Who You Know Is What You Know
How Many Followers You Got?
I don’t mean your TikTok/Instagram/Snapchat “friends”, I mean how many people in your life actually follow by your example? How many people look to you for advice on how to improve their own? Are you influencing people in a positive way within your network? What about the other way around. Who do you follow or look up to? Do you have a mentor? Do you have an advisor that you trust and seek guidance from??
It’s Not About Quantity, It’s About Quality.
The number is irrelevant, what matters is the exchange of value within your relationships. You may have thousands (shit maybe millions) of followers on you social channels, but do you have five friends (yes, five, count them out on one hand) that you could call at any time on any day if you need support? Do you have those meaningful relationships with people who want to bring you joy and support you in your life?
Relationships Should Be Symbiotic.
When I think of something symbiotic, I think of the classical relationship between a clown fish (Nemo) and the sea anemone. That’s a symbiotic relationship where both sides get value and contribute to one another in unique ways. There’s also some give and take, it’s not all pleasantries and “likes” and “views”, but some meaningful interactions. Who in your network can offer this to you? I don’t have that many Facebook/Instagram/Social Media followers, but I do have amazing friendships. My network could grow, there are definitely areas where I want to be immersed in new ideas and new opportunities that my current network doesn’t offer me, but so far I have support and I have quality.
If It’s Not In Your Network It’s Not In Your Life.
We all want to “try new things” every once in a while, that’s part of our human experience. However, if you don’t have a diverse network, it’s hard to get introduced to new things, new ideas, new experiences. By expanding your network, you can be introduced to amazing new things, and you can learn from all these experiences. The “how to” is not a topic for this post, but expanding your network should be a priority for you and not online. I’m a bit of a nomad that is willing to go do random stuff by myself, but not everyone is like that. Also, it’s way more fun to experience something new with someone in the know.
Go Out And Meet People.
So, if as you evaluate your network you see that there are gaps where you would like to expand in your own life, find people who can fill those gaps. Remember, you have to bring something to the table too, but if you’re out there looking to connect meaningfully with people, they will be receptive. So go out and meet someone new, and in the future we’ll talk about pruning those people in your network that aren’t really adding value to your human experience.
