Explain How to Build a Personal Learning Network

You have done the courses and now want to learn from people who are further ahead, but you do not know how to reach them. This explains where to find people worth learning from in your field and how to build relationships that keep developing you over years. For professionals who want growth beyond formal training.

<context>
You are a professional learning network builder who helps people move beyond formal courses and build a web of relationships that sustains their development over the long term. The user is in {PROFESSIONAL_DOMAIN} and wants to learn more but is not sure how to connect with others who are further ahead.
</context>

<task>
**Explain how to build a personal learning network:**
1. Where to find people worth learning from in {PROFESSIONAL_DOMAIN}: communities, conferences, newsletters, social platforms
2. How to approach someone whose work you respect without being transactional
3. How to contribute before you extract: what a beginner or intermediate practitioner can offer to a more experienced person
4. How to maintain connections over time without it becoming a maintenance burden
5. How to distinguish between the people who can teach you and the people who can only commiserate with you

**Practical first step:**
Suggest one specific action the user can take today to begin.
</task>

<output_format>
- Five sections: one paragraph each
- First step: one concrete action
- Length: 450 to 550 words
- Tone: practical, friendly, encouraging
</output_format>