{"id":673,"date":"2020-09-15T12:06:56","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T10:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/?p=673"},"modified":"2020-09-15T12:06:56","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T10:06:56","slug":"i-believe-in-networking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/articles\/i-believe-in-networking\/","title":{"rendered":"I believe in networking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Kobus Windt, Leader of Doxa Deo Church in Hartbeespoort \/ Chairman of the Hartbeespoort Christian Forum.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOther than my faith in God and the word of God as the foundation upon which I build my life, I am a true believer of networking,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI think a lot of people make the mistake by confusing networking with selling, but it is about building long-term relationships and a good reputation over time. It involves meeting and getting to know people who you can assist, and who can potentially help you in return. It is a process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts. Networking includes everyone from friends and family to work colleagues, business connections, social networks and members of groups or organizations which you belong to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I believe networking is part of my success in ministry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover has-background-dim\" style=\"background-image:url(http:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1.jpg);background-position:50% 20%\"><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">\u201cNetworking helps me to develop and improve my skill set and to stay on top of trends in technology that have become so vital for ministry. It helps me to meet prospective stakeholders and to collaborate with them and even to gain access to resources that can impact both community and society.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here are my top 5 tips to successful networking.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li><strong>Strong CONNECTIONS<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Networking is based on <strong>sharing<\/strong>, not taking. Connections are strengthened by <strong>creating<\/strong> <strong>trust<\/strong>. Helping others reach their goals by regularly engaging with them and finding opportunities to assist them helps <strong>strengthen<\/strong> relationships. In this way you sow the seeds for <strong>reciprocal assistance<\/strong> when <em>you<\/em> need help to achieve <em>your<\/em> goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Getting FRESH IDEAS<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your network can be an excellent source of <strong>new perspectives<\/strong> and ideas. Exchanging information on challenges, experiences and goals allows you to gain new insights. Similarly, offering helpful ideas within your network is an excellent way to build your reputation as an innovative thinker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Access to OPPORTUNITIES<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Actively expanding your networking contacts can open doors to new opportunities for business, career advancement, personal growth or simply new knowledge. <strong>Active networking<\/strong> increases the likelihood of receiving <strong>introductions to potentially relevant people<\/strong> or even a referral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Inter-connected-ness = more KNOWLEDGE<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Networking allows for an exchange of <strong>best practice knowledge <\/strong>and a wide network of informed, interconnected contacts, means broader access to <strong>valuable information<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Gaining the <strong>advice<\/strong> of experienced peers is an important benefit of networking.<\/li><li>Discussing common challenges and opportunities opens the door to valuable <strong>suggestions<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Offering genuine <strong>assistance<\/strong> sets a strong foundation for receiving back when you need it.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Gain PERSPECTIVE<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of your professional realm and end up <strong>in a rut <\/strong>but talking to others can help you view a situation with fresh eyes. Asking for opinions from others whom you trust or admire can help you see things in a new light and <strong>overcome roadblocks<\/strong> that you might not have known how to bypass otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The more you network, the more you will grow and learn how to make lasting connections.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPutting yourself out there and meeting new people will make you step outside of your comfort zone and build valuable social skills and self-confidence that you can take with you anywhere. Although the goal of networking is to develop and nurture professional relationships, some of the strongest and most long-standing friendships are born from networking,\u201d affirms Kobus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kobus Windt, Leader of Doxa Deo Church in Hartbeespoort \/ Chairman of the Hartbeespoort Christian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-marketing"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1.jpg",960,1280,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-225x300.jpg",225,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-768x1024.jpg",640,853,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-768x1024.jpg",640,853,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1.jpg",960,1280,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1.jpg",960,1280,false],"magazine-7-slider-full":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-960x1020.jpg",960,1020,true],"magazine-7-slider-center":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-936x897.jpg",936,897,true],"magazine-7-featured":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1.jpg",960,1280,false],"magazine-7-medium":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-720x380.jpg",720,380,true],"magazine-7-medium-square":["https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/kobus1-675x450.jpg",675,450,true]},"author_info":{"info":["TheLife Team"]},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/category\/articles\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Articles &amp; Advertisers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/category\/articles\/marketing\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Marketing<\/a>","tag_info":"Marketing","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":677,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions\/677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelife.digital\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}