It’s Time to Rethink: “This Is Everyone You Know”
When you hear the phrase “This is everyone you know,” what do you think of the influencers who can open the door to your career? High-ranking friends who can throw you a dice? I think it’s time to take a different look at this phrase.
It’s hard to find a career that doesn’t benefit from networking. Sometimes the awkward process of meeting new people on a professional level is almost essential to success. You never know who you will face, who can change your career, your life for the better – and vice versa. But there is a certain ‘food chain’ mentality that seems to permeate many industries when it comes to networking. We think, “Everyone in this industry you know,” and “who” means those in power, those at the top of the food chain. The context became: “If I make friends with the people at the top, I too may one day be at the top.”
This is not necessarily wrong, but I believe there is another way to look at this mantra. The “who” doesn’t have to be someone at the top, and it doesn’t even have to be someone who can help you right now. You may not even be able to help each other in any form or form at this point. The “who” is simply someone who you know is passionate about the industry you work in – someone with potential that flows through their veins. They may be at the very bottom of the food chain, but one day they will not be, and neither will you.
Your goal is to forge constructive relationships with peers who share similar professional goals. If you want to be a writer, surround yourself with other up-and-coming people who are throwing words around and take their brains. If you want to be an entrepreneur, find people online who share your ambition and come up with the following great idea. If you want to be a musician, go to open mic nights and chat with other musicians about finding sound. Reveal yourself and make contact. It is still “everyone you know”. But now your “who” is a support group, a support team, and – maybe one day – a friend who can do you a favor. You may be able to do the same for them in the future.
It makes no sense to refuse help if it comes, but stop hunting big dogs in the hope that they will rip you out of mediocrity and throw you right into their world of success. Stop looking for shortcuts. Instead, invest in those who know the road to the top will be long and difficult, but still follow it. Look for those who have a passion that they desperately want to share with like-minded people. Look for those who will push you for the better and want you to push them. Look for people like you .