The secret to networking - be yourself online/in person(blog.monicaobrien.com)
blog.monicaobrien.com
The secret to networking - be yourself online/in person
http://blog.monicaobrien.com/the-secret-to-networking-well-be-yourself/
5 comments
It's a call to integrity. Don't make up new personas for different social situations. You should be the same "you" in every situation.
Here's an excerpt from Robert Solomon's Existentialism (1974) book. He was one of my Philosophy professors at UT-Austin before he passed away:
"What does one do? 'Be yourself!' An empty script; myself sounds like a mere word that points at 'me' along with the camera. One wants to 'let things happen,' but in self-conscious reflection nothing ever 'just happens.' One seizes a plan (one chooses a self)"
"What does one do? 'Be yourself!' An empty script; myself sounds like a mere word that points at 'me' along with the camera. One wants to 'let things happen,' but in self-conscious reflection nothing ever 'just happens.' One seizes a plan (one chooses a self)"
Kinda like Little League parents yelling to their kid, "Be a hitter, Johnny!" Huh?
So I'm reading the article and kinda getting into it when.. BAM! This message pops up hiding what I was reading.
"Build your business profile by implementing one five-minute tip, every weekday. Enter your name and email address:
Name: Email: Just enter your name and email above and you'll get one implementable tip in your inbox every weekday. And you'll also get... wait. That's it. You only get exactly what you signed up for. Enter your name and email above now!"
No thank you spam
"Build your business profile by implementing one five-minute tip, every weekday. Enter your name and email address:
Name: Email: Just enter your name and email above and you'll get one implementable tip in your inbox every weekday. And you'll also get... wait. That's it. You only get exactly what you signed up for. Enter your name and email above now!"
No thank you spam
The article is pretty trite, but one gem that's worth repeating, is that if you want to be popular, then be "raw". Make yourself vulnerable. Share unpopular opinions.
It's the Eddie Murphy school of networking.
To paraphrase Bill Cosby:
I said to a guy, I said, "Tell me, what is it about being yourself that makes it so wonderful?", and he said, "Well, it intensifies your personality." I said, "Yes, but what if you're an asshole?"
I said to a guy, I said, "Tell me, what is it about being yourself that makes it so wonderful?", and he said, "Well, it intensifies your personality." I said, "Yes, but what if you're an asshole?"
The title is trite - and fairly useless - advice. But the article actually contains some much more useful tips.
There are lots of me's, the one that stays up late watching south park, and the one that enjoys a fine glass of wine. Many of my friends took this phrase as a ticket to be slovenly, thinking that they would attract others by "being themselves". While the advice is sound, it shouldn't be taken as an absolute law.