Ryan Levander

Never Eat Alone: Book Review

Published on: July 5, 2017
Read Time: 2 minutes

I recently listened to a podcast talking about investing in multipliers in life. One of those multipliers are people. Networking. Not in the sleazy 1990s way most people view networking of exchanging business cards and getting straight to the sales pitch. But networking in connecting to one another in a real, authentic way.

I heard another podcaster say, “My network is my net worth”. Hah…a little bold, but I definitely get it in some industries. Especially Real Estate, Affiliate Marketing, Influencer Marketing, etc.

Now, for the review…

Do you wish to get ahead in life? Climb the ladder to personal success? The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people.

As Ferrazzi discovered early in life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the ability of relationships-so that everybody wins.

In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps-and internal mindset-he uses to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his Rolodex, people he’s helped and who have helped him.

The son of a small-town steelworker and a cleaning lady, Ferrazzi first used his remarkable ability to connect with others to pave the way to a scholarship at Yale, a Harvard MBA, and many top executive posts.

Not yet out of his thirties, he developed a network of relationships that stretched from Washington’s corridors of power to Hollywood’s A-list, resulting in him being named one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 and selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the Davos World Economic Forum.

Photos by Ryan Levander are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Ferrazzi’s form of connecting to the world around him is based on generosity, helping friends connect with other friends. Ferrazzi distinguishes genuine relationship-building in the crude, desperate glad-handling generally associated with “networking.” He then distills his system of reaching out to people into practical, proven principles. Among them: Do not keep score: It’s never simply about getting what you want.

It’s about getting everything you want and making certain that the men and women that are important to you get what they want, too. “Ping” constantly: The intricacies of reaching out to people in your circle of contacts all the time-not just when you need something.

Never eat alone: The dynamics of status are the same whether you’re working at a corporation or attending a society event- “invisibility” is a fate worse than failure. In the course of the book, Ferrazzi outlines the timeless strategies shared by the world’s most connected individ

"*" indicates required fields

If you enjoyed this article, please consider receiving my weekly newsletter. I typically write about Entrepreneurship, Travel, Self Improvement, Colorado Living, Ultra Running, and Epic Adventures.

Mentions and Resources

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *