The Most Powerful People Are Often the Hardest to Reach In The Dip, Seth talks about how the harder something is, the more valuable it usually is. Starting a new search engine to dominate Google would be tough, but it would also be worth billions. Similarly, getting into Harvard is difficult, but it also sets you apart and helps you get a better job. The same is true with networking. If you can call someone on their cell phone and chat for an hour, chances are that they’re not very influential. On the other hand, powerful people like Oprah, Al Gore, and Bill Gates would make immensely valuable friends, but they’re also the hardest to get to know. To build a powerful network though, you need to know influential people. Just choose the right ones. If you’ve written the world’s greatest book on relationships, then Oprah would probably love to meet you, while Bill Gates could probably care less. So forget about Bill and spend your time getting to know Oprah.

Small Networks Can Make a Big Impact In Small Is the New Big, Seth collects blog posts about how small companies and organizations can do big things. Small blogs are challenging big media, small groups are starting big movements, and small devices connect us to a big world. It’s the same with networks. When you talk about networking, most people assume that the aim is to build a Rolodex overflowing with business cards, but that’s not always true. Sometimes, it’s not about the size of your network, but the depth of its relationships. If you can’t remember anything about half the people in your Rolodex, then you’re probably not as influential as you thought.

Nurturing Present Relationships Isn’t Enough Then again, nurturing present relationships isn’t enough, either. Your network will eventually erode. People move away, develop other interests, or just plain decide they don’t like you anymore. That’s life. Instead of spending all your time pursuing them though, you should continually reinvent your network, deepening your relationship with some people and letting others go. Seth applies these ideas to corporations in Survival Is Not Enough. For big companies, change is often something to survive, not thrive on. To maintain leadership though, you have to evolve with the market needs. Similarly, if your network is going to continue supporting you, then it needs to evolve with your needs.

Don’t Be Normal. Be Purple. If you were driving through the countryside and saw a normal cow, would you pull over to take a second look? Probably not. But what if the cow was purple? Would that get your attention? You bet it would! In Purple Cow , The Big Moo, and Free Prize Inside!, Seth covers this principle in detail. People are busy, and if you’re going to get their attention, then you need to do something different and surprising. You need to give them a reason to stop and take a second look. The same is true with networking. If you’re dressed like everyone else, say the same stuff as everyone else, and generally do your best to be normal, then people are going to ignore you. It’s better to be different, to take some part of yourself to the extreme. Example: Seth features his bald head. I feature my wheelchair. What stands out about you that you can leverage in a creative way?

You Can’t Build a Relationship without Permission Why do we collect business cards? You might think it’s just a way to remember someone’s contact information, but there are dozens of other ways to look that up. Really, it’s about permission. If someone gives you their business card, they are giving you permission to follow up with them. This is one of the keys to networking. Getting out there and meeting people is great, but to build a meaningful relationship, you need to follow up. If you meet someone at a fundraiser, call them the next day and schedule a lunch. Continue finding ways to interact with them until you know if it’s a fit. You can read about this principle in detail in Permission Marketing. Seth talks about the expense of interrupting people and the power of getting their permission to follow-up. Read it, if you haven’t already. It’s one of the foundations of both marketing and networking.

Sometimes, Great People Don’t Get along “A meatball sundae is the unfortunate result of mixing two good ideas.” In his book, Meatball Sundae, Seth talks about the way companies try to apply new technologies like blogs, social networks, and search engine marketing to old business models and strategies, usually resulting in a ridiculous combination. This one is kind of a stretch, but the idea also applies to networking. You can have your heart set on meeting legendary person, finally get a chance to connect with them, and they’ll absolutely rub you the wrong way. Realize that it’s part of life, and sometimes, not all great people get along. Stop trying to force the combination and move on to building more harmonious relationships.

If You Want Fame, Get Others to Talk about You Last but not least, we have Unleashing the Idea Virus. In this free e-book, Seth talks about creating ideas that other people have to talk about, transforming them into “viruses” that spread from the network of one individual to another, sometimes reaching millions of people. It’s the Holy Grail of marketing, and networking too. The key to connecting with powerful people or expanding your network isn’t frantically introducing yourself to everyone you come across. It’s getting others to introduce you. Not only will the introduction make it easier for you to connect with them, but it also gives you access to people you never even knew existed. With that in mind, would you do me a favor? On Moneymaking is already growing faster than I could have hoped for, but I’m guessing there are people you know that you haven’t told about it yet. Would you mind sending them an e-mail for me? You might notice that I’ve put a “Email this” link at the bottom of every post. If you wouldn’t mind, the next time I write a post that strikes you as special, please email it to anyone that you think might enjoy it. I’d sure appreciate it, and I’m sure they will too.

It’s innocent advice, but you grimace inside. Yes, there is something to be afraid of. You’ll look stupid. Worse, you’ll know you look stupid, and you’ll spend the next four hours thinking about what you’ve should’ve said and how you should’ve acted.

You know because you’re an introvert. You also know that the smiling, well-meaning person telling you to “Go introduce yourself” is an extrovert. They couldn’t possibly understand.

Or so you think.

How do I know? Because that’s exactly what I used to think. Seven years ago, I was a pimple-faced game designer with a laundry list of reasons for why I didn’t need other people. Then I tried to start a company. Facing $20,000 a month in expenses and no revenue, I realized I was never going to make a sale without getting to know someone first.

So I burned my list of reasons. Unfortunately for my company, I didn’t do it in time and everything fell apart. Fortunately for me though, it set me on a seven-year quest to become a master networker. I’ll not lie and say I’ve never been afraid again, but I have developed a collection of techniques for calming myself.

Let me share them with you.

Stop the Mental Role-Playing

Part of the definition of being an introvert is having a “rich internal world.” You’ve got a lot of stuff going on inside your head, and one of your favorite things to do is role-play. You imagine what’s going to happen, what you’re going to do, and how it’s going to pan out. With complicated tasks, it actually helps you do things better because you’ve already done them so many times in your head.

It’s invaluable skill, but don’t delude yourself into thinking it helps with everything.

When you’re imagining meeting someone and you’re terrified of it, then every time you imagine it, you just get more terrified. It’s a never-ending pattern of imagining, getting scared, imagining more, and getting more scared. You need to break the pattern and think about something else.

Refocus Your Attention

Logically, the only way to be worried about meeting someone or speaking in public is to be focused on yourself, at least subconsciously. You’re thinking about how you look, what you’ll say, how you’ll act, the way you’ll respond, and so on. The problem is, focusing on yourself will make you self-conscious and act even more awkward.

So think about something else.

Listen to music. Read a book. Talk to someone about something else. Do anything but sit around thinking. If you’re successful, you’ll subconsciously forget about what you’re about to do and start relaxing. In the minutes leading up to a meeting or presentation, this can be essential. You’ll come off as much more natural and confident.

Accept Your Imperfection

Stop for a moment and analyze your expectations. Are you expecting perfection? If you are, then you’re going to experience what’s called cognitive dissonance: anxiety resulting from disparity between your expectations and reality. In plain English, that means you’re kidding yourself.

The only solution is to align your expectations as closely to reality as possible. If you’re nervous, you’re probably going to act nervous. If you say the wrong thing under pressure, then you’ll probably say the wrong thing. If you’re awkward when speaking in public, then you’ll probably look awkward when you’re giving your speech.

Accept it. It’s counterintuitive, but you’ll probably begin to feel better and look noticeably more confident to everyone else.

Practice Self-Disclosure

The biggest mistake a lot of introverts make is to try and hide their nervousness. They think they’ll be able to fool everyone into thinking they are calm and collected, but it usually comes off as fake and makes everyone even more uncomfortable.

A better solution is to admit your nervousness upfront. Some communication teachers will tell you that this is a mistake, that you should never begin a relationship with an apology. But they’re wrong. You should always begin with authenticity, and if that means admitting your faults, then so be it.

Besides, it’s endearing. Usually, the other person will go out of their way to make you more comfortable, and you’ll have a much smoother conversation.

Realize You’re Not Alone

After speaking at a seminar, it’s common for someone to invite me out for lunch or dinner. What shocked me is the first time this happened, it was a man and his wife that were at least 10 years older than me, and the guy said, “Forgive me if I act nervous, but I’m a little intimidated.”

I just laughed. Intimidated of me? It never occurred to me that other people were probably just as nervous as I was, and that could give us something in common. It’s probably the same for you. Realize that nervousness in social situations affects millions and millions of people, and there’s no reason to beat yourself up over it.

In fact, stop thinking of yourself as an introvert at all. Regardless of whether it’s true or not, it will create a mental barrier between you and everyone else, which only makes it harder to get to know people.

If you have to choose a label, just call yourself, “Human.” By extension, introducing yourself to another human shouldn’t be a big deal. You’re essentially the same. So maybe, just maybe the “extrovert” that told you, “You’ve got nothing to be afraid of,” wasn’t so wrong after all.

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College is no longer a straight ticket to a great career. We’re handing out more bachelor’s degrees than ever, and there’s a lot of competition over the best jobs. The last thing you want to do is end up working at Wal-Mart, trying in vain to find something better.

But what can you do? Isn’t it out of your control?

No. In fact, there’s a lot you can do. Only four short years ago, I was going through this process myself and ended up graduating with 14 written offers. It’s all about being proactive while you’re still in school and taking advantage of your opportunities.

Follow these 10 strategies, and you won’t be worried about getting job offers. You’ll be flooded with them.

1. Join the Student Government Association

By far, the best decision I made during college was to join the Student Government Association (SGA). It varies by school, but most senior members of the SGA are scooped up by members of the Board of Trustees and big companies affiliated with the University.

One of my best job offers was from a trustee member. I also got invitations to parties at the chancellor’s house, important committee meetings, and access to all of the university bigwigs. The SGA is not a guaranteed pass to a job, but it gives you the opportunity to strut your stuff in front of the right people.

2. Play a Sport or Join a Prominent Club

Politics not for you? Another way to get exposure is to start playing a sport or to join a prominent club. The point is to do something that puts you in the right place to be noticed by the right people.

Even if they’re not able to go pro, many popular college athletes get jobs with local companies. It’s much easier to get hired if the company already knows and likes you.

3. Check into Honor Societies

To most students, the words “honor society” are synonymous with “more work.” Sometimes it’s that way, but my Honor Society included special classes reserved for bright students with less lectures and more discussion. It was the same amount of work and a lot more entertaining.

Plus, my honor society had a lot of connections with local businesses. Unofficially, they arranged interviews for many of the top students with companies that were looking for bright new hires. It’s not like this at all honor societies, but you should ask around to find out.

4. Offer to Work for Free for the Right Opportunity

If your parents are footing the bill for college, why not use the opportunity to get top-notch work experience? Pick a few companies that you’d love to work for and volunteer to work for free on the weekends or during the summer.

It will build your résumé and give you valuable connections within the company that will be a huge help when you go for an interview. You might also be able to set up internship credit, where you can get 3-6 credit hours for the extra work.

5. Get a “Real” Job before You Graduate

Can’t afford to work for free? You can still gain valuable work experience. Many students make the mistake of taking “college jobs” like being a waiter or store clerk to pay the bills, but these jobs don’t have any relevance to future employers.

A better strategy is to get a job in your field. If you’re a computer science major, try designing web sites. If you’re a nursing major, work as a CNA at a nursing home. If you’re an accounting major, try a little freelance bookkeeping.

You’ll get paid, and you’ll be able to claim the time as work experience when you go for your interview.

6. Hang out with Your Professors after Class

Professors are more than information machines. The good ones take interest in their students, guiding them to the best classes, internships, and job opportunities.

Take some time every day to drop by during office hours. Discuss a topic from class, something from the school newspaper, or just chitchat. They’ll enjoy it, and you might end up building a valuable relationship.

7. Do Something Remarkable and Get Publicity for It

No one expects much from college students. You’re supposed to spend all of your time studying and partying, not doing anything worthwhile. In turn, this makes it easy to do something remarkable and get attention from the media.

If you’re in the Student Government, this one is easy. Just pick a major problem at the University and dedicate yourself to solving it. The media should pick up on it and give you a story in the local newspaper or maybe on the evening news.

Once again, this helps with name recognition. You can also put it in your portfolio (see below).

8. Get Quality Letters of Recommendation

There’s a big difference between your average letter of recommendation and a good one. Average letters all say the same time: Great student, hard worker, pleasant personality, recommend you hire immediately.

A quality letter of recommendation is a personalized, thoughtful piece that explains in detail why you are a good hire. It gives specific examples of things you did and how it impacted the company in a positive way.

Don’t have any work experience where you can get a letter like this? Proceed backward to #4 and #5.

9. Create a Professional Portfolio

College advisors hand out all sorts of bad advice about job hunting. They tell you that all you need is a one-page résumé. Nonsense. Speaking as an employer, the best candidates start with a résumé and then follow up with a professional portfolio.

What is a professional portfolio? It’s a collection of work, letters, and news clippings that the employer might find valuable. For instance, a top-notch computer science major might have a CD with example programs, links to programming articles she’s written, and letters of recommendation from freelance clients.

10. Notify Everyone of Your Availability

Don’t wait until after you graduate to start looking for a job. You’ll be competing with everyone else. Instead, finish your resume and portfolio several months before graduation and let everyone know that you’re available.

By everyone, I mean everyone. Send out an e-mail to your family, your family’s coworkers, your professors, previous bosses, any other contacts within the university, and any other connections that might know of opportunities.

The point is to get flooded with job offers. When you’re finished, you want to have at least five or six good opportunities. This allows you to cherry pick, choosing the job that suits you the best.

Even when you graduate, there are things you can do to increase your job offers. Now you can even earn your graduate degree, while you maintain a full time job. Check out these MBA online programs, and make yourself even more desirable to employers.

Of course, it doesn’t end there. Once you’ve got a job, we can start working on getting you a raise. Stay tuned to find out how.

We have lots of terms for trying to make someone like you, almost all of them dirty. It’s seen as a manipulative, shallow, and dishonest.

But damn if it isn’t effective.

If you master the art of charming people, everything becomes easier — making the sale, getting the promotion, keeping your job. You’ll make more money, create more friendships, and feel more secure.

The key is doing it right. Kissing ass has gotten a bad rap because so many people are bad at it. They’re like amateur magicians that the crowd boos because their tricks are obvious.

Unfortunately though, the technique is light on training materials. You can’t take Brown Nosing 101 in college or browse through the Sucking up section at the bookstore.

What we need is a guide for how to kiss ass effectively… which is why I’ve written one.

Ass Doesn’t Taste so Bad

The first step in learning to kiss ass effectively is to get rid of the bad taste in your mouth that comes just from thinking about it. If you’re disgusted by what you’re doing, you’ll never be able to do it well.

What’s so wrong about getting someone to like you? You’ve probably done it to get laid or talk your way out of a speeding ticket. If it works and doesn’t hurt anybody, then why not carry those skills over into business?

After all, most people like having their ass kissed, as long as the one doing the kissing is good at it. I know I do. We all like to be around people that make us feel better about ourselves. It’s only human.

So why feel guilty about it?

You’ve Got to like Asses

You can never become a top-notch ass kisser unless you genuinely like people. All people. Otherwise, they’ll be able to tell that you don’t really mean it, and they’ll hate you for trying to manipulate them.

How does one go about learning to like people?

Part of it is realizing that, whether you like it or not, you’re a lot like everyone else on this planet. You feel the same emotions, make the same mistakes, and have the same desire for people to love you anyway.

Another part is teaching yourself to see the good side of people. Work at it long enough, and you can find something you genuinely like about anyone, even if it’s only their talent for making you hate them.

Either way, if you’re going to kiss someone’s ass, you need to put yourself in the right state of mind. You need to like them, and they need to know it.

Don’t Overdo It

Second to disliking them, the worst mistake you can make when kissing someone’s ass is to overdo it. You want them to like you, so you give a compliment that obviously isn’t true or you shower them with too many compliments in a row.

It doesn’t work because people know when you’re lying.

If you walk in for an interview and immediately start complementing the furniture, family pictures, and everything else you can find, they’ll know what you’re doing, and they’ll know it’s dishonest. No one is that impressed.

Similarly, if your boss drives a piece of junk car, you’d be stupid to try and convince him that it’s the prettiest one you’ve ever seen. Compliment him on his frugality or disregard for what other people think, but don’t lie to him. He’s smarter than that.

The problem with overdoing it is that it insults people’s intelligence. You think you’re making them feel better, but in reality, you’re very sweetly telling them that you think they’re gullible enough to believe your nonsense. Don’t do it.

Instead, just be natural. If you see something you genuinely appreciate, complement it and move on. They’ll appreciate you noticing, even if it’s something simple.

Kissing Ass Takes Practice

The first time you kiss someone’s ass, you’ll probably do it wrong. Worse, since you’ve read this article, you’ll probably know it. You might be embarrassed, trip all over yourself, and feel horrible about how inept you are.

Accept it and move on.

Learning the fine art of ass kissing is like every other skill. It takes practice. The masters of the craft dedicate years to it, honing their skills of observation and delivery. And they make plenty of mistakes.

I recommend practicing on your relatives. Your mom, for instance, is morally obligated to like you, no matter how dishonest you are. Try throwing out a compliment every now and again. Once she gets over the shock, she’ll probably appreciate it, and you’ll get valuable practice.

You should also start with safe complements. Tell someone you like their shoes or their car. Don’t try to be clever. Just spit it out, saying something like “I really like those shoes,” and see what happens.

It takes time, but you’ll get a feel for how people will respond.

Use Your Skills to Your Advantage

Once you feel comfortable with your skills, put them to work to help you make more money. Here are some ideas:

• Find something positive that your company is doing and tip off the press, using yourself as a source
• When a coworker covers for you, send them a thank you note that says, “These days, not many people watch out for each other, and it means a lot that you would cover for me. Thanks for being a great human being.”
• If a customer finds some genuine flaws with your product, tell them it’s the most insightful feedback you’ve heard in months and ask for their permission to pass it on to product development team
• The next time your boss says something smart, ask him or her to repeat it and then write it down
• If your company has an Employee of the Month Program or something like it, make a habit of nominating coworkers you notice doing something good

Do things like these on a regular basis, and you’ll notice that people are a little happier to see you. You might start getting invited to more parties, or people may start making a point to introduce you to other movers and shakers.

In the end, making people like you is no substitute for genuine talent, but it helps give you a chance to display that talent. For instance:

• Your boss will start to pay more attention to you, making it more likely he or she will notice your achievements
• Your coworkers will respond more positively to your ideas, making it more likely they’ll help you implement them
• Your customers will enjoy spending time with you, making it easier for you to get sales appointments

None of those benefits will directly make you more money, but indirectly, they can add up to significant increases in your value to everyone around you. As your value increases, you’ll also have more “ammunition” when you ask for a promotion or raise.

Even more importantly, the higher you go in business, the more important it is for people to like you. The price of stock in publicly traded companies changes dramatically based on how much people like the CEO.

You can never get to that level without becoming a master ass kisser. Like it or not, that’s how the game is played.

If you’re reading this blog, then I already know you’re up to it. You’re one of the few that’s taking a genuine interest in learning the skills necessary to make more money. All by itself, that puts you well ahead of most other people out there.

If there’s anything at all I can do to help you, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m always interested in talking with people that are rising to the top.

And you, my friend, are one of them.

When I graduated college, I had 14 job offers, two of them for more than $100,000 a year. No, I didn’t go to a prestigious school like Harvard or Stanford. And no, I didn’t graduate with an advanced degree in law or medicine.

I had a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. By all accounts, I should’ve been making only about $30,000 a year. Maybe less.

Instead, I took a job with a salary higher than most people achieve in their lifetimes. And I was only 21 years old.

Let me show you how I did it.

Start Building Your Résumé Early

Work experience. It’s a bitch, but employers want you to prove yourself before they hand over the big bucks. It can take a long time to convince them too — like a decade.

The trick to making a lot of money when you’re young is to start that decade as soon as possible. I started building my résumé at the age of 12, so when I graduated at 21, I had nine years of work experience.

I worked as a videogame designer for six years, eventually starting my own company at the age of 18 to build virtual-reality software that would teach people languages. After that, I got involved with the university, getting a job as the Chief of Staff of our Student Government Association. Then I started a campus radio station, run 24 hours a day by a staff of about 60 volunteers.

By the time I graduated, my résumé was already several pages long and accompanied by a stack of articles, newspaper clippings, and work examples. I also had five years of management experience. In other words, I had the résumé of a 31 year-old (or older) person.

Am I saying that you have to start working at the age of 12? No, but if you want a good job after college, you’d better have more on your résumé than three years of waiting tables at Denny’s. Start building relevant work experience as soon as possible.

Get Noticed by the Right People

Then again, work experience by itself isn’t enough. You need the right people to notice your talent and to believe in you.

Having a résumé like mine at the age of 21 was already enough to raise eyebrows, but my disability made me stand out even more. The advantage to being severely disabled is no one expects much of you, and when you do anything worth talking about, they think it’s amazing.

The combination of the things I was doing and my disability got me a lot of attention. I was frequently in the newspaper, and everyone from the janitors to the Chancellor knew me. Plus, I got to know dozens of local business owners by doing promotions with the radio station.

The point is, I got the attention of all of the right people. If you want to make a six-figure salary straight out of college, you want dozens of employers to be counting the days until you graduate, so they fall all over themselves trying to snatch you up.

Of course, they have to know who you are first. So spend some time networking within your industry while you’re in college. Volunteer to work for free, send press releases to local newspapers about your accomplishments, write articles for trade journals, and continually ask people to introduce you to others.

Get to know everybody and let them see your talent. Otherwise, you’ll just be another nameless graduate, entering the workforce with a horde of other nameless graduates, destined to fight for that same $32,000, entry-level job.

Forget about Doing What You Love for a While

When you’re in college, everyone from your parents to your professors to career advisors give you the same career advice: “Do what you love.”

In my opinion, that’s just stupid.

You didn’t go to college to find fulfillment. You went so that you could get a well-paying job. Plus, you’re barely out of adolescence. How are you supposed to have any idea what career is going to fulfill you?

I went to school to become an English teacher. After graduating, I even got a job offer from a local high school to start teaching… for a grand total of $28,000 per year. I’m sure I would’ve loved it, but I’m also sure I would’ve been miserable. I’m not the type of person that enjoys poverty.

Instead, I took a job in real estate development. I never really enjoyed the work, but it helped me to buy the lifestyle that I did enjoy. It’s also allowed me to retire at the age of 25 and do exactly what I want to do: write this blog post.

If you want my advice, forget about fulfillment for a while. Get out there and make some money. You can always experiment with other careers later, and it’s a lot easier to make the transition if you’ve got a decent bankroll.

In the future, I’m going to write a lot more about this, but for now, we can boil it down to this: if you get a six-figure job offer, accept it for gods sake.

Enough about Me. Let’s Talk about You.

So far on this blog, I’ve written a lot of theory about how to make more money. I also wanted to take a post and introduce you to a little of my history. If you’re going to start reading a new blog, knowing a little about the author sure helps. That, and I love to brag.

But this blog isn’t about me. It’s about you. In upcoming posts, I’m going to fill your head with all sorts of tips that will help you make more money. Since it’s the biggest source of income for most people, we’re going to start with how to make more money in your career.

I highly recommend you stick around for it. If you haven’t already, subscribe now.