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Let 2015 be a year full of fun, networking and successful collaborations…your New Year resolution should be formulated based on your personal preferences and vision.

 You invest in your money, but do you invest in your relationships?
Assess your assets and identify your liabilities…. Sometimes we tend to spend too much time focusing on the value of the wrong set of assets.
Fatema Al A’ali believes that your social capital, or your ability to build a network of authentic personal and professional relationships, not your financial capital, is the most important asset in your portfolio.
Seeking out and working in collaboration with others who share your interests and values will provide a stronger foundation, enabling you to reach a higher level of success than you would on your own. Therefore, your “net worth” will be based not on the size of your portfolio or the size of your network but on your ability to define and stay true to your passions and values and that working with other people who share them will allow you to build a strong and enduring interpersonal safety net that will carry you through any financial calamity to greater output and personal fulfillment.
Connecting with people that shared my values and interests has changed my life.

 Less Job Security 
One reason your network is your net worth is that how we work, along with the role of the employer, has been completely transformed. Globalization, changes in digital technology, and a wavering economy have made tens of millions of corporate positions more contingent and less secure.
With few workplace guarantees, it’s important to recognize your best path to job security is yourself. The more adaptive, flexible, and agile you are, the more you’ll succeed. Look internally, not externally, for happiness and job security. Build your skill sets, improve your network, ask questions, and don’t assume that others will take charge of your career.

 Employers Turn To Internal Referrals 
When I needed it most, my network proved to be my net worth and I landed a job leading the marketing department at Abu Isa Holding in Qatar. Without my network, I would not have heard about the AIH job opportunity. Without my network, I would not have had the references (i.e., a prior employer and a past client) to provide to pass the employment screening process. Without my network, finding a job in a down turning economy could have been much more challenging.

Technology Accelerated Connecting 
Your network is also your net worth because we’ve entered a new era where shifting cultural values and improved technology enable us to network in vastly improved, more focused, and more enjoyable ways that are more in tune with our personalities and passions. Technology has accelerated networking, reduced the degree of separation between contacts, amplified our global playing field, and redefined the job prospecting process. It’s easier to find niche communities’ online, new relationships may be just a tweet away and existing relationships may hold more value than you realize.

Connections Increase Happiness
If the career implications aren’t enough to convince you, consider that connecting with others with similar values and passions can also increase your feelings of happiness in most cases.