Connecting

I have written a few articles about the importance of interacting with others to further one's career.  I now see connecting with others as a healthy way to enjoy life.  If you gain the world but can't name a few if not several people that love or care about you what is the point?  If you manage to ascend to CEO status but didn't help anybody along the way you will feel empty.  Connect with others to help them out and everything else will fall in place.

In statistics it is said that there is no such thing as luck.  If you flip a quarter 100 times there is a chance you will get 100 tails and 0 heads.  What every day people would call either good luck if you are betting on tails or bad luck if you are betting on heads.  In statistics it is all about randomness and the law of large numbers.  With that said I do somewhat believe in the concept of luck.  I believe that I can influence my luck or create to some degree better luck for myself and my loved ones.  If I didn't then I would not do much in life other than eat and sleep.  I believe that creating a solid network can give you a better quality of life, job, wife and future.

Most of the people on my network are there because I either created an opportunity to connect with them or a result of me going after them.  If I had left it up to luck then 90% of the people on my network I would have never met or interacted with.  People on my network from stock traders, IRS employees, artists, real estate agents,  doctors working on research (breast cancer to brain) most of them would not be on my network.  My life and jobs would have only put a few of these professionals across my path.  Not every attempt will be productive or successful but you can't let this stop you from connecting with others.

When connecting with others I know who I can approach and how to approach them.  I wouldn't suggest going out to connect with a quant if you have no idea what they do or if you don't have any experience with derivatives or stock trading.  Don't purposely set yourself up for failure.  If you want to connect with better people you have to work on improving yourself and your skills.  You need to show that 800lb gorilla in the room you have something to offer something he can benefit from.

We all know about Michelangelo the sculptor and painter but what we don't always remember is that
he might not have become the best if it were not for the help he received from Lorenzo de Medici.
Lorenzo noticed Michelangelo's unusual talent and moved him into his palace to help educate him.
Michelangelo was thrown into the social circle of the wealthy.  He perfected his skills by being among the most prominent people, he studied sculpture under Bertoldo di Giovanni.  As good as Michelangelo was he would have not become the Michelangelo we speak of today all on his own.

I don't like waiting for life to bring me the people I need I rather go look for them or interact in places where I can meet what I am looking for.  The more your network grows the more you can enjoy life with new exciting opportunities.  If you get a bit overwhelmed because you are an introvert take breaks but keep putting yourself out there.  I am not an outspoken person but I don't need to be as long as I speak to the right people at the right time.