Not who you know, but who knows you.

Lately I’ve been really exploring the concept of “to know and be known” by those who surround me. I’m at a stage in life where it is easy to meet and greet many people, oversee what their responsibilities are, hold them accountable, but then never really KNOW them. So, I’m aiming to know and be known by others more intentionally. I’m doing this with our employee’s here at FNX by giving them a chance to connect with me directly for 15-20 minutes every other week. This is literally a team of about 20 people give or take. We are one circulation into this new practice and it has already greatly impacted me and hopefully them as well. We have a chance to connect about things that are much bigger than “work” and discuss perspectives and experience we likely would never explore in our more traditional work relationships. I’d encourage this for anyone, anywhere! We will become stronger, and more connected as a brand because of it, I’m certain. 

I share all of this with you because I think somewhere in this practice lies a means to find success in life for everyone. There is a common quote that has been shared with me countless times, “It is not what you know, but who you know”, while describing what creates success and opportunity. I agree with this, in fact I’ve shared it many times with others. And to support it even further I firmly believe that your “net worth is directly connected to your network”, meaning the people whom you are connected to. But, there is more to this. While I do believe in those sayings and while I’ll continue to share them with you and others more often than not, there is another piece to this puzzle that is so often forgotten, ignored or overlooked. 

“It is not what you know, and it’s less about who you know than who KNOWS YOU.” Yes it’s wonderful to know people, but do they KNOW you? Are the invested in your brand? Do they believe in you? Do they trust you? Do they know what makes you tick? Do they like how you carry yourself? Do they like the way you teach? Do they admire your other relationships? Do they see you as a vulnerable and honest person? Do they see you as shy or reserved? Do they have doubts you’ll support them? I could list a million questions that are important to consider, but ultimately you answer them or check these boxes with others by sharing yourself with them. 

I will be honest and tell you that without having the ability to be “known”, I’d be typing this blog to audience of 30 people today. It would be a list of friends and family who supported FNX because they love and care about me, not for any other reason. But, because I take the chances of sharing my personal perspectives, sharing feelings, talking about my family, my marriage, my spiritual experiences it has allowed me to be “known” by many. This alone has created countless opportunities for me, including potentially having you join our ambassador team/ family. I can say there is nothing greater and more encouraging for me to hear than, “yeah I joined this because I knew Adrian was a part of it”, this is before they know about our amazing culture or how top notch our products are. It also brings some challenges but again, without me sharing about myself and being willing to stick my neck out, many of my life's opportunities would not exist. 

This doesn’t just apply to me. It applies to you. How do you share your life? Do people actually know you? Do you take opportunities to leverage social media and other areas of life to actually be transparent or are you guarded because you are prideful or don’t think it’s interesting enough to share? My advice is…..get sharing, yesterday. We are humans meant to connect, we have more in common than we realize. You will often feel alone, yet you are not. You will often feel unique, yet you are not. There are others like you waiting and hoping someone else would share so they can relate or find someone to relate to. And as we open our eyes to this, and open our minds to sharing, we create the chance to be “known”. 

I don’t think success comes from what you know, I don’t think success comes from who you know, I think success and opportunities will come from who knows you. 

Get sharing.