The Grass Should Be Your Color Of Green
A friend DM’d me on Insta this image the other week with the note “sounds like great networking advice — reminds me of you!!!”
She’s right. It is great networking advice.
What is it about the grass is greener saying. Quite simply, it’s the idea that the things we do not have always seem more appealing than the things we do have. It’s the reality of green-eyed human nature aka FOMO aka ridiculous standards fueled by hustle culture or milestones of achievement set by someone else’s measure of success, that make us doubt ourselves, devalue our efforts and discount our personal achievements.
Let’s continue digging into this grass is greener idea a bit, as it relates to you and your career.
And no, I’m not going to say “just start watering your own grass like the dude on the other side of the fence” cause guess what, maybe the way the neighbor is tending their lawn is not healthy or sustainable or they have nothing else going on in their life other than lawn care or perhaps they have outsourced the maintenance of it. Maybe you’re spending so much time admiring the greenness of the grass that you haven’t wondered about any of those things. Instead of succumbing to grass is greener toxicity, what you should do instead is figure out what is going on the other side of the fence, then ask yourself, does any of it have any lessons for your situation? You need to decide where to water and how much to water pour on it.
What works brilliantly for one person, doesn’t necessarily turn out so well for someone else. Our present situations and past experiences vary. One person’s definition of grit is another person’s no f’g way (would I do that). However, we can learn from someone else’s success, by observing their actions to understand what may or may not be usefully put to use in our own situation.
Don’t simply water the grass, be mindful of how you’re seeking to grow your own career.
Seeking more of my networking musings?
#BYDN career advice has recently been featured in:
- Business Insider (Career experts share their 24 best LinkedIn Premium networking tips, from finding contacts to writing a captivating first message)
- LMHQ Blog (How To Network In The Covid Age)
- Bright Network’s Graduate Career Guide 2020/2021 (Guide to [Virtual] Networking)
- Start It Up (Learn to Network Like a Pro from One of The Biggest Names in NYC’s Startup Scene)
Plus these podcast interviews:
- Career Move SECRETS (How do you grow and build your dream career? You need to build your dream network!)
- Your Career Cure (How to Expand Your Professional Opportunities by Cultivating Your Reputation)
- Thoughts From Limbo (Networking: What, Why, and How, Building Powerful Connections & Long-Term Career Development)
FYI. I’m conducting research for my next book, focusing on how successful women build and leverage their networks.
BTW…Successful women aren’t like the rest of us.
Research shows that successful women have structurally different networks than successful men (as well as other women) — and that they use their networks differently. Interested in helping me with my research?
