Yesterday I was the keynote speaker to a group that lives and breathes networking. You could almost hear the rustle of visiting cards before the meeting even began. People ready to connect, to build, to grow.
And I decided to begin my speech with a fisherman.
Not exactly what they expected.
A man in a boat, early morning, fishing with the seriousness of a man who has targets to meet and bills to pay. He casts his net again and again, using every bit of skill he has learned over the years. Finally he murmurs to himself, “Net not working.”
The audience of networkers realised the pun, and laughed.
Then I told them, this is not just any fisherman. This is Peter. A professional. An expert. A man who knew his work. And yet, that morning, nothing worked.
Why?
Because he had gone back to relying only on himself.
And that is when I played with their favourite word. Networking. I told them, you are all here for networking. But what happens when your net, your business, is not working?
Now they were listening.
Because we have all been there. When experience fails us. When contacts do not convert. When effort produces nothing but frustration.
And then came that quiet voice, that Peter heard.
“Cast your net on the other side.”
Peter listens. And suddenly, everything changes. The net that was not working, begins to work.
That, I told them, is the difference between networking and net not working.
I then shared a simple memory tool with them. Use FISHERS as an acronym to remember.
Fix your eyes on God. Because when my work aligned with something higher, it stood firm.
Invest your spiritual life into your work. I told them how I lost everything before Covid and started again with just an old laptop and daily conversations with God that somehow turned into ideas.
Surrender. Completely. Not partially. Not conveniently to God.
And then came H.
Halt.
I paused when I said it. Because we do not like that word. We like movement, action, speed. But sometimes the most powerful instruction is to stop.
Halt your indecision. Halt your fear driven rushing. Halt your self reliance. Halt your wrong direction.
Halt. Which mean Be still.
Be still and know that I am God.
I could see the room grow quieter.
Because that is the moment when networking becomes something deeper. Not just about meeting people, but about linking with the greatest network; God’s. Not just about pushing forward, but about halting when needed.
The net that was not working. The voice that made it work. And I left them with a thought.
The next time your net refuses to cooperate, do not just try harder.
Try listening and like Peter heard you may also hear the same instructions, and get yourself, more fish than your net can hold..!
bobsbanter@gmail.com.
