Networking also means meeting friends

I always thought I wasn't good at networking. When I look at my sister and see how easily she speaks to everyone about any subject at all, I can see how she is a really good networker. Apart from that she's very pretty which also helps in meeting new people.
I find it quite difficult to speak to people just like that. I'm not an extrovert.

But over the past few years I have had jobs in which a network was of the utmost importance. I decided to stop calling it networking. I called it building relationships with my colleagues all over the world. It meant making friends all over the world, something that I loved. And now that I work alone and rely on myself to find new clients, it becomes clear how important those friends are and how this really is a network. A vast network.

It is easy to email my network of friends or for example send them a postcard from where I live now. These emails and cards get responses, lovely responses from lovely people all over the world. And hey, I see now that I am good at networking too. Even though I gave it a different name, it is now a solid network on which I can build further and build new relationships and hopefully friendships.