Something my friend and PodCamp co-founder, Christopher S. Penn said spawned a thought that I wanted to make sure to share with you. It’s VERY important to break out of your comfort zone at conferences and social mixers.
New People are Energy and Blood
Getting to meet and experience new people at an event or social gathering is an opportunity to learn something new, meet someone interesting, make a new friend, or a client, or a collaborator. It’s a whole wealth of potential experiences, all held in one choice: the decision to spread out and get to know a few new folks.
Even in the world of social media, it becomes really easy to hang with the same people we’ve met at previous events. Believe me, I *love* getting to see my friends again at various social gatherings, and I like to make sure we get together and have a moment. Sometimes, I don’t really get enough time with friends I wish I could spend the whole day with. And yet, I know it’s important to also meet a few new folks. Maybe not EVERYONE, but even a few is a good thing.
If you’re shy, do it with a friend. Find that one person you know and think is interesting, and then ask THEM to go meet a few new friends with you. Safety in numbers, right?
Attend Something NOT Related to Your Interests
Even once, just sneak off to something that’s not exactly on message with what you’re doing and what you’re passionate about. For this simple reason: you never know. This thing might give you perspective you didn’t have before. I learn TONS from people outside my particular practice or interest. Because there’s that trick of cognitive resonance. You hear or see something that reminds you of something else, and pow! You’ve got something new.
Do the same things, get the same results
If you keep doing the same things, you’ll be assured of only one thing: no better than the same results. If you are looking for a way forward, a way to advance your interests, then try new things. Dare. Be excited by something. And test yourself. That’s always a value, as well. Test yourself by trying something new.
This stuff above is where more than half my success is derived. The rest comes from effort. How about you?
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