Mike Abasov

Last year I’ve written a number of resolutions for each letter of the alphabet. Not everything went the way I expected but, in general, I’m happy with my 2011. Here’s the revised list.

Accomplished:
A - assume less, listen more. D - develop better studying habits. E - English, master. G - Gary Vaynerchuk, meet. H - help more people than I’ve helped in 2010. I - improve relationships with my parents. K - keep being awesome. M - meet someone truly amazing. N - notes (music), learn how to read. R - raise, get. S - speak in public about branding. T - turn 22, hopefully. X - forget about her. Y - because.

Failed:
B - build and improve this blog. C - Chris Brogan, meet. F - fight laziness. J - join a marketers’ association. L - lose 10 pounds and keep it that way. O - obey this resolution. P - post guest posts to some top-of-the-line blogs. Q - quit watching so many tv-shows. U - utilize video content more effectively. V - visit New York. W - write a book. Z - come up with a task for “z” next year.

Highlights of 2011

In April, I became the president of the UBC eBusiness club, and it’s been a rewarding on-campus experience that opened doors for new people in my life and provided me with an opportunity to master a variety of new skills.

In May, my friend and I started NotChefs, a social network for sharing recipes. After 2 months of development, we decided to put the project back on the shelf due to limited resources.  

In September, after working at HootSuite Media for 13 months, I left the company to pursue new adventures. I’ve been working a few small contracts since then.

In November, I went to Startup Weekend and co-founded EpicBets, a social game that takes betting on sports against friends to a whole new level.

In December, I’ve reached an important milestone — 1 year of school left. Yay!

There have also been many huge positive changes in my lifestyle and social life. I learned to enjoy the rain and really fell in love with Vancouver. Overall, it was a great year.

Looking Forward to 2012

There are some major events that will be happening in the next 12 month. I’ve been invited to write for a student magazine and a student blog as a guest author. I’m continuing to work on a variety of projects and getting deeper into the startup and agency communities in Vancouver. Finally, I’m planning to graduate in December 2012 and will soon start looking for a permanent job. Exciting stuff!

(And of course I’m totally stoked for the Zombie Apocalypse.)

There is nothing more important for your success than networking. Your marks matter zilch. Your initial capital is irrelevant. In order to be successful, you need networking. In order to get your dream job, you need networking. 

You need networking, and there is no substitute for this need.

What can networking give you?

Every job I’ve had so far, I got because of the people I’d met. I’ve also gained a lot of knowledge and insights from these people. And opportunities present themselves all the time. 

Let’s look at a few examples.

When I was working as a freelancer, my classmate suggested bidding on a project for a company who’s owner was a family friend of his. This connection gave me an opportunity to rebrand one of the largest recycling companies in Ukraine.

My online efforts, such as blogging and participating in different forums and social networks, resulted in an unexpected proposal to work as a social media manager at uCoz.com. I wasn’t even looking for this job; the owner contacted me himself.

When going to meetups this summer, I’ve met people from HootSuite. Two weeks later I started my internship there, which resulted in an amazing part-time job.

On another note, even getting to know baristas at my local coffee shops gets me regular discounts and much better customer service.

What is it all about?

Networking is not about using people, and it’s purpose shouldn’t be selfish at all. I see networking as an opportunity to help others achieve their goals, which eventually leads to others helping you.

For instance, I’ve brought tens of contracts over the years to my freelance friends without asking (or hoping) for any reciprocity.

Consider it karma. You meet people; you help them; they help you. The act of helping is not always direct (me – you, you – me), but magically good things happen all the time.

Widening the net

The more people you know, the more opportunities present themselves. The deeper your connections with those people are, the better are the opportunities.

And, of course, the more interesting, influential and important those people are, the more awesome things await.

Hiring involves humans

You might think that marks are all that matters. You are mistaken. In the end, the act of hiring boils down to a small number of people involved in the decision. Knowing these people beforehand influences the outcome dramatically.

Your “A+” in “Chemistry 101” means nothing, when your competitor had a meaningful discussion with the CEO at a recent conference.

On the other hand, your “C” in “Managerial Economics” means nothing, if you were recommended to the business owner by her friend who is also your ex-boss.

4.0 GPA will not get you your dream job. You have to realize that, get over yourself and start doing something actually useful.

More posts to come

There is no way I can talk about everything networking-related in one post. But I have about 20 more posts to come in the future weeks.

The takeaway point of these few paragraphs is simple: networking is very important. As long as you understand it, you are half-way to success.

Please, if you have any questions about why or how to network correctly, ask them in the comments below or by contacting me directly. I’ll be happy to answer them for you and other readers.

Also, subscribe to my newsletter, if you don’t want to miss important tips on becoming successful and living the next level of learning!

Life is much easier than you think. Anything you do or don’t do is most of the time a question of your will. 

If you really want it, you’ll get it. If you don’t want it, you are going to fail or stay idle, which to me is not much different.

Getting good marks in school is easy. After all, the system is created this way. You study, follow the rules, put in time and effort, and you succeed. Simple as that. It doesn’t make you any smarter than others, but it is a stepping stone to your happy future.

There are no profs that “won’t let you pass.” There is no “too tough material.” I’ve taken a lot of courses. Sometimes I do well, other times—not so much. But when I look back at any of my marks, I can see exactly what happened. 

Here, I prioritized other courses over this one. There, I was too lazy to read the textbook in time. And in this one, I worked my ass off to get this A+.

It all comes down to what you want, and what you are ready to do to get it.

Here’s an amazing motivational video. Check it out, and let me know what you think.

All my life I’ve been fighting my nature.

You see, I’m much more productive at night than in the morning. Yet, due to the influence of my parents and many other people, I was forced to live the early-bird lifestyle.

Even though I’ve been living by myself for a long time now, I was still trying to go to bed not too late and wake up not too late either. Until lately, when I got into a 9 to 5 work and school schedule that leaves me, most of the time, exhausted (but happy) by the end of the day.

As I needed to study for midterms, I found a great way to cope with this. I would have an hour-long nap when I get home, which would reenergize me and shift my schedule by a few hours. Now I can tirelessly study and work through my most effective period — at night.

Listen to your clock

If you don’t know yet when you are most efficient, try different hours and see for yourself. Make sure you know if it’s early morning or late night, or afternoon, or some other time.

Any time that works for you is fine. There is nothing bad or wrong in being not willing to wake up at dawn or wanting to spend half of the night at a 24/7 coffee shop. 

Adjust your schedule

Now that you know your most productive time, adjust. Do the least brain-consuming tasks when your brain is not ready to be consumed. Use the most productive time to be, hm… productive.

I wouldn’t suggest spending your best hours in class. After all, taking notes and listening to someone speaking doesn’t need a lot of though, does it? On the other hand, your job and homework do.

Also, figure out a sleep pattern that works for you. I, for example, hate sleeping for 5, 7 or 11 hours, but can easily live with 4, 8, 9, or 10. I also would prefer going to bed at 4am and waking up at noon to going to bad at 10pm and waking up at 6am. I’m a weirdo, I know :).

Embrace your nature

Don’t hesitate. There is no reason to perform worse by following some useless norms. There is no reason to waste time either. Analyze yourself now and you’ll be much happier in the future.

So what’s your most productive time of the day?