You’ve just walked into a crowded room full of people you don’t know. Your mission is to meet new people, make friends, and build a network. How do you feel?

That used to be my ultimate nightmare. Every time I had to go to a networking event, I would always end up wondering, “Why do I waste my time?” Truthfully, networking events are nerve-wracking. Parties full of strangers still make my palms sweaty.

But here’s what I really have to tell you: It doesn’t have to be stressful! …

Last year our middle son overdosed on drugs at school. I was sitting in my office preparing for another meeting that promised to run well into the evening hours when the high school principal called and told me an ambulance was rushing my 15 year old son to the hospital. My response was, “Carson? He’s not on drugs.”

No one in our family had ever had a drug or alcohol problem, so we had no precedent for dealing with that sort of thing. We had done all the “right” things: moved my mother in so the children wouldn’t be latch-key…