Practicing Altruism
 
The 'Golden Rule' occurred in the Greek and Chinese cultures thousands of years before the Christian era: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
 
The spirit of the Golden Rule is one of generosity and altruism and is at the heart of any personal networking and 'right' living.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said 'To have a friend, you have to be one', and his words are as true today as they ever were.
 
You can test this out yourself by completing the following simple exercise:
 
List ten people you know best:
 
People You Know Best: H/N S/U
1.     
2.     
3.     
4.     
5.     
6.     
7.     
8.     
9.     
10.     
 
After each name, write an 'H' if the person is happy, or an 'N' if the person is not happy.
 
Then write an 'S' if the person is selfish or a 'U' for unselfish.
 
Rimland in Psychological Reports (51); Brain/Mind Bulletin 1983 defines 'selfish' as "A stable tendency to devote one's time and resources to one's own interests and welfare - an unwillingness to inconvenience oneself for others."
 
In his experimental study the 2000 individuals who completed this exercise reported very few individuals who were both happy and selfish.
 
The findings represent an interesting paradox. Selfish people are, by definition, those whose activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness. Yet at least as judged by others, these selfish people are far less likely to be happy than those whose efforts are devoted to making others happy.
 
So the Golden Rule in networking, as in life is if you think about the other person rather than yourself, not only is that going to increase your empathy/rapport skills but it will make you a much more attractive person to know and be a magnet for personal happiness.

Margaret Stead - Dream Architect, helps individuals, executives and business owners market themselves online into new jobs, careers - building customer-employer relationships and increasing their job satisfaction.