Networking: getting into the zone

Kia and I first met at an event and whilst we were talking she found out that I wanted to be a journalist.

“Cool.” She says. “And that’s exactly what you will be. You will shadow me and reveal all to the whole world.” She had grinned.

“Write about you?”

“Yep,” She had said, waving at people from the side of my eyes. “I’m going to be a great young writer one day and everyone will read my book and love It.” she had said. “And as you want to be a journalist I think you should document my journey.” Before could say another world, she was pulled away to meet even more people. Was she serious? And if she was, would I? Do I want to?

 I knew she worked in the fashion industry and her name was becoming big. People were starting to know her as Nikki. Yet as more opportunities came her way, she was more determined than ever to be known as Kia Storm the writer.

“That’s all I ever wanted.” She had said to me once. “That’s all I want.”

After our conversation on that day, she had given me her contact details to call her. Sounds easy, right? No way. It was so difficult to get hold of her and when I did, she was either rushing to a meeting, had just rushed from a meeting or was late to a meeting. And being such a busy person, she did not contact me for a few weeks.

At this point, I could have let go but no one had ever given me their personal contact number before and asked me to keep in contact. I was encouraged to slowly build a relationship through Facebook, emails and texts until one day; she contacted me with this opportunity to shadow her.

“So you ready to write about me then?” she had asked before I could even get a word out.

“Sure,” I blurted out.

“Awesome! Let’s set up a meeting,” she had said and then she was gone again. I thought it would be more emails, Facebook before I would even get a chance to set up the meeting with her.  But she was serious and she stayed true to her world and the rest, as they say, is history.

I look forward to telling all her readers about her adventures into the big time and believe me, they are worth talking about! Kia gave me the confidence to pursue other individual projects which have involved interviewing Sebastian Coe on the International Paralympics Day as well as getting involved in Roundhouse multimedia projects.

If I could come out of my shell, then so could you. Kia’s mentoring means that I get to attend events and talk to people that would have previously been impossible. As a young writer, Kia has helped me realise that meeting new people on a regular basis can not only help with story ideas but would also introduce you to people with different skills who could add something to your work/ persona.

Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if everyone had the same ideas and experience? Variety is the spice of life and this variety can become reality when you build relationships with different types of people.

Even Alan Sugar, who regularly takes individuals out of their comfort zone for his TV show ‘The Apprentice’ explains how stepping out of your comfort zone is never easy.  Some business giants like Bill Gates and Richard Branson would fail desperately at being quick on their feet. He says, “If I woke them at 6am, gave them 500 quid to go to the meat market, make sausages, go to some Lord Mayor's Show and sell them, they'd be completely out of their comfort zone. The ones on the show who succeed show an aptitude for absorbing something very quickly."

On another note, Daniel Radcliffe, the Harry Potter star has mentioned that he is drawn to the risk of theatre as it is out of his comfort zone. "I am so much more comfortable out of my comfort zone. To me there's no point in doing it if it's not a challenge, particularly at this stage in my career. I've got plenty of years later if I want to sit back and take it easy if I can. Now is not the time.” It is always best to start exposing yourself to new situations now rather than later.

So, next time you are looking for inspiration, why not try something different? 

Your next opportunity could be right round the corner...