How to Solve Problems Faster and Easier (Without Spending a Ton of Money)

It was 3 years ago.  I had just gotten off the phone with one my closest colleagues. She runs a multi-million dollar company and was having yet another amazing year. I was comparing myself to her and feeling like I wasn’t good enough. She seemed to make things happen so easily with so much grace. Why couldn’t I do that?

Two days later I was reading a book on magic and manifestation. The book talked about how everything you receive comes through people. Your amount of magic is directly connected to the size of your sphere of influence. These words hit me like a ton of bricks.

Suddenly it all became clear. My colleague was using her sphere of influence. When she had a problem, she simply raised her hand to her community and called for help. And inevitably someone would hold the answer for her.

Since that day I’ve learned so much about how to create and build your sphere of influence. There’s a couple of things to remember.

First, it’s more about quality than quantity. As long as you build and nurture tight relationships with those around you — even a few good friends can make all the difference.

Second, you have to reach out and ask for help. Often we believe that our friends should just “know” we need help. Or we wait for answers to fall from the sky. It doesn’t quite work that way — though, believe me, I wish it did.

Third, you actually have to structure reaching out and connecting with people. As a coach, I talk to people all day long, every day. So by the time I get to a weekend, I’m done talking. As an introvert, I covet my quiet time. It’s not easy to give up time for a conversation or get together. That’s why it’s important to treat reaching out to your sphere of influence as a must-do task. This could look like scheduling one to three conversations a week with someone in your network.

While I dread picking up the phone sometimes, the outcome of learning about new resources, new mindsets and new strategies always outweighs the difficulty of having to talk to someone.

Magic comes through people. Isolation is the enemy of wealth. It’s time to connect — we all need it.  Leave me a comment and let me know how you connect.

Photo: flickr, icypics

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