For the last few months, I’ve been working with Adam Carroll to help rebuild his company, NFE Seminars.  He gives presentations to students about various topics:  Winning the Money Game, Networking POWER, Time Management, and about 3 others. All the programs are phenomenal… but I love Networking POWER because we never know what will happen [...]

Last night we had an etiquette dinner for the graduating seniors at Drake.  Jodie Vesey was the speaker.  When I think dinner etiquette, I get a mental image of an old British movie.  There’s a room full of snotty dignitaries and you become an outcast if don’t cut your meat properly.  But that wasn’t Jodie’s [...]

Building a strong network takes time and energy.  For it to continually expand, you have to be proactive…  Ask for a coffee date.  Attend community events.  Chat with the guy standing in line with you.  Because nobody ever accomplished anything meaningful by being reactive. So set a goal.  Meet one new person per week.  If [...]

If you want get on the fast track to building your personal brand, you need to talk with Dan Schawbel.  Dan is a personal branding expert and will be releasing the second issue of Personal Branding Magazine tomorrow.  I was fortunate enough to get a copy of it tonight, and it is a must read [...]

Being from Des Moines, if I want to fly anywhere, I normally have a layover at a bigger airport.  Chicago.  Atlanta.  Detroit.  There is a simple reason for this:  people.  Des Moines has less people so we’re connected to less cities. This principle holds true in society.  Some people are social hubs.  They are so [...]

Social capital is powerful.  When you build relationships with people, you can begin to exploit those relationships.  (Hopefully for a good cause.)  Because exploiting something isn’t always a bad thing… The word "Exploit" actually began in 1393 with a positive meaning.  It originated from the Old French word esploit, which was a commonly used verb [...]

A simple fact about networking:  You only build relationships with people who you think you will benefit from knowing. Call me a cynic, but it’s true.  To build a relationship, there must be a benefit.  That benefit doesn’t have to be something HUGE.  It can be something simple.  Think of your close friends – you [...]

College has been good to me.  I’ve learned more than I would have imagined, built amazing relationships that will last a lifetime, and, surprisingly, have grown up… a lot.  I’ll only regret the things that I didn’t do, and, with hindsight being 20/20, I can now name a few of those.  So if you’re a [...]

In August, Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Melon University, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was told he had three to six months left of good health.    On September 18th he gave his last public lecture on "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams."  This video is PHENOMENAL.  It’s powerful, humorous, moving, emotional, and tragic, [...]

Social networks are starting to pop up all over.  But few are becoming as mainstream as Myspace, Facebook, or LinkedIn.  Even Facebook is beginning to blur the line between itself and LinkedIn.  If Facebook is so popular, how do new sites continue to pop up?  Why would anyone invest money in them? It’s simple.  Because [...]