Adam Connors NetWorkWise

Recorded 03/16/2026 17 MIN 44 SEC

Released 04/01/2026

Season 2 Episode 1 Adam Connors NetWorkWise

This is Shaping Our Story where we talk to exemplary leaders about their success to inspire others to thrive.

What if the highest return on investment in life and business isn’t money—but relationships?

In this episode of Shaping Our Story, Louise Krikorian sits down with Adam Connors, founder and CEO of NetworkWisein Hoboken, New Jersey, to explore how meaningful connections can transform your personal and professional life.

Referred by Nancy May, Adam shares powerful insights from his background in psychology and years of experience helping entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals build authentic relationships that drive success.

From redefining failure to mastering daily habits, this conversation is packed with actionable advice for anyone looking to grow their network—and their life.

🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why relationships are the ultimate ROI in business and life
• The mindset shift: “You’re either winning or learning”
• How to build world-class relationships through daily habits
• The power of consistency: “One more” every day
• Why you can’t succeed alone—and how to build your tribe
• Practical networking strategies that actually work

💡 Standout Quotes:

• “Successful people begin their days where others end in failure.”
• “You don’t control your destiny—you control your habits.”
• “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.”

📸 Featured in This Episode:

• Nancy May (Shaping Our Story Season 1 Episode #6)
• Adam’s Networking Lunch Experience
• Adam & Wife – Daily Gratitude Habit

🌐 Connect with Adam Connors:
Visit: NetworkWise https://networkwise.com/
📩 Tip: Mention Louise Krikorian or Shaping Our Story in your subject line for priority connection!

🎙 About the Podcast – Shaping Our Story:
Real people. Real stories. Real strategies to help you thrive. Hosted by Louise Krikorian, award-winning storyteller, educator, and filmmaker, this podcast brings you powerful insights from inspiring voices across industries.

👍 If this inspired you:
Like, comment, and share to help others build meaningful connections and live with purpose.

Information

Louise Krikorian’s outline of questions comes from her years of researching the psychology of learning, motivating students, and researching Dr. Angela Duckworth’s work on Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (Scribner, 2016). For more information on Dr. Angela Duckworth, you can visit https://angeladuckworth.com/.

Follow Us

https://www.facebook.com/ShapingOurStory/

https://www.instagram.com/louisekrikorian/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisekrikorian/

https://www.youtube.com/user/louisekrikorian

#Adam Connors #NetworkWise #Nancy May #Angela Duckworth #Grit

Creator, Producer, Host: Louise A Krikorian

Editor: George C Davison

Years Active: 2025

Episodes: 11

Rating: Clean

Hosted with Buzzsprout www.buzzsprout.com

Video available on YouTube Shaping Our Story Louise Krikorian with Adam Connors NetWorkWise.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Louise Krikorian, and this is Shaping Our Story where I talk with exemplary leaders about their passion, purpose, and perseverance, to encourage you to thrive.

Today, our guest, Adam Connors is founder and CEO of Network Wise in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he specializes in teaching people how to strengthen meaningful connections to build a successful business. He has studied psychology so he can help others believe that relationships are the highest return on investment in life and business.

Well, thank you so much, Adam Connors for meeting with me today. It's an honor and a privilege. Thank you for having me. 

Yes. Um, I was just so excited that our mutual friend, Nancy May  got us in touch. So I really do appreciate your time and I was looking more into your company. You're the founder and the CEO of network wise. Where you are. Um, you're the professional trainer, you're an intentional networker. I hope you don't mind that. I added that. Um, you do keynote speaking group coaching seminars and workshops.

So of all of those, what would you say is your passion or greatest interest? Oh, well, I would say that there's a common thread amongst them all. I would say that it's people, I find people absolutely fascinating, Louise. Um, you know, the way they tick, right? Their, their psychology, how it affects them, you know, everyone's got a story.

And, uh, I find that super interesting. And when you understand people, I think you can really, you could connect on a deeper level and when you can connect with people on a deeper level, the world's your oyster. Hmm. So if that's your, your passion, then what would you say would be your purpose? Whoa. Um, it's so interesting that you say that.

Um, I could go in a lot of different directions on purpose, but at the, at the end of the day, I would say that my purpose is to really help people expedite outcomes in their life or lives, I should say, by understanding other people.

Interesting. So in doing that and understanding other people and networking with other people, what would you say was your biggest professional failure and what did you learn from it? Well see that, that's always an interesting question, right? Like, you know, I mean, first of all, I haven't had one. I've had many.

So I, I, I don't know if I could, I, I don't know if there's one in particular that I can kind of like pinpoint, but then, and again, I could also say, well, maybe I haven't had any. 'cause there's really no such thing as failing, right. You know, you're either you're winning or you're learning and, you know, as an entrepreneur or I guess even just doing anything, you know, you have to learn to fail.

Right. And, and, uh. You know, but I, I would say it's the greatest risks though, are those that you don't take. So is that failing? I don't know. This, this could be a philosophical question that, uh, that we go, you know, that we go, uh, around the horn. So I think in essence, what you're saying, and this is just my takeaway from that, is that even if you do have something that isn't working out right, you, you can still, you can learn from it.

So then it's not really a failure because you're learning from it. So it's sort of like what I would call a teachable moment. Yeah. And I've had a lot of them. Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I. Go ahead. I was, I was just gonna say, fa to me, failure, it's, it's almost like, um, you know, in sales they say, you know, no is like next opportunity, right?

Mm-hmm. So I kind of feel like that's what's happening here when, when you've quote unquote failed. Right. Okay. So I have heard you say we can control our habits to build world class relationships. So I was wondering if you do this because it, it comes easy to you or is it, does it come naturally? I would say so.

So, I love, by the way, how prepared you are. It's such, just such a fresh breath of fresh air. So thank you for that. Um. I would say it probably comes a little, maybe a little more natural to me than most, but as a rule of thumb, you know, there you get, you, you gotta learn. It's, it's a skill and it's a muscle, just like a, like going to the gym, you know, maybe, you know, someone goes to the gym and they can curl, you know, a little more than most people.

But if you really want to get strong, you gotta get in the gym every day. Mm-hmm. And you, you gotta work out every day and you gotta work at it. And if you don't. It also, it atrophies, right? You don't work the muscles. It atrophies the same thing with like learning these things and also just the relationships themselves.

You know, it, it takes work and, you know, again, it is called networking, not net funding, right? Mm-hmm. I mean, I, I do enjoy it, but there's an element of elbow grease that goes into that. And, you know, I, uh, again, am I a little more inclined than others? Probably. But it was something that, you know, I, I read. I, I studied people, you know, it was something that I've thrown my, you know, my life into.

So, you know, I've gotten good at it. You know, there's a, there's something called the a hundred hour rule. You know, you do a hundred hours or something and you're better than 95% of most people that do it on the regular. So, um, I've probably put a little more than a hundred hours in. So I, um, yeah. So I, I, but I don't think that's my long, long, long way of saying anybody can do it.

It sounds like you don't give up easily when things get hard. That that is an understatement and, uh, it's probably one of my greatest strengths and weaknesses. Um, you know, sometimes you need to know, you know when to cut your losses right there. I forgot the, it's true finance term. For that. Yeah. But, uh, but I have a thing that I keep right on my, you can't see it 'cause it's like right, right on my desk.

But it says, successful people begin their days where others end in failure. Right. Can you say that again? Say that again. 

Successful people begin their days where others end in failure. I look at that all day long. I'm looking at it as I'm looking at you. I see it right here, right under, I see that every day.

I also have something that says one more. So every day before I'm gonna shut down whatever it is that I'm going to do, I've gotta do one more. Whether it's one more phone call, right? Whether it's one more email, whether it's preparing for one more keynote, whatever that is. One more. And that compounds, you know, that one more.

It, you know, builds. It's almost like a, like a pinata, you know? Right. With a pinata. You, you know, you just can't hit it once and all the candy comes out. You, you, you hit it, you hit it, you hit it. Right. And eventually the candy comes out. Yeah. So what keeps you inspired life? Like, you know, the beauty of being human is, is we're constantly, you know, uh, we're adaptive, we're growing, we're learning, we're, we're, we're building.

So, right. You know, a conversation like this inspires me, right? Mm-hmm. Like, you've inspired me. You know, you've done your homework, you've prepared. Um, I can't begin to tell you how often I, I'll get on a show and they're scrambling beforehand. Um, so I'm inspired by you right now. Thank you. So what are you hoping to do next?

That's a good question. Um, I think I'm too early in this venture or this stage to be able to say, Hey, in X amount of years, this is what I'm going to do. Um, you know, right now I am just thoroughly enjoying, you know, building network-wise. I've brought on a partner. I think it's probably. Uh, you know, the, the title of CEO should probably belong to him at this point.

Uh, wow. Wow. Yeah. I I, he is just gotta, you know, that's also the beauty of relationships too, right? Mm-hmm. You know, you, you find a lane and you know, you dule down in your strengths and you surround yourself with those that supports your weaknesses. Mm-hmm. And I think that, um, I got a lot of weaknesses.

And, uh, thank goodness that he's there to fill those voids. And, uh, you know, as we're building this, we'll, we'll figure out, I, I could probably revisit this question in, in a year, so I'm sorry to not be able to give you a, a, a specific answer, but that's where I am today. Good. So it sounds like you're definitely ready to help other people start on their journey.

What's one piece of advice that you would give someone who's just starting out? One piece. Mm-hmm. The best. I'm sorry, say that again. The best. The best of the best. The one piece of advice, you know, you, you can't do it alone, right? Mm. Just like I'm just saying right here. Like, you just can't do it alone.

Mm-hmm. Uh, you know, it takes a, it takes a tribe or what? What's it saying? It takes a village. Village, right? Right. Yeah. It takes a village. It doesn't matter how good you are at something, you are going to need people. Right. Whether, if you're the brains, you might need someone who has sales. If you're sales, you might need someone more operational.

You know, there you, you're gonna need an accountant, you're gonna need someone, you know, technology goes out, what are you gonna do? There are so many. You need people. Right? And if you don't have people, if you don't have a tribe, there is only so far you can go, uh, what, what is that saying? You, you want to go fast, go by yourself.

You wanna go far, go with others. Ooh, I like that. Yeah, I, uh, I'm gonna write that one down. It's not mine. I'd love to take some credit for it. I think it's like an African proverb or something, but, uh, but yeah, no, it's, but I, I like it too, right? Yeah. Like it's, it's, you know, and that, that, again, I think that goes back to the core of, of everything that, that we do here at network wise and mm-hmm.

You know, that's why we are a relationship platform because Yeah. You know, you need those relationships. You know, they show up everywhere from the boardroom to the bedroom. Right, right. And, and, and you know, if you want optionality in your life, you're gonna need those relationships. They're gonna be there for you.

Yeah. That's important. One thing that you talked about was, you know, you talked about working out and I was wondering if that's something, or if there's something else that you do consistently every day to help you, um, pursue your passion. Oh my God. Um, I do a lot of things. Uh, you know, I, I think that, and I think you talked about it also, you touched on it.

You know, I, it's funny, I ask people, a lot of times when I do keynotes, I'll say, Hey, um, who here controls their destiny? And everybody raises their hand. I control my destiny, I control my destiny. And, um, you don't, we don't, w we, we control our habits and it's our habits that really dictate our destiny.

Mm-hmm. So, um, to answer your question, I mean, there are, um, I've got a lot of habits, you know, that I do every, that I do every single day. So, yes, the gym is one that I do. Mm-hmm. I have to, it's a, it's a, it's a non-starter to not work out every day. Mm-hmm. I also do something with my wife every morning.

Every morning before we start our day, we have to give three things that we're grateful for. Right. Aw, that's, I love it. Every day. It's a, it's a non-starter. Um, I also, every day for I. I do something called text roulette every day. That's from an from, from my relationships. Every day I scroll to the bottom of my text, and it takes a while now 'cause it's been a long time, but every morning and then I send a text to the last person or two or three, depending on how much time that I, that, that are at the bottom of my text.

And I don't care who they they're. I don't care if it's my doctor. I don't care if it's my plumber, I don't care if it's a client and, uh, you know, so, so Louise, you're, you're in there, so you're gonna get that at some point. Great. Where, where you're just gonna get a random text from me mm-hmm. Where I'm saying, hello, how are you?

Yeah. How have you been? When was the last time you saw Nancy? You know, how are you kids? Have you come back to New Jersey, whatever that might be. And it's an, it's an awesome habit that tells somebody you, you think about 'em. You care about 'em and then it's just like a really good excuse to just, you know, have a conversation.

Yeah. Well we're definitely gonna have to meet when I come up to New Jersey, so I'll be there this, uh, spring. So We'll definitely You should come for a lunch. You should come for one of my lunches. Definitely. So, for people who can't come to New Jersey to meet with you, what are the best ways that they can connect with you online? I know your website is www dot networkwise dot com. 

That's N-E-T-W-O-R-K-W-I-S-E dot com. Where else can they reach you? They can email me directly, but if they do, please put your name on the subject line. Um, you know, as I'm sure you can imagine, a lot of emails come in and, uh mm-hmm. I always, I always. Again, this is a, this is a relationship business, so priorities, relationships are always priority.

So if somebody comes, referred through somebody, you know, they go to the top of the list, right? I mean, the, the, the trust is transferable. Just like how you and I connected, you know, we have so much, uh, respect and admiration for Nancy. Uh, that's all I, all I needed to know was that you were her friend and, and I'm assuming.

It was the other way around. I mean, mm-hmm. You know, fight. Same with you. Easy for me to say. Definitely. Yes. Thank you. So, so, um, so our listeners can go to your website, network wise.com. 

They can find your email there and because they heard about you through shaping our story. They can put in my name, Louise Krikorian, or Shaping Our Story so that you know where they found out about you.

Yeah. Yeah. I, I'd appreciate that. Can I ask you a question before we Yes. Before we, we go? Mm-hmm. I would, I would love to know, and maybe your, uh, listeners, uh, have the same question if you haven't shared already. Was, uh, the driving force for you behind doing this?

Well, I've, I've worked in the classroom, I've worked, um, I've been on, uh, national Public Radio. I've PBS, and I'm also a documentary filmmaker, so I've won awards in those categories and I feel that this is the biggest classroom possible. Yeah, and my idea has always been since I was 17 years old, I remember wanting to hear other people's stories and then I've wanted to share them.

But what I feel most passionate about is finding out what you made work in your life so that I can share that with others to help them thrive. That's awesome. Great. We should have started with you. We should have started that way with you. That's that question. We should have gone with you and then I could have just gone after that.

That would've been great. That's funny. Well, I really look forward to meeting you and I hope that you do get a lot of emails saying that our listeners have found out about you and that they can contact you so that they can become intentional networkers. Yeah, and, and if they're coming through your channel, I would encourage them to, um.

Sign up to come to the A lunch that I hosted, it's called More Than Just a Lunch. And it's a great opportunity to have an experience that they've never had before. And I don't mean to say it cocky, it just is what it is. Mm-hmm. And it'll show them what true networking is all about and how to be in a room with a really diverse group of people that they probably wouldn't have met on their own.

And they're gonna come in as strangers and leave as buddies. Yes. That's very important. Yeah. 'cause I feel like we're buddies now. That's right. We are. Thanks again. I look forward to talking to you soon. Thank you for this opportunity. Make it a great day. Thank you. You too. Bye.

Thank you for joining us at Shaping Our Story. Thanks to our guest, Adam Connors whose ability to consistently strengthen relationships through thoughtful habits is proof that he combines his passion with perseverance.

If you enjoyed this week’s episode click on follow and leave a comment to inspire us or suggest a guest. And remember…. If this made you think, please share the thought with a friend. See you next time.