Networking Reinvented

What is networking?

It’s an art I haven’t mastered well. This is because, from my attempts to connect one person to another, I have failed therein.

In the past 12 months (when I have been actively trying to build a network of like-minded individuals) I have not had significant success in it. I have tried connecting friends to other friends who I knew were interested in the same thing. But it’s all like meat, only good for the seller and not for the slaughtered animal. The eminent death.

I thought it was because we are not big fish yet, still small fish fighting for minimal resources and having no time to cater to other small fish. This analogy is crooked. Trying to justify my defensiveness and lack of networking prowess. Sure there is a learning plan for everything and now is my time for it.

That was the initial theory but I got another one that will look at it with an in-depth reason. First, you need to agree with me that we have different friends/acquaintance degrees. We have formal/casual friends(people we interact with daily); business material(people we would probably start side hustles with); family; associates at work and any caliber you can categorize off your head.

With these different friends, certainly, different bonds must exist. The same with different topics to be discussed. Varying levels of sarcasm used, tones in talking, vulgarity/sexuality of the language used, and everything uniquely different. Essentially you get what I am trying to say. For example, having a boss-to-staff personal talk versus a staff-to-staff talk. Again different aspects may take place; speculatively maybe the boss and staff are people of the same family like the dad and mother family, and the conversations will be utterly different from regular staff. Right, now you get what I am saying.

With the different bonds and the level of intimacy involved, there is a level of narcissism in which something good is thought to be emitted from specific places only. Meaning that only certain people are thought may help in development. Either careerwise, family-wise or general help. This narcissism then hinders the reality that help may come from any human being. In the same way, we put on a fine, chiseled smile when around people we consider may help or are of high value, and the church mouse is another stone to crush by or crossover.

This is just a theory and I hope it isn’t the reality in either of them but again, humans are too much predictable, just the same way I am writing this so that you may read my piece and not try to engage in another person post who may have more of the same content covered therein.

Well, when trying to understand my flopped networks I have concluded that different bonds are for different purposes, the same way you wouldn’t want your wife finding out a bond with your mistress or how you would expect your business partners to try to mingle with your daughter.

Well, this narcissism is great in all cases. This is healthy jealousy, the one that gets you to be more protective and expose all fangs ready to bite anyone who tries poking their fingers in the wrong hideout.

I guess I haven’t covered enough of what my downsides were but any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for engaging with me.