Sproutly A Blog for Young and Growing Entrepreneurs

Meeting, Not Networking

In Ideas on 29 August 2008 with Comments

One of the things I’ve always liked doing is meeting people. I’m not talking about meeting people in the sense of specifically networking. While there are huge benefits to networking, people start picking and choosing who they want to talk to – the ones with the most economical value. Instead, I’m just simply talking about meeting people you normally don’t.

Growing up in a middle-class family and attending the so-called “good” schools, I realized that most people, while different, were largely the same. Prestigious university pride themselves of diversity, but at the end of the day, most people in your class come from similar background and strive for the same corporate future. We talk like each other and act like each other. My view of the world was largely confined to students like me. The older I become, the harder it is for me to relate to others. Or in other words, I really don’t know much.

Many of college graduates are trained to become excellent blue-chip workers. We have trouble understanding people who don’t follow our paths. We live inside a little bubble. We don’t understand the lives of people who become plumbers or people who try to start a local restaurant.

In the world of entrepreneurship, the community is a little more diverse. There is the college dropout, as well as the blue-chip professionals. There are young entrepreneurs as well as more seasoned professionals. Unlike the narrow path of education I was brought up with, there are multiple ways of achieve your goals. I think that getting to know people around you will better help you understand what you are trying to achieve.

Go out and meet people. Maybe you will realize the path you were on isn’t exactly what you wanted. Or maybe it is. Either way, you discover a little more about the world and how to live life.