Networking and decoding the value of advice
Many people giving advice to us have not achieved the same outcome that we want. Meaning, someone’s business advice to you is likely garbage if they’ve never started a business.
Beware of taking advice from anyone that isn’t where you want to be.
This works in all fields – you don’t take advice from the doctor in terrible health, or the fat dude at the gym telling you how to get ripped abs. Now it doesn’t mean that they can’t give good advice, or even advice you on what NOT to do (which is probably worth listening to from them). But advice from these people is a like panning for gold – you might get a nugget for free but it’s easier and faster to go to a jewelry store.
This is where I’ve talked about having envy for someone is powerful, since it lets you know that what you want is actually possible. However, it also allows you to find people like that to take advice from.
Since people are the average of the mentally (meaning being in the proximity is not the same as being good friends) closest 5 people around them, you want to be able to find the person doing the things you want to get advice from. Even if they’re not available themselves, if you can find the people they’re close to it gives an idea about whom to target.
If you can’t ask for advice from someone that’s achieved what you want already, then you need to expand your network such that you do.
If you want to learn what it takes to be a self sufficient artist, and none of your friends are painters, then your first task is not to become a self sufficient painter. If you want to be a painter:
- See who has done something similar to what you want (to make sure it’s even possible)
- Network with them (or some of their closest friends)
- With your improved network, then you can ask for advice
- Begin executing advice
There’s very few situations where people emerged from the darkness and into what they wanted without being around others doing similar things.
Notice how many successful people tend to be around each other especially at their real emergence into the life they wanted. Conan O’brien mentions that Lisa Kudrow was in his same acting class when they were starting. Judd Apatow guided Seth Rogan into getting more into film. And countless stories like this.
Don’t be confused – this isn’t to say you need a mentor to guide you through everything. It’s simply pointing the value of being around people that are in the same boat or preferably just a few steps ahead.
You’re only 6 degrees of separation away from most everyone. But it’s unknown on how many degrees of separation you are from someone’s 5 closest friends, and those 5 people’s closest friends, and so on. That’s what matters.
What 5 people would it be great to connect with that are just slightly (or majorly) ahead of you, and what part of yourself can you work on such that they would also enjoy being networked with you?
