“Who’s in Your Circle?”
AHANA Program Teaches How to Network and Expand One’s Circle of Influence

By Cheryl D’Mello

CSU professors and students discuss the importance of who's in their circle.

“What do the five closest people around me say about me? How many people in your circle do you have that are successful in your field? Can you stay in your circle and succeed? Do you need a mentor?” asked Nathan C. Phillips, a corporate and organization training consultant.

He was addressing a group of students, staff, and faculty at the “Who’s In Your Circle?” event which was part of the African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Native American (AHANA) Peer Mentoring Program and Kikundi Black Male Initiative on April 15. It was sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and was a part of Black Aspirations Week. “If you have people in your circle who don’t share your passion and hopes, you don’t kick them out; you just put them in another circle.”

Phillips is CEO of NLL Enterprise, LLC and President of No Limit Leaders Youth Organization, and has trained over 11,000 people since 1997.”The average American has 80,000 thoughts a day; 70% of them are negative. We have got to use that 30% of positive energy,” he said. “In order to achieve you have to believe and never deceive the capability of any possibility, for versatility is the best ability,” he said, reeling off the philosophy of his youth organization.

Phillips challenged students to identify their personal goals and passion in life. “It’s not about the money, it’s about your passion. If you chase your passion, money will chase you,” he said, animatedly sharing his life story and the choices he made after being on his own from the age of 15 in Cleveland.

He stressed the importance of being ready with your 30-second commercial. “It is better to be prepared and not have an opportunity, rather than to have an opportunity and not be prepared,” he said. Phillips also spoke about the law of reciprocity. “The more you give, the more you receive,” he said, speaking of incidents in his life where he had volunteered his services, and ended up receiving more than he had given.

He conjured up one of the student’s vision of a dream car, a silver Mercedes Benz with plush leather and the “brain” open, with gleaming rims, cruising through the hood at two miles an hour. “We can all see that vision. But what is your vision in life?” he questioned. “You need people in your circle not to change who you are, but to add on to who you want to become,” he concluded.

The event was preceded by a networking event to encourage, enlighten and influence African American males to network and thoroughly utilize resources and other venues of support to enhance and ensure their academic and professional success. Phillips’s talk was followed by a reception.

Article originally appeared in The Cauldron on April 20, 2009.