There are many lessons to be learned from the classic stories told to children, like Aesop’s Fables. When thinking about networking and what it means to have a community of mutual support and trust, one fable of Aesop’s, in particular, that comes to mind is The Serpent and The Eagle. 

In this short story, an eagle finds himself in quite the predicament—a snake is wrapped around his neck and he is falling to the ground, gasping for air. A countryman witnesses the eagle’s distress and frees him by unwrapping the snake. This makes the snake angry, so he tries to attack the countryman, but he is unable to bite his skin, only his drinking horn. As the countryman journeys home, he becomes thirsty, so he stops to grab a drink of water using his horn. The eagle sees all of this and swoops in—stealing the horn and hiding it so the countryman can never drink from it and become poisoned. 

What’s the moral of this story? 

That a single act of kindness can go a long way—being repaid to the point of saving your life. 

The countryman didn’t have to stop and inconvenience himself to help the eagle. He could have carried on with his day, but he took the time to help a stranger, and that stranger turned into a powerful ally. Sure, he may not have been attacked by the snake if he hadn’t stopped, but he did the right thing and it came back to him. At the end of the day, the only person who lost out was the snake. 

What does this have to do with networking? 

When it comes to building up our networks with trusted connections, they’re much like the bond between the countryman and the eagle. The eagle was in need, so the countryman stepped in and helped him out. In turn, the next time the countryman was in trouble, the eagle was there to swoop in and have his back. Our networks can be one of our greatest resources for support and a bit of life-saving when it’s needed most. 

WiredMates makes building and nurturing your networks easy. All you have to do is download the app, sign up, create your digital business card, and invite your connections to join you. Friends, family, coworkers, and your favorite businesses are all great contacts to start with. As you meet more people, you can wirelessly exchange your digital business cards through the app. 

And about the whole, I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine benefit? 

That’s another built-in feature of WiredMates. You can recommend each and every business card you have to your network which can, in turn, recommend your card. This means that you’ll never be short of trusted referrals from the people you know and trust most. And when they recommend your card, you’ll never be short of word-of-mouth referrals for your business. 

Be like the countryman and take some time to help your friends who are trying to build their businesses. Take a couple of minutes to sign up with WiredMates and refer your friends to the people you know. This proverbial act of uncoiling a snake from around someone’s neck could come back when you need it the most. And the best part? It’s free.

Get wired in today!