While walking my dog, I realized the importance of nurturing genuine connections both online and in real life.
Bruce Springsteen’s Lesson in Adaptability
The Boss's iconic 8 a.m. performance highlights the value of stepping out of your comfort zone.
One of the million reasons I love walking my dog Nathan is the chance to run into people and have random conversations. As we all know, dogs are great for networking.
And occasionally, those chance encounters strike a chord with me.
A few days ago, I received a postcard from a local real estate agent advertising his business. I turned it over and realized it was from a neighbor I frequently see while he walks his dog, George. I struggle with remembering people’s names, but I never forget the dogs.
The next night, while I strolled with Nate, I bumped into the guy who sent the postcard. I jokingly teased him about his headshot. As dog owners often do, we started chatting, and he mentioned that he had coincidentally received an angry email that day from someone who got one of his postcards, asking to be removed from his mailing list.
Here comes the plot twist. It’s going to be good.
It turns out the guy who wrote the nasty email lives ACROSS THE STREET from the real estate agent. When he wrote back to the guy with major anger issues, he apologized and mentioned that he, in fact, was his neighbor of the last two years. As you can surmise, Mad Max was slightly embarrassed.
Now for added context, my neighborhood is not a megalopolis; it’s your basic American subdivision straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, maybe a couple of hundred people, tops. And this guy had no idea the note he was writing was to the person who lived a football toss away—and he even had his photo on the card.
Your network is much like my neighborhood, probably a few hundred people, but how well do you know the people on LinkedIn, IG, or TikTok? It’s important to be aware of the people in your inner and OUTER circle.
My little neighborhood drama highlights a crucial life lesson: connection is more than just a digital checkbox or a random collection of contacts. It’s about genuine, meaningful relationships that extend beyond superficial interactions.
In today’s incredibly connected world, we often mistake quantity for quality. We accumulate hundreds, sometimes thousands, of connections across various platforms, yet we know very little about the actual humans behind those profile pictures. Just like the neighbor who didn’t recognize someone living mere steps away, we risk becoming disconnected in an age of supposed hyper-connectivity.
Maintaining your network isn’t just about occasional likes, comments, or sporadic messages. It’s about creating and nurturing genuine relationships.
In an era where tech promises connection but often delivers loneliness, being intentional about your relationships can set you apart. Remember, behind every profile, every postcard, and every passing interaction, there’s a human story waiting to be discovered.
Which brings me back to my real estate agent neighbor and his disgruntled correspondent.
Their story serves as a microcosm of our broader networking challenges. Sometimes, valuable connections lie literally right across the street—if we take the time to look up, pay attention, and engage. The next time you receive a postcard, get an unexpected email, or pass someone on the street, pause for a moment. That random interaction might ignite the beginning of something remarkable.
After all, in a world filled with millions of potential connections, meaningful networks often start with a simple “hello”—or, in my case, a dog walk.
