Connectors
Julia made me read the Tipping Point (remember she bought it for me because I was so lazy about reserving it at the library) in part because she wanted me to see that the many many many small things I was doing would actually come together at some point and also because she wanted me to see that I’m a connector.
I love to fix people up, it’s true. I like to introduce people who might like each other or might need to help each other. It’s not all altruistic. Because I’m introverted, I don’t have the energy to keep up with everyone I’d like to keep up with (I also don’t have the time) but if I consolidate my friendships/acquaintanceships, then my friends can help me keep up with each other! Like if I introduce Person X to Person Y and they hit it off, then either of them can let me know how the other one is doing, keep me in the loop, etc. and I won’t feel so guilty that I haven’t seen one or the other in awhile.
I like to throw parties and invite my most disparate friends, too, because I’m a great believer in making mutts out of playgroups. It’s wonderful to have time with only the like-minded folks but it’s invigorating to throw a whole new perspective into the mix now and then. Suddenly you find out that you’re like-minded group has a pocket of people with an interest you didn’t know about. And wham-o, bam-o — you’ve got another interconnected friendship going on.
It’s the part of networking that I like. I’m not so hot at the large group meet-ups (although I’m getting better) but I do like meeting new people and figuring out who I know that maybe they’d like to meet. And when they hit it off? I feel like Madison does when she puts the whole Thomas the Tank Engine floor puzzle together and then dances around the room with satisfaction.
I may not really be a people person but I am a person who likes people and it’s fun to see people I like hit it off.
Edited to add: Rereading the post I linked to above makes me realize how far I’ve come just since March, which inspires me to think how far I’ll go likely by NEXT March. Listen, oh ye introverts among us, if I can do this anyone can.
1. I’m totally a connector. Maybe I should read that book. I have to read his next one.
2. S keeps reminding me to look at how far I’ve come and how far that suggests I’ll go.
Becca, it’s a fun and easy but smart book. And you can take that test to see how connector-ish it is. Only problem for me is that a lot of the people I know online, I have no idea what their last names are!
This is me! This is so me!!! I’m thinking I need to read this book.
I first started connecting others when I was 13. I set up my momma’s best friend and my dad’s boss. Three years later, I walked down the aisle as a bridesmaid at their wedding. Now, not every connection ends in marriage, but I love introducing people to one another.
Thanks for recommending the book. I’m running right out to get it. (Okay, maybe it will take me six months, but I INTEND to get it.)
Tonggu Momma, click to the page I linked to re., connecters ‘cuz there’s an easy, just-for-fun test to measure your connectorness!!
I’m so glad that you finally see how far you’ve come (sounds so patronizing, but I don’t mean it that way). I’m thinking each week you should look back at a work post.
I knew you’d love the book. You are way more worth the 10 bucks. Way.
I’m happy that you are still thinking about it…it’s one of those types of books, isn’t it?
Actually Dr. Wonderful recommended it to me.
Loved your edit at the end, except that somehow I’m becoming more introverted, not less, as I get older. Not sure why that is, but I suspect that it has to do with thinking too much