Tam Pham is an author, speaker, podcaster, and teacher. He has spoken to high school students on networking and entrepreneurship and wrote a best-selling Amazon book How To Network: Build Instant Trust & Respect With Anyone You Meet. In this episode, Tam talks about the getting over your doubts, the importance of mentors, and the key to networking.
Here are three things you can learn from Tam:
No matter who you are, you will have doubts. Even the most talented and influential people in the world have to overcome that voice inside themselves telling them they are not good enough.
Tam believes that people do not give themselves enough credit for what they have accomplished. We are too busy comparing ourselves to others and what they think of us, that we begin to doubt ourselves.
Tam felt this way when speaking to high school students. What could a college drop out teach others? Instead of trying to give advice, Tam believes we should speak from our own experience. Tell your autobiography and people will embrace it.
Stop doubting yourself and speak and learn from your own experiences.
Most people think of networking as this boring and unbearable activity they have to do. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Networking isn’t about making connections. It’s about making friends. You want to look for people who support you, appreciate you, and want the best for you. That’s what you should be looking for, not another name to add to the rolodex.
The best way to do this is by forgetting about the business aspect of networking and embrace people for who they are. People are more willing to help people they are friends with.
Once you are friends, you must be willing to give. No one wants a friend that always takes. Provide value for people and they will want to provide value to you in return. Don’t give expecting anything, just know it will come back to you in the end.
When people think of mentors, they think of a guru who will sit down with them and show them the ways of life. Gurus don’t need to be someone you sit down with every day telling you how to maneuver your way through life. They are people who share their experiences with you and help you get where you want to go.
In his article, Tam talks about how he has many mentors in life. Everyone from James Altucher, to Peter Thiel, to Ryan Holiday. Their mentorship comes from books and podcasts.
You don’t need to meet with people for them to mentor you. You can learn from the lessons that they’ve shared, and employ them yourself.
Tam used advice from Chandler Bolt, James Altucher, Charlie Hoehn and Hung Pham to become a best-seller on Amazon. He then told his mentors the results he got from their advice. He is now a testimonial his mentors can use to show the validity of their advice.