4 Unique and Unconventional Ways to Successfully Network

By Allen Bell and Allison Goldman

We’ve all had chance encounters that have often changed the course of our lives — or opportunities that fell in our laps just by being at the right place at the right time. Very few successful people would discount the value of networks and networking; offline or online, there are more opportunities than ever to connect.

But what about those opportunities that present themselves routinely that may require a little more than the click of a mouse? Those situations that might require a little more effort and personal risk (nobody likes rejection), but may offer a reward far greater than passive, routine networking. Those potentially life-altering “right place right time” moments might be less random if we did a better job of recognizing and acting on the opportunities that most of us don’t recognize or ignore on a regular basis.

We’ve done a lot of…