Early on in my career, I wasn’t as professionally generous as I could have been. I often didn’t share job leads or open up my network to others. Why? A few of the reasons that come to mind are: Too busy. Not sure how to best help. Hesitant to bother my contacts. Not wanting to be a pest/nuisance. Not understanding how I could make connections. Not appreciating the value and impact of a simple professional introduction.

I hope I’m making up for it now, but if I could change the past, I would have actively looked for ways to connect others. I would have asked more questions of my friends, acquaintances and colleagues to better understand their expertise and interests. I would have stayed in touch more. I wouldn’t have been as private or guarded. And I wouldn’t have worried about whether it was right or if I was doing it right. I would have just done it.

Now I help connect people for a living, and I see, almost daily, how being stingy is just bad karma. Be generous. Share. Take a personal interest. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.