Sometimes results can come in surprising ways. Though I venture to guess, if you think about the good things that just seem to happen, you can likely trace it back to making a connection.

I challenge you to take the time to trace it back and see who you have to thank for something good that has happened.

In this instance it was my friend Dorie Clark, author of Entrepreneurial You. Dorie is a great Connector and figured out a way to make it efficient too! She once told me, “I don’t have the time to have coffee with everyone, but I can have dinner with them all at the same time.”

I call them Dorie’s dinners and I have been fortunate enough to attend a few.

She figured out how to stay connected in a way that works with her busy lifestyle. She chooses a restaurant (willing to provide separate checks!) and brings all of the people she wants to keep in touch with together, to one place.

Not only do we get to connect with Dorie, we get to meet all the other people she knows. At her last dinner, I sat myself at the middle of the table to get exposure to as many people as possible. But alas, I missed several people at the ends of the table.

Not to miss the opportunity to talk to them, before I made my exit I introduced myself. We exchanged contact info and then, most importantly, I reached out afterward.

As it turns out one of those people at the end of the table was the founder of Big Think. Don’t know what it is? Check it out for some great videos. A few conversations later, I ended up filming multiple videos for their public and enterprise platforms.

You never know when or how good things may happen, but they usually happen because of someone you met. Talk to the people you can. Grab business cards from the ones you can’t.

Watch the first of my Big Think videos HERE. This one is on interviewing.

Find ways to make networking work for you and your lifestyle, and keep making those connections!