About a week ago I was at a business conference here in Toronto. There were over 600 people there. Pretty intense for an energy-sensitive spiritual entrepreneur, right? Yes! Remember, this is coming from ME, someone who a few years ago was TERRIFIED of networking. I used to HATE it.

How do you navigate the energies of big live events as a spiritual, energy-sensitive entrepreneur? Let me define that a bit for you, and I’m going to give you some tips on this.

1. Pick your networking opportunities intuitively and wisely. Go where your ideal client will be. You may not need to go to a great big business networking event or conference. It depends on who your ideal client is. So get clear on that first. HOT TIP: Go where you will meet people who are AHEAD of you too – richer than you, smarter than you, more zen than you, whatever it is that you want to grow in yourself – because it will pull you forward into something greater just by being in their presence.

2. Set your intentions before you even leave your house. What do you want to get out of this event? How many people do you want to meet? My most basic intention when I attend an event is to connect in a meaningful way with at least 3 people. One time I set my intention to connect in a meaningful way with at least 3 women and 3 men. I had no idea if any men would even come to that event. And… at that point I was shy with men. But by the end of the 3rd day, I had met my goal and was just so incredibly inspired by some of the people I met.

3. Prepare yourself spiritually and energetically! And again, do it before you even leave your house. Get really centred in yourself. Then you’ll be more able to stay in your centre and not let in all the random chaotic energy of everyone in there. I had a very interesting moment where I kind of stepped into ‘observer’ mode and really became aware of the energy in the room… instead of allowing myself to become part of it. What I felt was a lot of frantic, pushy, almost needy energy… not unlike a lot of big conferences. So then I tapped consciously into the energy in between the spaces of that, and I literally hummed my way between people until I met up with a couple of friends.

4. Energetically call in the people who are meant to meet you, so that your connections will be mutually beneficial. At one networking event last year, I did this each morning of the conference. One the 2nd day, I encountered a teenager whose t-shirt had a profound spiritual message on it. And that evening, 5 or 6 women came up to exactly where I was sitting, alone, and ALL of them had just had a “feeling” they should come over there. THAT is how powerful your intentions and energy can be.

5. Let your overall goal be to CONNECT with the people you meet, NOT to sell or promote yourself or to get your business card into as many hands as possible. The truth is, until you really connect with someone, you won’t know if they are an ideal client, or if they might be a great joint venture partner or referral partner, or even a new friend. You have no idea. And the only way to find out is to CONNECT with them. Now, is it good to have a few cool questions to ask people you meet? Is it good to know how to talk about your work in a way that attracts your ideal client? Absolutely! But unless you have these energetic pieces in place, none of that will matter.

Remember, networking is really about connection. It’s not about finding your next client, but done well, it can absolutely lead you to new clients, colleagues, friends, and opportunities you may not even have thought of yet. (: