Book Reviews and More: Making Business Connections That Count - Michal Stwaicki

Making Business Connections That Count:
The Gimmick-free Guide to Authentic Online
Relationships with Influencers and Followers
Six Simple Steps to Success Book 4
Michal Stawicki
AISN B01F9O3L84

I read an early draft of this book, and have just finished reading the final version. I loved the draft copy and this is in many ways even better. This is also the 12th book by Michal I have read in under a year, well actually the 9th book but I have read a few of them twice because they were so good. Many of Michal's other books are a synthesis of compilation of thoughts on different topics for self-improvement, but this one is almost completely original thought, and as much as I like his other books this alone makes this book that much more powerful. Michal always writes from his own experience, and in this book again he shares tips from what he has learned.

So let's take a quick look at some of the quotes I copied from this amazing little book and hear from Michal in his own words:

In the beginning Michael states: "I was a little frustrated about my life. Everything was OK- my health, my spiritual life, my finances, my career and family- but none of it was great. I had no vision for my life; I was just getting by each day. However, I was in the right mindset to try new things." The form and shape of those new things was to be writing he says: "At the beginning of April 2013 I started writing my first book. In the next two and a half years I published twelve books and sold over 17,000 copies. I attribute my successes, in the most part, to my networking skills. Many successful businessmen say that the core of a business is connections and interactions with people, rather than any business- specific skills or market acumen. I tend to agree with them." And Michal has grown his network and now mentors, motivates and coaches, not only through his writings but also through other avenues.

He is very upfront that there is not 6 quick steps, or 5 easy secrets he declares: "You probably wonder if I have a secret. Good news for you: there is no secret. There rarely is a "secret sauce" in any business realm. It's quite easy to learn the "hows" of any business; it's the personal implementation that gets tricky. But if you ask me the core of my networking success, I would say simply authenticity and tenacity. I didn't have to do anything fancy to connect with other people. It was enough to just be me. I consistently followed some people over long periods of time and provided value to them. Those two traits are behind my successes, and anyone can apply them." It will take work but Michal shares his successes and some of his failures, and by learning from him we can seek our own success. But he emphasises that knowing that alone is not enough, "Accepting truth and acknowledging possibilities is just a tiny step forward. Then comes the toughest obstacle: "can I do it?"" And we must come to the conclusion that we can, or we will continue to remain frustrated and unfulfilled.

One of the biggest points that Michal reinforces again and again through this book is authenticity! "You see, everybody has this deep desire to live an authentic life, but very few do. There are a multitude of reasons for that, but they all come down to different ways of avoiding pain. The human brain's default option is avoiding pain (remember the tiger?), so the majority goes along this path (and regrets it on their deathbed)." Along with that we need integrity "How does integrity make anyone effective? Simply put: people trust individuals with integrity. Trust eliminates the friction from the cooperation process." With that trust almost anything is possible.

Jumping to a new topic he then talks about self branding. He quotes "Jeff Goins in his book "You Are a Writer" said that in the end you are your brand. Either you stand behind what you say and your deeds are compatible with your words, or your brand is a shambles, unlikely to produce any meaningful results." And by your brank you will be known, you do not have a questionnaire about a brand you interact with it, and the same with people "You don't send someone a survey about their values. You interact with them to determine if they are the right candidate for a long-term friendship.." And we all have something to bring to the table, Michal states "How does one provide value? What if you have nothing to say? In my view, you are never without the potential to add to the conversation. If you don't have new facts or knowledge to bring, you can always bring gratitude, appreciation, encouragement, and a positive attitude. This world is a desert when it comes to such qualities. We can never have too much of these things."

A common theme that runs through most of Michal's writings is that or habit, either big H habit or tiny habits. It is habits that have helped him progress to where he is today and habits that will help him achieve his stretch goals of today. He uses habit tracking to make it all happen, from physical changes, establishing connection. He says: "For my commenting habit, I use the Coach.me app for all of the above. My trigger is going through my habit list in the application. When I see I haven't commented yet, it ignites me to find and read an appropriate blog post. After commenting I mark the habit off on the Coach.me list and the sense of accomplishment connected with this activity is my reward. Coach.me also serves as a tracking tool." And based on his advice in earlier books I can personally attest to the effectiveness or habits and specifically tracing them.

He reminds us a few times about the power of encouragement, he states: "Encouragement is much rarer and more precious than money." And that combined with work ethic is worth a lot, "Whenever you present yourself as a doer, you shine among the throng of talkers.".

To be honest considering the length of this book there is an amazing amount of good advice. Michal states that "Vulnerability and authenticity are the bridges to friendship. It's hard to build a relationship without some level of openness. Be yourself." But he also reminds us to use caution in both who and what we put our energy and time into he says "Armed with that knowledge, be mindful about those you allow into your social circle. Consciously seek relationships with people you want to emulate. Consider who you want to become, and what character qualities you want to possess. Then associate with people who already have these." But then it all comes back again to hard work, it is going to take work, time and effort to make this happen: "Get rid of your instant gratification mindset. It's an illusion. Nothing is instant in this world (except maybe instant coffee; but is that stuff really coffee?). The most valuable things are built with time: muscles, relationships, children, enterprises."

So now it comes down to you. Are you willing to spend the time reading the book? Are you willing to listen to his lessons and work at applying them in your life? Are you willing to work to eliminate bad habits and gain new habits that will help you achieve your dreams? Because those are the challenges that this book will present to you.

This was another great read by Michal, maybe his best. If you are already a fan you will love it. If you have not read any of his books give it a try it will likely not be the last of his you read. Michal writes in a very simple and engaging style, he writes from experience and that will draw you in and keep you reading and maybe spark some new dreams in your life!