The Habit That Makes Your World Bigger.
It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, and I was at my colleague Sarah's wedding. The champagne was flowing, people were laughing, and the usual wedding magic was in full swing. And then I noticed a man I had never seen before. He seemed to know everybody. One moment he was laughing with a group near the window. A few minutes later, he was deep in conversation with another group across the room. Then someone called out his name from the other side of the hall. He seemed completely at home. I became curious. So, while he was ordering a drink at the bar, I walked over and said: "Old friend of Sarah's? You seem to know everybody here." He laughed. And then he told me something I haven't forgotten. He said that many years ago, he had developed a small habit. He made it a point to introduce at least two people to each other every month. That's it. No grand networking strategy. No business cards. No carefully calculated LinkedIn plan. Just two people who might enjoy knowing each other. Over time, something interesting happened. The people he introduced began introducing him to people they knew. His circle grew. Then it grew some more. And eventually, he found himself surrounded by an extraordinary variety of people, friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, artists, old acquaintances and complete strangers who somehow became familiar faces. He told me his life had become more interesting because of it. And, almost as an afterthought, he added: "It has helped me professionally too." I remember thinking: What a habit. It certainly beats picking up smoking as a habit. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered whether there was something deeper going on. We tend to think of good habits in very practical terms. Exercise. Reading. Saving Money. Learning a skill. All worthwhile. But what about developing the habit of knowing people? Not collecting contacts. Not networking for advantage. Just being genuinely interested in people. Because there is something remarkable about meeting someone new. Every person you meet carries an entire world inside them. Different childhoods. Different mistakes. Different things they have learned. Different ways of seeing the same world you and I are walking through. And sometimes, one conversation can introduce us to an idea, an opportunity, a friendship or simply a way of looking at life that we had never considered before. Perhaps that's what good networking really is. Not: "What can this person do for me?" But: "What might we learn from each other?" There is a world of difference between the two. And perhaps that's the real secret. Some people enter a room and ask themselves: "Who here can help me?" Others enter a room wondering: "Who here might I enjoy getting to know?" The second question makes life considerably more interesting. Because relationships have a peculiar quality. They compound. A conversation today may lead to a friendship five years from now. I believe, a good life is partly made from the people we happen to encounter along the way. So I'm curious. Who is the one person, that has made your world, a little bigger simply by being in it? Until tomorrow, Bob
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