My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [29]
This master of plugging in is Jerry Harris. The Austin Business Journal lists him as one of the city’s ten most influential people. He’s an attorney whom land developers rely on to help turn environmentally responsible projects into reality. Jerry introduced himself to me during my next meeting at the Lounge. He then invited me to sit at his famous table. We’ve been friends ever since.
In the many evenings Jerry and I have spent at the Four Seasons and community fund-raisers and just having lunch, he has never left without making at least five or ten new friends. Once we were talking in a small group at a large community fund-raiser. The event was absolutely packed. Across the room, Jerry somehow spotted a co-worker from twenty years before. Jerry waved the guy over, shook his hand, and asked how his four kids were doing by name. The guy couldn’t believe Jerry remembered all his kids’ names from twenty years earlier, but that’s Jerry.
The “Mayor of the Four Seasons,” as our local newspaper dubs him, is respected in Austin for always trying to help people. He does this by donating time to social causes and constantly thinking of who should meet whom. If you need your car fixed and call Jerry for a recommendation, he’ll give you the names of three repair shops his friends own—and then he’ll call each one of them on your behalf. He does this for old friends, new friends, and people he randomly meets at lunch.
One afternoon, Jerry and I were driving in his truck on a busy downtown street. He saw a friend walking on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. Jerry honked his horn, waved, shouted, and then circled two blocks just so he could stop the guy to say hi and wish him a good day. I laughed and shook my head. It was such a Jerry move. He just loves people. They give him the same enthusiasm in return.
Everywhere he goes, people say hello, shake his hand, take a moment to catch up or ask for advice, and show off the latest pictures of their family. The more people Jerry connects with, the more people he connects to each other. In doing this, he makes himself the center of an ever-expanding network. Building his network is more than something Jerry just does for work, it’s his persona, and it’s been the key to his remarkable success.
Imagine the relationships you would have if you applied Jerry’s zeal for plugging in. You could create a network that truly sets you up for life! When you build this web of quality relationships, your connections grow and ultimately take on a life of their own. This leads you to eventually being able to make one phone call and get whatever help you need anytime, anywhere.
PLUG IN AND GET ENERGIZED!
The key to building your network is to plug in. This involves sending and receiving the right signals to attract the people you need. Learning to plug in gets you in the game and keeps you there.
Brandon, twenty-five, knows how plugging in can open all kinds of doors he never expected but always wanted. He had just finished grad school and wanted to live near the best night life in his city, which happened to be in the most expensive part of town. There were plenty of apartments available, but he wasn’t making nearly enough money to afford one. Before completely losing hope, he told every one of his buddies about his wish and asked them to keep an ear open for any deals. As it turned out, one of these buddies happened to be in real estate and had heard that a new high-dollar condo was being built where Brandon wanted to live. The developer was in a financial bind, however. He needed to bring in some cash while the project was being completed, so he was going to rent the already-built condos for one year before putting them