What an amazing example of selfless humanity! For eight summers, Joel gave up one of his invaluable weeks of vacation to run Sweeney’s All-Star Basketball Camp, and all he got in return were some pats on the back and my admiration for what he did. In my world of networking, Joel was a rock star, an example of the selfless giver that I took to heart. He was the associate athletic director at the University of Wisconsin during those summer basketball camp years, and he did so much behind the sports scene in Wisconsin that he was recognized as the Wisconsin Sports Person of the Year in 1993.

Joel has been the athletic director at the University of Minnesota since 2002, where it’s said he engineered a complete transformation of Golden Gopher athletics. Nothing about my great friend Joel Maturi surprises me since he exemplifies that networking is a place you go to give, not to get.

In this interactive All-Star Networking session you will learn:

• how to build relationships effectively
• how to increase your impact and use the 5-10-15 action tool
• what networking can do for the long term success of you and your employees business development success

Walk away with many new ideas, new actions and new connections to blow your business out in this intimate workshop sponsored by RockPaperStar.

This session is led by Joe Sweeney, recent New York Times bestselling author of Networking Is A Contact Sport and Investment Banker who in addition to his work as an equity partner and investment banker with Corporate Financial Advisors, travels the country as an author and speaker, sharing his experiences and teaching business owners, high-achieving professionals—and anyone who wants to realize that next, big, wild, audacious goal—his time-tested habits create meaningful connections that will bring them success throughout their life.

Joe will be introduced by Harvey Mackay, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,  and 7 time New York Times best selling author of The Mackay MBA Of Selling In The Real World.

Joe will share his experiences, insights and ideas for making your business relationships world class. Joe takes the anxiety out of networking by helping people understand that networking is really about giving, not getting. Over the course of his 30-year career Joe has served on 28 Boards of Directors, was President of the Wisconsin Sports Authority and has owned more than 12 companies—including the sports marketing agency Sports Marketing Group, which he founded when three-time NFL MVP Brett Favre signed on as the first client.

You’re invited because you know how to make things happen and want to keep making an impact in the community. This is an event you surely want to attend to take your game to the next level.

Where: The Minneapolis Club

When: May 22, 2012

Cost: $110.00

Click Here to Register Now

Note: Some of the numbers listed in this infographic have changed since its creation. To see the latest numbers, click here.

In fact, we can look at a tree and see parallels to networking. The roots of a relationship must sink into the fertile, moist soil and grow in its own time. As the root system begins to branch out, a sapling and then a small trunk appear out of the ground. The trunk grows into a sturdy base that sets a firm foundation for further growth. Next come the branches, which represent the maturity you have to reach out and touch others. Sure, sometimes relationships grow dormant just like trees, which shed their leaves every fall in preparation for the cold winter months. But come springtime, trees grow back and become stronger and higher than before, and that’s what can happen in networking when you have a strong foundation. Your sunny disposition will draw others into your networking circle.

Are you reaching out to others and networking?

• New York Times bestselling book Networking Is a Contact Sport
• The Playbook with 5/10/15 Personal Accountability System
• Winning Gameplan Workbook
• Winning Habits Card Deck
• Exclusive Audio
• Enrollment in a six-week group coaching program with Joe Sweeney

I will be on the show this Tuesday night at 7:30 CST.

To listen live or for more details all you have to do is visit this link - http://bit.ly/HPxTI4 - You can also click the little clock icon on the page to set-up a reminder for the show so that it will send you a text and/or email to you at the desired time.

That’s what I learned when I lost a bet a few years ago. It all began when I dropped by my neighborhood Sendik’s Food Market, Milwaukee’s family-owned and operated grocery stores that have been around for more than eighty years I was picking up my usual morning coffee at the Sendik’s Market in Bayside when I ran into John Sendik, the store owner.

It was a bright Friday in June, and the news of the morning was that Tiger Woods had shot a 76 in the opening round of the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Food the previous day.

“Did you see what Tiger shot yesterday?” John asked. “He’s going to miss the cut.”

“Baloney,” I replied. “He’ll make the cut. He always does.” Tiger Woods had never missed the cut in a major tournament in ten years as a professional.

“You wanna bet?” John plastered a wicked grin across his face. He had been my partner in some best-ball competitions, but John was a terrible golfer, a real hacker.

I took the bait. “Sure, what do you want to bet?” I asked.

When John paused to think about it, I filled in the vacuum.

“Tell you what,” I said. “If Tiger makes the cut, you’ll deliver $300 worth of groceries to my house, and if he doesn’t make the cut, you pick the busiest day of the year, and I’ll work all day as a bag boy at Sendik’s.”

We shook on it, and lo and behold, Tiger posted another 76 on his scorecard and missed his first cut in a major as a professional.

John -no dummy- chose December 23 to bring me in, which had to be the busiest grocery-shopping day of the year as families stocked up for Christmas Eve parties and Christmas dinners. When I reported for work, John handed me an apron and a name-tag that said: My name is Joe Sweeney. I lost a bet to John Sendik, so that’s why I’m working at Sendik’s today.

Nothing like rubbing it in.

I did everything: bag groceries, stock shelves, replenish the produce stocks, and help little old ladies as the carryout boy (thanks, Mrs. Rooney, for the $5 tip). It seemed like I knew half the people that came in that day, and I overheard more than a few say, “Oh my God, Joe Sweeney must have lost his job. He’s bagging groceries.”

Listen, that day at Sendik’s was one of the most fun workdays I’ve ever had. Better yet, I probably networked with 200 people that day. Because I was at the bad end of a bet, I realized that a lot of folks hit a patch of bad luck with serious concequences. I learned that if I had to bag groceries at Sendik’s to put food on the table, I could do it. I didn’t let outside circumstances affect my thinking, and neither should you if you’re out of a job.

The main thing I try and do is to help business owners to work on being resilient. What really is resiliency?

Resiliency is “ how long it takes for your mindset to recover”.

You can break it down into 3 areas:
How do you React? How you process internally.
How do you Respond? How you act on the outside.
How quickly do you recover: how quickly and efficiently you get back on your horse and ride again. This usually depends on ones internal strength.

The PGA tour has a statistic called the “bounce back” test. It measures how players score after a bogey or a double bogey. The speed in which they bounce back usually determines who is in the money on Sunday at the end of the tournament. So what about YOU? What is YOUR bounce back scores?

We have found the best success from people whom have lost much is determined by the speed in which they can react, respond and recover. In America we have a funny view of success. We FEAR failure. My good friend and mentor, Harvey Mackay once told me that “Success is a result of making good decisions and good decisions are a result of experience and experience comes from failures and making mistakes.” Reframe your experiences and learn and grow from them and get back up on your horse and ride again.

• Joel Maturi 
• Jack Canfield
• Susan K. Wehrley
• John Assaraf

Thank you for giving me the strength and courage to pursue my goals and passions.

I also want to thank the following people for their kind words and praise about Networking is a Contact Sport:

“Joe Sweeney is a most persistent and persuasive man. Networking is a Contact Sport exemplifies the value of networking “outside the box.” – B0b Costas, Broadcaster

“Joe Sweeney’s networking skills helped to significantly increase my off-the-field income.” – Brett Favre, Three-Time NFL MVP and Future NFL Hall of famer

“Joe is right. Networking is one of the most crucial aspects of being successful in any workplace. By approaching your job with Joe Sweeney’s mindset, you will undoubtedly triumph in your field of work.” – Bud Selig, Commissioner of Major League Baseball

“I use Joe’s networking techniques every day. I’ve worked with Joe for over twenty years, and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t learn something new from him. If you don’t learn something from Networking Is a Contact Sport, then your mind is not open and you’re not listening.” – Craig Leipold, Chairman and Owner of the Minnesota Wild

“Joe Sweeney has grasped what it means to network in both the black and the white environment. If you follow the advice in Networking Is a Contact Sport, it will help you to transcend racial differences and succeed in any work situation.” – Ulice Payne, Businessman; Entrepreneur; and former President and CEO of the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club

“I guarantee that you will see networking in a new light after reading this thoroughly engaging and highly entertaining book on what it means to network in today’s competitive business climate.” – Bill Perez, Former CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son, Nike, Inc., and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company

“Broadcasting is a people business. Contacts, sources, connections, relationships — that’s networking, and that’s where Joe’s expertise has helped me.” – John K. Anderson, ESPN SportsCenter Anchor