Sharing Your Passions

The following post was inspired by the book Never Eat Alone written by Keith Ferrazzi with Tahl Raz. 

Shared interests are the basic building blocks of any relationship.

Never Eat Alone

Pumping Iron With Iron Man

Steve Kamb is a nerd who likes to deadlift.

He’s also the creator of NerdFitness – an online community with over 300,000 subscribers who tune in every week to receive workout schedules, training advice, and encouragement.

Steve founded NerdFitness in 2008 out of a passion for fitness and nerd culture. He recognized that there was an underserved community of people like him who enjoyed comic heroes and also wanted to improve their health. By combining practical advice with characters from the Marvel Universe, what started out as a small blog quickly grew to a legion of dedicated followers and a successful business.

Dare To Share

Steve Kamb’s blog resonated with so many other people because he dared to share what he was passionate about. His story is a powerful reminder that relationships are made through common interests and shared passions.

When we are truly passionate about something, it’s contagious. Our passion draws other people to who we are and what we care about. Others respond by letting their guard down. Which is why sharing your passion is important in business.

Never Eat Alone

It’s a simple concept that comes naturally around people we’re comfortable with. But sometimes, in the context of networking with new people, I think we tend to hold our cards close to our chest, afraid to reveal too much about ourselves.

But generous networking is about giving a little of yourself first. Business is a human enterprise. The more we share our passions with those around us, the more success we’ll find in building new relationships.

When your day is fueled by passion, filled with interesting people to share it with, reaching out will seem less like a challenge or a chore and more like an effortless consequence of the way you work.

Never Eat Alone

Tactical Advice

Ferrazzi lays out some simple, practical advice that e can use the next time we’re hesitant about reaching out to somebody new. Here are 6 simple ways to make connecting effortless:

1. Invite people to 15 minutes and a cup of coffee. It’s quick, it’s out of the office, and it’s a great way to meet someone new.
2. Conferences or traveling for business. Pull out your list of contacts in the area and invite them to meet up for an interesting keynote speech or dinner.
3. Invite someone to share a workout or hobby (golf, spin class, yoga, fishing, etc.)
4. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There’s nothing like food to break the ice.
5. Invite someone to a special event. Maybe you have an extra ticket to a concert, musical, or football game.
6. Entertain people at your home with a dinner party. An intimate and personal way to make someone immediately feel like a welcomed friend.

250 Cups of Coffee

Robbie Abed broke his way into the Chicago start-up scene by having 250 coffee meetings in a little over a year. He used his passion for lattes to find people that would help him through his career transition. 

His approach is perhaps a bit overkill, but the lesson here for young professionals is that your network is made up of people who have similar interests and passions as you. Share a little more of yourself and you’ll find connecting with new people effortless and fun!