It was an unbelievable night! I was hoping to share some video of the event, however the lights were better suited for ambiance than filming. Instead I will share what I learned and experienced that evening.
- Although we may call SocialBling events “networking events”, they are not networking events, they are “connecting” events. Networking is something you do to a computer. You take a cable and you plug it in. It either works or it does not. People are not so black and white. We can connect via time, location, experience, knowledge, passion, etc, etc. There are unlimited possibilities and opportunities, all it takes sometimes to see them is an ability to slow down and be present. A friend of mine said to me recently, “There is clock time and present time. Choose one.” I am loving present time.
- Representation = Defragmentation. I like diversity. I have learned so much from people who have experienced life in ways that are different from my experiences. In the room that evening, there was representation of differences yet it did not feel that way, we were connecting. It felt fantastic, I believe the people in the room that night could work together to “defrag” any community and/or nation.
- Sometimes asking the question, “What do you do?” provokes us to answer in a safe way that does not reveal anything about who we are. This might be a good practice for networking but not for connecting. Something really amazing happens when you ask someone from the start, “What is important to you?” Sharing the answer to that question and listen to other people sharing their answers is incredible and totally SocialBling!!!!
