ELEVATE BEYOND
The Blog of Jake Kelfer
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We did it! We are officially two weeks in since the launch of Elevate Your Network and all I can say is...WOW!
It's one thing to see the book inspire thousands of people, but it's a completely magical thing to feel the love and support from my friends, colleagues, and the elevate community.
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A huge part of relationships is your ability to make people feel appreciated and want to be around you. Think of your favorite people. They’re most likely your favorite people because you enjoy how they make you feel. You want to spend time with them and be around them.
Imagine if by switching one word you could make a huge difference in your ability to make others feel valued and appreciated. Not just people in your circle, but strangers and people that you meet.
It's almost time! The launch of Elevate Your Network is coming and I am so thrilled for the world to read it.
I think some of the best books, blog posts, articles, content come when there's a purpose behind the message. There are a ton of people who can create great messaging, but for me having a WHY makes it that much more meaningful to both me as the creator and you as the consumer. I think this principle is true for life and business as well. A lot of thought has gone into my book and the "elevate" brand, so I figured it was time to share some of this logic. Now, for the good stuff and inspiration behind the book - the color scheme, why each chapter is called a Kelf Key, and why there are 25 Kelf Keys.
Last week I went to a meetup in Santa Monica as part of Alex Banayan’s book tour for his national bestseller The Third Door.
I was introduced to Alex about a year ago through a mutual friend who said we had a lot in common with our drive to understand what makes people successful. He told me that Alex was on this incredible quest to interview some awesome people and that I should follow along. Fast forward to August 2018 and his project has become one of the best books of the year – The Third Door. I mean, it’s really good! He interviews people like Jessica Alba, Pitbull, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and so many more while also sharing his story and overcoming incredible adversity. Earlier this week, I went to visit four colleges in Rhode Island. Luckily for me, the state is pretty small so I was able to cover a lot of ground. It also helped that these four colleges were all pretty close to one another.
My mission was to walk into each school and find decision makers who brought in speakers as well as meet with the athletic department at Providence College. I had no meetings scheduled. No one was expecting me. No one knew who I was. I was just showing up and going for it. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I knew that I would have to be creative and make sure that I was sharp with my elevator pitch and reason for being there. Building connections is the key to unlocking human potential. All of the greatest companies in the world were created through relationships. At the start there may have only been one person with an idea, but it takes a community of people to make that idea take off. Or, there may have been a team of people working together to create something special. However you look at it, no one and no company would be where they are without the power of connections.
Take MVMT Watches for example. Would Jake Kassan and Kramer LaPlante, the cofounders, been able to create the globally known brand without the help of a great team? Would they have been able to create a global community of loyal followers if they didn’t first build connections? When you think of a fun time, do you immediately think of going to a networking event or professional conference? Probably not. You probably consider binge watching the latest season of The Office on Netflix or going to 2 for 1 happy hour a fun time.
When you go to a networking event, you have two choices. You can go and wish you were somewhere else the whole time or you can commit to networking and try to make some new connections. And, let me tell you something… it’s easy to spot the people who are there because they feel they have to be and the people who are there because they want to be. Part of being successful at a networking event is having a plan and strategy but more importantly having fun. Just because you are at a professional event, doesn’t mean you can’t laugh a bit and enjoy yourself. I recommend mixing business with a human element of getting to know someone’s journey and story. The best relationships don’t come from only discussing serious topics; they come from finding commonalities. I recently posted a survey for a new online networking course called the Sports Networking Playbook that I am creating with one of my mentors and good friends, Sergio Millas.
Something that kept coming up in the responses was getting nervous before a big interview or networking meeting. Knowing from experience, this is definitely a real concern, especially when you are looking for a job, when you are trying to find your next client or when you are putting yourself out there for the first time. If there is anything you need to remember it's that they agreed to interview you or take your meeting. That means they want to talk with you and hear what you have to offer! Don't ever forget that. When dealing with people it’s important to know that no matter who you are meeting with or interviewing with, they are human just like you and me. CEOs, executives, professors, recruiters, decision makers, or whomever you are meeting with, all still want to feel good.
I think it’s safe to say that we are all different. We come from different backgrounds. We speak different languages. We have different beliefs. We have difference senses of humor. We like different foods. We want to have different jobs. We have different ideas of love.
BUT… I think, at the end of the day, we can all agree that we are the same. We all want to be loved. We all want to feel valued. We all feel good after being complimented. We are all trying to figure out the journey of life. We are all PEOPLE. Once you fully understand that people are people and we all have the same basic wants, you can begin to understand why it is so important to show interest in other people. Tim Ferriss recently wrote a book called Tribe of Mentors, and after listening to him talk about it on 5 or so podcasts, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of mentorship. More than that, I’ve been thinking about what makes a great mentor and what impact they can have on someone’s life. Finding a mentor is one thing, but finding a great mentor can be life changing. They can help you grow as a professional. They can encourage you to take or pass on a certain job. They can introduce you to new contacts. They can give you confidence and push you to achieve your definition of success. Click here to read the whole article on Front Office Sports.
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Hey, I'M JAKE!I am on a mission to help ambitious entrepreneurs and freedom seekers start their dream business, build a world-class network, and scale to 6 figures!
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