How introverts can be more social

Don't pressure yourself into thinking that you need to be the center of attention or speak with a large audience.

If you continue to build one meaningful relationship at a time with the people who actually matter to you, by setting up informal meetings or coffee dates, you'll actually end up with a stronger personal brand than those people who fly around networking events engaging in endless conversations about the weather.

Expanding your skills and expertise is a surefire way to solidify and improve your personal brand. 

Once you complete your extracurricular, make sure to post your new certification on your LinkedIn, your resume (if relevant) and your personal website to cash in on the branding payoff.

• Learn to recharge by yourself. You can be enormously creative and successful once you know how to recharge.
• Create a life where you can have more time by yourself.
• Make small incremental moves towards the life you want to live.
• Ask yourself throughout the day: is this activity giving me energy or draining me? 
• Be humble enough to realize what you are not good at. 
• Self-esteem is great if you earn it. But if you have no gas in the car, faking your gas gauge won’t make the car run longer.

• Write down ten ideas a day to keep being creative.
• Read a lot to keep learning.
• “Execution ideas” are a subset of ideas. When you have an idea you want to test, think of the next execution ideas to get the idea done.

• Talk with friends who can help if you think the idea is starting to gain traction.

• Focus your execution efforts on the things you're skilled at and hire or outsource the other things.

• Work with people who are good at what they do, so you can be good at what you do.

You pop up now and again to your connections and acquaintances (old and new), without any obligation to follow up or see each other in person.

• It helps you to connect even with your weak or dormant ties, that will, in turn, be able to help you if you with what opportunities they have. 
• You can connect via text or email, and you can take the time to compose thoughtful messages without being put on-the-spot.

... is to put you into someone’s consciousness for a few minutes, and vice versa.

In cultivating loose-touch connections, know that your network won’t appear all at once; it takes steady, continuous work.

Use your social networks to tell everyone how excited you are to network and where and when they can meet you. 

Don’t forget, you’re giving up your time to attend this event so you need to take something from it.

Share some details of your life more freely so that your conversation partner doesn't have to interrogate you. If you feel uncomfortable talking too much, give yourself permission to stretch and grow.

Most people are secretly scared of getting rejected.  Assume that people like you and act in kind.

Don't wait for them to start a conversation. Say "hello." They might be relieved you took the initiative.

See networking from a different perspective: You’re not just networking because you should; you’re doing it because it’s good for your career.

Think about the people you would like to get to know and then carve out time to accomplish that goal:

• A few before the conference, make a 'priority wish list' of people you’d like to meet. 
• Send those people an email introducing yourself and asking to meet; if possible, get an introduction from a mutual friend or colleague.

• Make sure that you speak up when you have something important to say. 
• Take advantage of your ability to observe other people, the environment you’re in and the energy flow in the room.
• People will pay more attention to what you say when you do speak up.
• You probably have the ability to study things better and faster, so when you do say something make sure that it’s an eye-opener.
• People will trust you more and thus you’ll have access to more privileged information.

Many people are fearful of getting out of their element a lot of the time.

While it can be uncomfortable and painful to break from an established routine, it can shape you in ways avoiding change does not.

Kiki's Delivery Service is an example of a story where there are not many moments of extreme action, but there is still a significant story being told - one of finding people who inspire or help during a personal crisis.

As with Kiki, we can only be so lucky to find people that provide roles and teach the lessons that Kiki has learned.