Cheerleading.

Do you have a support system? Do you have people in your life who cheer you on? Do you have people who believe in you unconditionally? Do you have fans?

Whether you have 1,265,987 Twitter followers, seven, or are social networking free, we all need fans. We all need the people in our lives who happily stand on the sidelines and smile as we achieve success. We need people who care about us and who help us see who we really are.

What? What about simply believing in ourselves? What about strength coming from within? I’m a big believer in this too. But, let’s face it. We are human. We need love – it’s a basic need. We need friendship. Loving ourselves is primary, but surrounding ourselves with loving friends and family can bring us to a level that we never imagined getting to. If you can fill your life with professional contacts who appreciate you and can help you, then that is a bonus.

Here’s the catch…we all need to be cheerleaders too. We need to support the people around us. It might not be in the same ways that they support us, but we need to spread the love and the karma. As business networkers, we need to seek out people to support. We need to cheer on people who we see potential in. We need to help others see who they are and help them develop their strengths.

I am blessed to have an amazing network of supporters. There are days when I sit back and just think about how lucky I am to have developed relationships with some very special people.  I am also very fortunate to have met some people who I am helping to grow and I’m happily clapping as loudly as I can as they spread their wings and fly.

So here are your assignments for today:

1. Thank those people who have helped you get to where you are today.

2. Look for someone new who you can mentor or simply let them know that you support them.