The Networking Maven Gelie Akhenblit talks about the power of connection in business and life. As the founder of NetworkingPhoenix she observes the shortcomings of fly-by networking techniques and pushy business card tactics. Conversely she knows the power and magic of making an impression and developing relationships. Listen as she shares her secrets for creating powerful interactions and increasing business success.

Hello this is Tonya Dawn Recla, your Super Power Expert. Today, with me is just a delightful woman. She’s become a really good friend of mine and I enjoy just being in her presence and spending time with her. More importantly, she is a very, very, very powerful connector. I know those of you in Phoenix know exactly who I’m talking about. She is the Maven of Networking, here in Phoenix. Please help me welcome Gelie to the show. Welcome Gelie.

Thank you so much Tonya. I’m so excited to be here.

Yay! It’s very exciting to have you here! I really like it because you represent a portion of our guests who really are out doing some cool stuff in the world that on the surface doesn’t appear to have a whole lot to do with Super Powers. But when you dig right below that surface point, you do see the connection. So, let’s just jump right in. I’m going to ask you, what are your Super Powers?

Well, that’s an interesting question because that’s something I’ve asked you before, “Well, Tonya, what are my Super Powers?” I think, for me, I’ve always had this ability to connect with people, one-on-one, and really connect with people. I think, a lot of times, if you don’t really have such an easy way of connecting with people you don’t really understand what that means. So, let me elaborate on that.

All my relationships are deep, they’re meaningful they’re real, and they’re raw. I don’t really know any other way. I’ve had to learn how to disconnect from people sometimes because all I know is how to really connect, and really get to the depth and the soul of the person that I’m speaking with.

How does that work for me? I don’t really know. It’s just something I’ve always had. It’s just one of my gifts. I’ll tell you, it took me a while to realize not everyone is like me. It was somewhere around high school, when it dawned on me that I have this unique something, unique gift of just connecting with people. I think the reason I can even connect with them is because I see them in a certain way right. When I say, the word see, I’m pretty sure anybody listening to this podcast can probably understand the deeper meaning is that I’m not just looking at them, but I’m actually seeing who they are as a person, what they represent, who they are at their core, what their energy feels like. My interactions with them then start to cater to them on that level of what do they need from me. And I think this is how I quickly just make a lot of friends.

I absolutely can see that. And it is a gift. I love the fact that you said that it took you a while to realize that not everybody is like that. That’s a really common story when people start to wake into their Super Powers is that it really is the most natural thing in the world for us to do. There’s two parts of it: one is that we never dreamt that it was something that not everyone could do. But the second piece is really seeing it as providing something of huge value in the world.

So, I watch you interact in these communities and in groups of people. For a lot of people just to hear you say, “Don’t present yourself first as your business, or your title, or your act, your resume, or your three letters after your name. Connect and talk to people about their story. I’ve heard you say many, many times ask people “What’s your story?” “What is it that makes you tick? What’s underneath all of that?” And it really does change environments. It’s magical to watch from afar.

Oh, thank you.

To me, it feels very perfect about what we’re seeing in alignment with this movement, to breaking down walls and getting away from the whole idea that you put on this business mask, and then when you go home you’re someone totally different. I’ll just ask you, what has your experience been with trying to manage your private life and your personal life when you have these connections or relationships to people?

That’s a good question. For me, when I show up anywhere, I’m always Gelie. There’s just not multiple sides to me. I mean, maybe in a sense of multiple sides like we all have different interests and what-not. But I’m always Gelie. There’s not like a Work Gelie, and then a Super Private Gelie. I’ll tell you the biggest misconception people have about me, they think I’m the most social person in the world. In reality, I’m actually not that social. I can be social, but I also like to sit at home and hibernate. That’s my private on some levels. Again, with me, when I show up I’m just me.

What I see with other people is they show up and they hide their entire personality behind their business card or behind what they do for a living. They think that they have to be so professional that they really strip away a lot of the personality that they bring with them, or they could bring, or should bring with them. This is where the disconnect happens because if you’re showing up, and you’re leading with your business card, or what you do for a living, that’s not really who you are as a person. That’s why I tell people, “Your name doesn’t even matter in that initial introduction because no one is going to remember your name.” Some people play the name game, but that’s such a small percentage. The person that you’re talking to, their name isn’t going to be that relevant to you until you actually care about them. Again, people lead with the wrong things. They lead with the name, they lead with the business cards, they lead with logistics. I tend to lead with my intuition.

This is where the Super Power comes in, where I’m not even consciously thinking about it. My gut will tell me, “This is somebody that you should talk to,” or “this is somebody you shouldn’t talk to,” or “this is somebody you can have a conversation with, but keep them at arm’s length,” or “this is somebody you need to get to know ASAP.” Depending on my feeling of the situation, the person’s energy, and what’s happening at the moment, I’m going to be treat it differently. So, I treat every interaction differently. My challenge is when I teach this to people, like this conversation I’m having with you right now and we’re talking on this podcast, this isn’t something I can say to the mass public. So, my challenge is always, how do I break this down for people so that they can actually understand what I’m trying to say, but not scare them away. Because if I say, “Use your intuition,” and they’re like, “What!” I’m here to get leads, not play woo-woo or whatever. Interestingly enough, when I talk to people one-on-one and I bring up some of these concepts then, they feel a lot more comfortable discussing it that way and opening it up, or opening up to me and saying, “Oh, I do have intuition.” But a lot of people just thought even tap into their intuition, or if they hear it, they ignore it.

I am always just trying to give people bite sized pieces, like something they can actually process and put into actionable items of how to connect with others. Leading with your story, as you mentioned earlier, is something I always teach. Who cares about their name? Ask them what their story is. Is that going to confuse them? Yes. Is that going to make you more memorable? Yes. So even better. Whenever you cause confusion, or you cause chaos, or you make somebody laugh, you basically break them out of their own templates. Now you have their attention. It’s not like you have to have Super Powers to connect with people. Your biggest Super Power is your uniqueness. People will want to work with you, they’ll want to be friends with you, they’ll want to help you because of who you are, not because of what your business card looks like.

The reason why I think this is so valuable right now, and, well, maybe I’m just biased because we have two businesses that really operate in those arenas. But I like the idea of changing the environment and creating a space that allows for people to show up more fully in who they are. The challenge in the business arena is that it. It goes against everything that we’ve been taught. Some old techniques, a lot of them were very fear based techniques of what business looks like. The idea is that you have to be all those things you were talking about, stoic and professional, and all these ideas of what that is. And, in order to show up fully and confidently in what you do, and who you are, and what you have to offer people, you have to have done some journeying to get to that place. You couldn’t show up in full confidence, and being open, and connecting with people if you weren’t fairly confident in who you are, if you hadn’t mastered your own Personal Power. That’s a big part of where we step in.

People look to the ideal in terms of business, and business success, and everything else. I don’t know how many times a day I tell people, you cannot attain that if you’re not willing to look at who you are, and what you bring to the table, and what your fears are about showing up in those spaces. What’s beautiful about what you do is you do make it tangible for people, you do make it into those bite sized pieces, so they can, in a moment, in an environment, say, “OK, what did Gelie say to do here, again.” And that’s so powerful, those practical steps as they journey. And that’s going to lead them down that journey of discovering more about who they are as they connect with more people and they realize, “Oh, wow! I can be myself and it’s OK.” Watch what happens to your business when you do choose that approach. But it’s counter-intuitive if you’re not desperately looking for leads or sales. The idea is that you won’t get any. But what I’ve seen, far more frequently, is that if you first focus on the relationship and connecting with people, the business grows exponentially.

Yeah. Absolutely. This is something you know, this is something that I know. I know I talked to you in the past and you’ve told me that a lot of times you just show up to events, and you network differently than most people. Actually, there are moments depending on what situation I’m in I have to network differently. But a lot of times, I network like you, where I’m just going to sit and the energy of whoever’s there, or however it all plays out, is just going to play out. I just have to be there. Whoever I’m supposed to meet I’m going to be.

And just trust. Trust that it’s going to unfold.

Yeah. And you’ve told me that’s what you do, and yeah, I do that all the time. So, when somebody comes up to me and says they have the latest and greatest networking app, I’m like, “Oh my goodness.” It’s just not for me. I get that some people need apps, people need technology to connect, people need a push. I get that. But it’s so funny because here I am, they call me the Networking Queen, the Connector, all these words that I wouldn’t place on myself, to be quite honest, but that’s what they call me.

For me, I like to walk into a room full of strangers, and it’s a treasure hunt. It’s like it’s a playground for me because I get to use my intuition, I get to use my gifts to find the person or the people I’m supposed to meet that night. And again, is that something I can get up in front of 100 people and tell them to do the same? Maybe not in those words. But I explain to them how it’s a treasure hunt. I also give them tangible tools that if they don’t have this gift that I do, and here’s how you can actually meet people you’re supposed to meet and connect. But it is very difficult for me to come up with ideas and apps or whatever. Everybody wants me to come up with of how to help people connect in a group setting because, again, for me I use intuition. Let me tell you, that’s better than any app that is ever going to be free.

Absolutely. But it all goes back to and is predicated on the idea that people are afraid that they’re not going to be able to pay payroll that month, or they’re not going to be able to pay their mortgage that month, or bills aren’t going to get paid and they need to make those leads. It’s really challenging to sell them on the idea that if you just relax, and sit in an environment, and connect with people all of that will be resolved. It’s truly counter-intuitive.

And so, those little steps along the way are extremely crucial because it gives the mind an action item and says, “OK, this is what I was doing. Gelie, who’s the Networking Maven, who knows these things, is telling me that this is the way I do it.” What you’re doing is you’re overwriting the person’s fears and their minds to say look do this and then it actually frees their Higher Self their energy up to connect as they’re doing those steps. And so, it’s much more in-depth probably and people would realize and of course perhaps you can’t share it with everybody if you like. Let me just train your mind to do something specific so that you can go right here and connect. But it works and it works for that reason because it is very bizarre for a lot of people to think that they can actually connect with people without falling into the old ways of doing things.

Yeah. Yeah. And I love what you just said because it goes so much deeper than what it looks like And that’s why I tell people networking is just like a little simple word that we slap on it in order to make it makes sense to the masses. But in reality, it’s about connecting with people and like I said at the very beginning once they actually connect to somebody it’s a full-on relationship, there’s nothing fake about my relationship. There’s nothing. Again, unless it’s somebody I meet and I know I have to hold them at an arm’s length, but I still continued the relationship for whatever purpose. It’s just so much deeper than that.

The way other people have trophies or accomplishments, that’s like I have people around me that I view as “trophies” or accomplishments because I know the work I had to do in order to get near them or uncover what they might be missing in their lives so I could show up presenting that. As I mentioned, everybody I talked to I’m going to cater to them on a level that speaks to them. These are very deep concepts that I don’t actually really ever talk about in my presentations because most people are interested in things like “how do I get out of an annoying conversation.” That’s my most frequently asked question, “How do I get out of a conversation?” Really, you can’t figure it out? I tell them, you have to go to the bathroom and go. That sounds silly, but these are the things I teach people. I teach it like that’s a very serious question, where in my mind I’m thinking, OK I could teach you so much right now, and you want to know is how to get out of a conversation. You politely excuse yourself and you leave.

I feel like I play on different levels. When I actually meet somebody that gets it or speaks my language so I can connect the dots. That’s a real connection for me. The way you and I met, I met you at one of my events. It’s took a few times for us to follow up. Another thing, at my own event it’s very difficult for me to connect because I’m actually working them. So, I’m not an open space to connect. I’m actually in the space of, “I got to get these people in, I got to give on the platform, I got to get them.” So, it’s a little bit different at my own events is why I actually prefer to go to other people’s events.

It makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of people don’t realize. I’ve observed you at your events, it’s fascinating to watch how people clamor for that because you do represent success in that arena for them. You are masterful at navigating those waters. What I love about it is twofold, one, it’s a real testament to your energy and what you provide to people that they want to be that close to you. But then two, it’s a constant opportunity for you to model how it’s done. So, even though you may not be giving them exactly what their temporal selves think that they want in that moment, you’re modeling something much greater for them, which ultimately gives them permission to show up in a way that maintains their own personal boundaries and helps them create what their heart’s desire is.

A lot of times we think if we run these businesses and stuff like we have to be fully accessible to people because what our members think of we’re not know and all of this. I grappled with that in the very beginning with Super Power Experts. Where do you draw the line to make sure that they feel connected to you? And yet, you still have the space to, one, refuel yourself and to continue building what it is that everybody has gathered there for it and it really is a delicate balancing act.

What got me over that hump was really viewing it as an opportunity to model how it looks when somebody is truly standing in their power and is in full sovereignty. Sometimes that means not giving everybody exactly what they think they want in that moment. But really abiding by some higher laws of what those interactions can look like. Some of us, in certain environments, are really pioneering that. So, it can feel lonely or can feel like you’re letting people down and you’re disappointing them when they didn’t get to sit and talk with you for 20 minutes at your hip when you’re trying to manage other people. But, to serve the masses, you really have to sometimes disappoint the smaller piece of individuals.

Yeah you do. I rely on most people having an understanding that when there’s 10 people trying to talk to me at once, it’s going to be very difficult for me to give them my full attention. So, I find that most people are actually very understanding. Some people are not. I’ve had some weird experiences, but that’s because about them because of who they are, obviously not me. I just don’t see it that way. But yeah, it is a fine balance.

I find that if you are just able to give somebody like a legit connection of some sort and a piece of your time, and really share your thoughts, even in one conversation out of 10/20 that you may have with them throughout the year. That connection goes a long way.

You and I, we can go deep. Again, we deal with different people because your network is people that, maybe want that connectedness and are a little deeper. I’m going to generalize here. Whereas my network, I’m not saying that they are not any of that, but that’s not how they’re looking to connect with me either. So, they’re not looking for necessarily deep things from me. They’re looking for, most people want things from me, they want me to give them business, and they don’t want to pay me. This is what people want from me. So, those people I don’t really care to please them because it’s like, great. That’s not going to happen, go away. I don’t say that to them but that’s just not going to get anything from me.

So, the people that do want the connection is really not that difficult to get up from me Tonya because so few people actually want a real connection from me. They make you better. I really nurse so few people in my life that I’m truly connected to most people and I and I have good people around me. So, it’s not like I’m stranded with in the middle of nowhere, but a lot of people in my network that’s not what they want from me because they don’t actually even know that’s what I have to offer. Again, they see me as this networking person, and they probably don’t even realize I’m actually pretty freaking deep, and that’s why I don’t even say networking. I don’t even like that adjective. Of course, it’s what I do. That’s not how I would ever identify myself. If you asked me who was Gelie, I will tell you I’m here to help people connect. I’m here to connect with people and I can get them to the next level. I would never even use the word networking if it wasn’t the word that I had to use. So, people see me differently than I actually know or see myself. Again, if all they want from me is a name or a lead. Great. I’ll give that to them and send them on their way. It’s not difficult for me to do. Very few people actually seek that emotional connections and guidance from me that maybe people in your network are just more in tune with. That’s just a random thought I had while we were talking, so I thought that I would share it.

I appreciate that. I think that it reminds me of when I came out of government and really entered into the business scene. Phoenix was the first-place Justin and I came to. That’s where we really were when we were introduced to Networking Phoenix. It was like I told you before that it’s a really amazing network that you’ve created and it makes doing business very easy. What I was hit with was exactly what you’re talking about, which was how do you show up in a space where there are expectations about what the real interaction is going to be if that isn’t the interaction that you’re looking for. And I really got very good at just being clear about that, and say, I’m happy to offer you, especially in the due diligence arena, are you asking me for specific due diligence advice or are you asking me for the information that’s coming through that you really need, but you think you’re asking me about due diligence? It’s the same concept. And I just got good delineating it and giving people choice.

I hear that that’s what you’re doing energetically. You’re basically saying, “I will engage with you at the level at which you are owning that you want that engagement.” I think it’s awesome because you give people choice. It’s a nice filter so that you’re not wasting your time trying to connect with people in a deep way if they’re truly just not interested in that. I found a lot of solace. If people looked me in my face when I asked them the question and said, “I really just want some due diligence advice,” Cool. OK, so I shut up this whole aspect of myself and I go, here’s the information you need and then we’re done. As opposed to the other route, like you mentioned, which is a lot more involved. That’s the start of a whole conversation which has the possibility of turning into a relationship. Certainly, it’s going to take a number of interactions to create enough.

Yeah. And then I just see a lot of people in the networking arenas want “quick and easy.” And that’s fine, but quick and easy is a very superficial interaction, as far as I’m concerned. It very rarely will result in even monetary exchange. And it certainly won’t result in referrals because I literally cannot refer somebody if I have no clue who they are. And it certainly won’t result in a sale or a business to business transaction. And so, it’s funny when you look at it from that perspective it’s almost like a superficial quick and easy becomes pretty much worthless if there’s nothing behind it. Yeah, I hadn’t even thought about it that way. You’re not even getting what you want, it’s not even self-preservation at that point. It’s not in your own best interests.

It’s not. That’s why people say, “Well networking doesn’t work.” And there’s maybe a three to six-month turnaround, and they’re like, “I tried. It didn’t work.” And I’m like, “Well, I think you weren’t networking. I think you were just promoting yourself in a really bad way.” The people that know how to network, network and build the network. Look at you, look at me. You can’t tell us that networking doesn’t work. Of course, you have to know how to connect with people. That’s where I always try to teach people on the fundamental level is the connection piece because I can give you tips and tricks all day long, but if at the end of the day you don’t actually know how to connect, none of that matters.

I actually see that, more often than you would think, in the light-working, change-agent arena, because most of the people who do energy work, or healing work, or coaching, or whatever the case may be, it’s like they’re really focused on “that’s what they do.” The idea that you also have to be doing business, and doing business is creating the connections, and finding the synergies, and the collaborations, and in finding the referral partners, and building up those kinds of relationships, is just one more thing on top of those skills.

A lot of them have worked long term honing their gift. The challenge is, I think, if you’re going to hone your gift and use it in someone else’s business, or you have to hone that gift and hone business gifts as well. It’s really fascinating when they hit up against that wall and realize that the universe isn’t just going to hand them an existence because they had these special woo gifts. And more and more people are awakening to the fact that all of us have access to those gifts. There really is nothing that special about it outside of how you choose to use it. It’s been a really harsh reality for a lot of people to wake up into when they thought that just by virtue of opening up to those gifts that somehow the world magically changed because of that. And I would say that may even be a ruder awakening than the businessy folks who did business and they are realizing that they missed out on a piece of who they are and they’re having to go and pick up those pieces. So, it’s fascinating to watch both very generalized groups of people have to learn to come together in the middle somehow. It’s true in both arenas.

On a lot of levels, my network is really no different from yours. It’s just from a different perspective. So exactly what you’re talking about, is one of the hardest concepts I can get people to understand. like I’m still getting referrals and leads from people I met five years ago. But because I continually show up and we continually do our work and we end we were continually growing and evolving and pushing ourselves and doing business. Those referrals just grow and grow like one of our good friends, Maria Speth said to me one time, “it’s farming not fishing.” And when you treat it that way it’s like you’re constantly planting seeds, you’re constantly watering them, that you’re able to harvest at different stages. I see it across the board. I don’t think that those individuals who’ve really harnessed their Super Powers are exempt from the fact that you have to be willing to do business in the same way that you decided to grow your gifts.

Right. You still have to connect with people just because you have a gift doesn’t mean anything. You can go around saying all day long I have a gift. To me, that’s great, but how does that bring me value.

Yep. And it is. I love the fact that as I’ve done these interviews for the last year, that’s been really highlighted. There are a lot of really amazing people in the world doing really amazing things with their Super Powers, but the ones who are doing it successfully and creating a life that they want to live in, are having to do all of it. And they have to push themselves in the arenas that maybe aren’t that comfortable, which for a lot of the healing, Woo-Woo, energy people is the business side of things. Most of them rejected that world completely. So it’s fascinating to watch who chooses to bridge that chasm and who doesn’t. And I’m not saying that’s the only way to do it. Certainly, there are many ways to show up in the world, but the ones who claim that they want to have a business using their gifts. It’s a bit of a challenge for them.

So, I appreciate bringing people like you onto this show where us went about it the other way were the businessy piece is what you’ve been doing. And while you’ve been honing your personal gifts and your Super Powers on the back end, now you’re seeing how it all comes together in a very natural way. You have to keep working both sides of that though. You can’t. I guess I shouldn’t put words in your mouth has that been your experience that you have to continually grow yourself and your business simultaneously?

Oh, yeah absolutely. It’s just like anything else, if you don’t exercise your gifts. Just because you have them doesn’t mean you have to. I found that. I like to use the word “play.” I don’t know that’s the right word, but I play with my gifts because if I don’t play with them, it’s not that they go away, but it’s like the same concept. If I go to the gym like who cares that I know how to do a clean. If I haven’t cleaned a bar for months and then I go back to the gym and try to do it the same way, that’s not going to work. I’m going to hurt every muscle in my body. So, if I don’t keep exercising the gift then, I don’t think it goes away, but it’s not front and center. The more I played with it, the more front and center it is.

But again, it’s a little hard for me to tell because certain things are so innate to me. I don’t know what’s my gift. I don’t know what’s in my head. I just don’t really know. I’ve just learned to trust. So, sometimes you told me, you said, I think it was you that said to me that my head chakra is open. So, I just found that the thoughts in my head aren’t even mine. And sure, a lot of them are mine. But, I can hear people’s thoughts. I don’t know how else to say it, but I can be energetically look at them, and I may not even pick it up that moment, then I leave them, and have like different phrases rattle in my mind, and I’m like, “Huh, that’s what that was about.” So, I don’t really understand how everything works. And I definitely haven’t spent a lot of time honing my gifts or trying to see what I can do with them. I do feel like they’re pretty powerful because when I do play with them, and I do put like lead with that then really interesting things happen. Honestly, I feel like I could probably use a lot more exercising in the gift that I even have because right now I almost feel like I use it for personal reasons. Who do I trust? Who do I not trust? How do I do this? How do I not do this? Of course, with my friends, like I’ll tune in and be, OK this is how I see it. But those are just conversations with friends. I don’t really like to use this in a mass that like I don’t really know. I feel like even for me, I feel like I’m still discovering what else I could do with these gifts.

I’ll tell you the biggest thing I’ve had to learn how to do is to just trust. When I was, younger I didn’t. When you’re young, you don’t even know. You’re like, “What are these voices in my head? Why do other people don’t see what I know the snakes know?” So, once I got to the point of just trust. Because you are where you are, and this is what it is. From that point, I think it’s a whole different ballgame. But I haven’t really exposed myself much to a life where I can play, and learn, and discover. I would say, maybe even most recently, I’ve created the space to do that. And this is where you and I had connected. It’s so funny because you were trying to connect with me and I was so resistant to it. I was resistant to everything. You were just in a mix of my resistance and I still have a strong resistance side. But then one day I’m sitting there and I heard it so loudly, like I can’t even tell you. And it was like, “You need to talk to Tonya.” And I’m like, “Oh my god.” So, I emailed you, and I let’s bumped up our meeting like this needs to happen sooner or later.

It’s like, “God, is that you God?”

I don’t know if it’s God, but I hear things. It was like I was finally in a space of not so much resistance and I heard that message so loud and clear. So, for me it’s just about putting clearing space for myself where I can actually be myself.

I recently came out of a relationship where I was with somebody for 17 years. Whenever we’re with somebody for good or bad, we give up a piece of ourselves and we may have to make space for the other person. And a lot of times, when you do that you do tend to give up some pieces of yourself. And unfortunately, in my case, the relationship when it started was amazing when it ended it was like the opposite of amazing. But through that journey of getting to the opposite of amazing, I lost a lot of pieces of myself. I don’t know if I lost them, but forgot them, didn’t use that well, whatever the case is, whatever adjective we want to put on it. So, a lot of what I’m doing now is really getting back to my core, and listening, and doing. It just puts me in a completely different space.

When people meet with me all they want to talk about is networking, and I’m like, “Oh my god, I’m like going through so much right now. But what. What do you want? Networking? OK.” I will with the way that we play now. It’s actually really difficult. It’s difficult for me to balance. But I shouldn’t say difficult, I should say it’s a challenge. I actually probably do really well because I just do. So, it’s not that big of a deal.

But that’s how life is right now because I’m in my own journey. I’m going through whatever I’m going through and I want it to be done by the end of this year. I just want to clean house. I want to go on to 2017 with a completely different energy and something I’m doing right now. Reconnecting with friends on a deeper level because when I was in a bad relationship, I had to shut down how I feel about my ex-husband, who was my husband then, had to shut down a lot of things and it just really shut down a lot of my feelings. And that’s how I know to live with my feelings. So, there’s a lot of me that’s been shaken up, and now it just needs to settle. Just some pieces need to stay some pieces need to go.

The reason I’m telling you this again is because everybody knows me as this networking person. But so, few actually take the time to look at me as a person or have a real conversation with me, or actually connect with me. Everybody is asking the same questions. How did you start Networking Phoenix? Freaking Google it? No. I’m in front of you and of all the questions and then entire freaking world, you want to ask me something that’s all over the Internet? Great. If you ask me, I’m not going to hate anybody for asking me that, but I can already tell you that’s not my person. My people, the people that connect with me on that real, deep level, that I call a part of my team wouldn’t ask me that. They would ask me real things. Not that’s a fake thing to ask. This is where my network like networking. I’m staying aside to get an adjective that I live with like that something that others put on me and rate of course I have a networking company, but who am I as Gelie. I’m so much more than that.

And I love that. I think it’s such a great reminder for all of us. It’s easy to put everybody in their boxes. It’s necessary on some level to categorize and figure things out, but when you’re sitting there with that person, and you have access to them, and you’re able to connect, just connect. See where the similarities are in and I see if there’s a real relationship that can develop there. I have yet to find a person that I don’t connect with, that I can’t have a conversation with, that I don’t have something in common with. And when you come from that place, not that everybody’s going to be a close friend, or even that the relationship will develop, but there’s potential with everybody. And for me when you explore from that place there’s a lot of power in that. So, I love that story. That encapsulates our concept of live in your power, where you get the hits, you take action. I love that one of your stories had to do with taking the hit to contact me to get in touch with me because I really do appreciate our relationship. And the parallels. It’s just been a blast getting to know you.

I know a lot of our listeners are going to want to know more about you. Where can we send them for that?

Yeah absolutely. So, if anyone is interested in the networking platform, I actually do a lot of, it is my baby. We can call me the Networking Maven for that, as long as people realize there’s more to me. But they can find me through Networking Phoenix. Literally, they can contact me through NetworkingPhoenix.com, Phoenix is all spelled out. And then, my consulting company, this is where I work with people one on one for different networking. We call them networking strategy, but when you sit down one on one with me, we go deep. I’m going to tell you what you really need to work on. So, this is where I actually do my energetic work with people. And then I put in a nice little business package for them so they don’t feel like we just woo woo the crap out of you. That’s gelie. So again, all information about me is there are they can contact me through there, GELIE.COM.

Awesome. Very cool. And for those of you who have an opportunity here in Phoenix to connect with daily makes me think of the end of that I can attest to the fact that she’s so much more than a Networking Maven, although she’s pretty well mastered that all. So, she has a lot to offer in that arena and if you’re looking to grow your business here in Phoenix and then she’s a great person to connect with. But remember make sure that you’re actually connecting with her so that they can help. Thank you so much for joining us I really enjoyed the our conversation today.

Thank you, Tonya, appreciate being here.

Absolutely! And to all of you out there, as always, we appreciate your loyalty. And until next time, go out, uncover your Super Powers, and change the world. Take care everyone.

Learn more about Gelie and Networking Phoenix.