When I was much younger, in my budding pre-teen years, "networking" as a term meant nothing to me. Yet ironically it was at this time that I was better at it than at any other point in my life. I would gleefully show people the drawings I'd made or the stories I'd written (portfolio), I would ask any stranger a question about what they were doing and why (meet and greet), I would even try to convince people to let me do something that they may not have necessarily believed I could do (sales).

As kids, we have networking down. We don't even realize how important it is, and yet we're naturals at it. Getting out there and meeting people is just part of what we do. The kid in the sandbox with us could be a potential friend so we happily strike up a conversation. It's out of the blue. It's fresh. It isn't couched in propriety or with the conscious thought of "how can I profit from this?"

That's what networking is really supposed to be about. Today, with the corporate mentality that we've adopted as personal philosophy, we never seem to meet anyone and just expect to be friends. There's always some profit motivation behind everything we do.

I do this all the time. In fact, I've made it part of my business plan. I have quotes like, "Every person you meet is a potential client." Or "Find what every person needs and fill the need." I'm miles from the sandbox these days. Instead of looking at every kid I see as one more kid I can play games with or get on the jungle gym with, I now see everyone with a thin watermark of dollar signs over them.

Actually, that's not entirely true. Though I do have the mindset of "everyone is a potential client," what I've been finding more and more is that when I go out and meet people the first thing that comes up isn't "Nice to meet you! How can I charge you some money today?" Instead, I find that I'm looking very closely to see what their needs are. Granted, I'm doing this so that I might be able to offer a solution that makes me a profit. At least, that's how it started. But what I've found is the more I focus on the needs of the other person, the less I think about my own needs. The more I try to come to a way of helping this person I just met, the less I worry about making a profit myself. Somehow, it just happens.

We tend to think that profit is bad. If we're out for profit it means we have little regard for anyone but ourselves. But is that true? Is it impossible to be oriented towards profit and still care about other people?

Of course not. Smack yourself for thinking it. Here's why.

The key to success is meeting the needs of others. In order to meet those needs you have to be able to spot them. People who are looking inward all the time only see their own needs. The one unbreakable law of the Universe of Business is that you'll never be able to meet your own needs by yourself. It takes help from the outside. It takes...and this comes as a shock I know... clients who are willing to pay you for your work. It takes customers. It takes employees who believe in what they're doing and do it for more than just a paycheck.

Trust me, this is gospel - turn your attention outward. Look at everyone you meet and ask yourself what they need and how you can help.

That's what networking really is. When we were kids, this was what networking would have meant to us. Play with others and they'll play with you. Otherwise you're just building sandcastles by yourself. And where's the fun in that?

J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor for ViewOnline Magazine at www.viewonline.com. He is also a Writer/Producer for Hat Digital Media. You may contact him via e-mail at kevin@viewonline.com. He would love it if you'd give him a push on the swing.