When you think about developing your networking prowess, don’t forget the embedded relationship base that, like it or not, we all have… our families! Interacting with kin can be equally – and sometimes even more – meaningful than connecting with those to whom we are not related.
Consider your own family tree… is there someone who has had a great business success? How about someone who enjoys some degree of celebrity or popularity in social circles? Is there a long-lost cousin with whom you share several common interests? Maybe someone who just think is really cool? Seek them out.
At the very least, identify the family historian. Learn about your own background. Is it you? Are you the keeper of your family’s past? Reach out to someone who you don’t know well and with whom you want to share what you’ve learned. What fun you will have learning about one another and about your shared connections.
And, if you really want to learn more about your family, consider participating in 23 and Me, Ancestry.com or a similar service that can help you to find family far and near that you never knew you never knew.
Finally, and this one is my very favorite, make time to have dinner with your immediate family (or friends who are like family) – at least once per week if not more. Though you all lead busy lives, you gotta eat, right? Take a much needed, well-deserved hour of downtime to reconnect, re-energize and recharge with your loved ones.
Happy Networking!