think differently, based on statements with which they identify.

1. Rich people believe their habits have a major impact on their lives.

"Daily habits are critical to financial success in life."
Rich people who agree: 52%
Poor people who agree: 3%

Wealthy people think that bad habits create detrimental luck and that good habits create "opportunity luck," meaning they create the opportunities for people to make their own luck. "When I looked at luck," Corley remembers, "a lot of rich people said they were lucky and a lot of poor people said they were unlucky."

2. Rich people believe in the American dream.

"The American dream is no longer possible."
Rich people who agree: 2%
Poor people who agree: 87%

"The American Dream is the idea of unlimited potential, that you can make it on your own," says Corley. In his study, the vast majority of rich people believed that wealth is a big part of the American dream (94%), and that the dream is still possible.

3. Rich people value relationships for professional and personal growth.

"Relationships are critical to financial success."
Rich people who agree: 88%
Poor people who agree: 17%

Not only do rich people feel that their relationships are critical to their success, but they put a lot of effort into maintaining them, making a habit of calling up contacts to congratulate them on life events, wish them a happy birthday, or reaching out just to say hello. "When I applied the hello calls and the life event calls to my own life," recalls Corley, "I ended up making another $60,000 as a result."

4. Rich people love meeting new people.

"I love meeting new people."
Rich people who agree: 68%
Poor people who agree: 11%

Hand in hand with valuing relationships comes making new ones. Rich people both love meeting new people and believe that being liked is important to financial success (in fact, it's a whopping 95% that believe in the power of likability, compared to 9% of poor people).

5. Rich people think that saving is hugely important.

"Saving money is critical to financial success."
Rich people who agree: 88%
Poor people who agree: 52%

"Being wealthy is not just making a lot of money," explains Corley. "It's saving a lot, and accumulating wealth. Many of the people I studied aren't wealthy because they made a lot, but because they saved a lot." He's trying to instill what he calls the 80/20 rule in his own children: Save 20% of your income while living on 80%.

6. Rich people feel that they determine their path in life.

"I believe in fate."
Rich people who agree: 10%
Poor people who agree: 90%

Poor people are significantly more likely to believe that genetics are important to becoming wealthy, and significantly less likely to believe that they're the cause of their own financial status in life. "Most of the wealthy people I talked to were businesspeople who weren't always wealthy," Corley explains, "but they had this attitude that they could do anything."

7. Rich people value creativity over intelligence.

"Creativity is critical to financial success."
Rich people who agree: 75%
Poor people who agree: 11%

While rich people are more likely to believe that creativity influences success, poor people are more likely to think that being "intellectually gifted" is critical. They're also more likely to believe that wealth is usually accidental. "If you look at my stats, you'll find that a lot of wealthy people were C students," says Corley. "There's more to wealth than just being smart."

8. Rich people enjoy their jobs.

"I like (or liked) what I do for a living."
Rich people who agree: 85%
Poor people who agree: 2%

"Many of the wealthy in my study loved their job — it's not an accident," says Corley. In fact, 86% of the wealthy worked an average of 50 hours or more per week (compared to 43% of the poor), and 81% say they do more than their job requires (versus 17%). Corley says it's related to the idea of creativity being important to financial success: "These people found a creative pursuit that could turn into monetary value. When you engage in a creative pursuit that can make money, the rewards are often obscene."

9. Rich people believe that their health influences their success.

"Good health is critical to financial success."
Rich people who agree: 85%
Poor people who agree: 13%

"One of the individuals in my study told me 'I can't make money in a hospital bed,'" Corley remembers. "Wealthy people think that being healthy means fewer sick days, which translates into more productivity and more money."

10. Rich people are willing to take risks.

"I've taken a risk in search of wealth."
Rich people who agree: 63%
Poor people who agree: 6%

"A lot of the wealthy people in the study were business owners who started their own businesses," Corley explains. "They became successes because they were master self-educators who learned from the school of hard knocks." In fact, 27% of the wealthy people in Corley's study admit they've failed at least once in life or in business, compared with 2% of the poor. "Failure is like scar tissue on the brain," Corley says. "The lessons last forever."

via businessinsider