Socialize Your Way to Success and Riches? | iCapitalMarketing.com

Socialize Your Way to Success and Riches?

You may not need me to point out the obvious, but I guess since no one else will say it, I will be the bad guy. Let us just say that if you are over 22 years of age, a strong argument can be made for 18, and you are spending more time socializing online or off, versus doing things to better yourself, such as improving your skills and making yourself more valuable in the marketplace, well then you have an unfortunately surprise awaiting you down the road.

Nobody is anti-social networking sites, here at least. I use them, but I guess mainly for business purposes, okay, and to see who else from way back is going bald. Yes, I like free website traffic, like the rest of the world, although I often wonder if I'm really benefitting. I guess using them for business purposes is probably something they would say is a useful feature. Everyone these days proudly displays their company's social badges. Although, 9 out of 10 times when I see them being promoted, I ask myself, why would I ever want to go into some company's social site page? Why would I ever want to follow their every move? Does anyone actually go to them? Are there coupons, an online deal, or are they just going to tell me how responsible they are, and then try to get my email. Thanks, I'll pass. It also doesn't make me think a company is hip and modern if they have these badges. Call me a rebel, but what interests me in a company, and its product or service, is price, quantity, and quality. So I guess business purposes is a reason, but then again, how many people have a legitimate reason to use them for this purpose? How many jobs have really been obtained from one of the other mugs on your page? If you can educate me as to how they can be fully utilized for business purposes, I'm all ears.

Maybe once per year I will go on and start digging around for people from high school or college, or to see who is still working at a past employer. Interestingly, a lot of people don't stay at places very long. If they are leaving to progress, good for them. Knowing some of them, I don't think that is always the case. So after I find some people, I think, now what. Early on, I used to ping them, but you know, I never heard back some of the time. Then I sat around making assumptions, which have no place in a successful mind. Who knows, maybe they didn't update their email, or after the initial rush of signing up, they sort of saw what I see. So, after one or two times of making the mistake of trying to connect with someone, I don't bother anymore. I'll gladly accept an invitation, but I won't go looking. I just enjoy seeing that these people are still alive, since you always seem to learn when you do make a connection about those who have passed on to the big social site in the sky. For the ones I do connect with, it's a day or two flurry of how ya doing emails, do you have kids, do you ever seen Flounder or D-day, and then it's back to real life, which is great.

So why are they rage? I'm not lumping everyone into this, and it's just my opinion, but I believe there is an incredibly strong human need to belong, and to have an identity. This has to be part of it, because it can explain so much. Neither of those are necessarily bad reasons, but when the need to belong, and show off your unique identity, takes precedence over real life, then it's not doing anything useful for you. Maybe I'm weird, but I can honestly say I don't have those same needs. I like me for exactly who I am. I don't need 5,000 friends that I never connect with, a fancy home page, body art, or anything else to feel like I have an identity. As far as belonging, I belong to my family, okay Costco and Sam's Club, and I sincerely could not be more happy. I just have no urge to seek out groups just to belong to something. I do of course have friends, but it's not the guiding light in my life 24/7. It's a topic for another day, but your choice of friends has a huge impact on whether you will be successful, and many people, just aren't that successful, not that there is anything wrong with that.

You may be misinterpreting all of this to believe that I am suggesting that you shouldn't have friends and socialize. Wrong. I actually believe that having friends can help you to live longer. There have been plenty of studies that suggest married people and people with close friends have less instances of heart disease. Elderly people with a dog often do better than those who do not. By the way, do us all a favor if you go the dog route. Don't get the biggest one you can get your hands on and the then throw them in your postage stamp backyard for your neighbors to enjoy, and then go get another because you think it needs a friend. I don't have a big backyard either, kind of West Coast thing.

If you need me to point out hundreds of people that I know who have obtained success financially and in their career, and who are still having an incredibly nice time for themselves, I would be happy to do it. You don't need me to, because you know there are many people who have balanced enjoyment and socializing with preparation and hard work. Just think about this. How much more fun would activities actually be after you have attained great success, versus trying to have fun on a beer budget. Yes, you don't need money to have fun, but I believe an argument can be made that it could help the cause. I love bookstores and coffee shops as much as the next guy, but I see myself being slightly more entertained while socializing with some buds at a world series game or at an impromptu weekend in Vegas.

Social sites can be fun, I think, but try to focus more on that which is goal achieving versus tension relieving. Most people don't like to do the hard difficult tasks in life or their job, but what is usually the case with the hard difficult tasks? They are the ones that ultimately give you the most return on investment. You can pick any profession, job, or career and identify the key tasks that are most valuable for success, and which will pay you the most. The more you do those tasks, the more successful you will be.

As an example, let us say you are a salesperson. Pick out the task that is going to result more quickly in getting a sale and earning money. 1. Sorting through emails. 2. Calling a potential customer for the first time. You get the point. Naturally, people tend to focus on tension relieving tasks like busy work, organizing something, etc. While important, they are not key. A key to success is to resist the urge for the fun and easy in your work. Why are some people more successful than others doing the exact same job? Because they focus on the $50 an hour tasks, and not the $5 an hour tasks, like staring at email or doing too much socializing.

Article written and provided by iCapitalMarketing .com, a blog targeting the three interrelated components required for career, business, and financial success; Preparation, Hard Work, and Emotional Intelligence. The opportunity to thrive is limitless. Keep improving and increasing your value in the marketplace.

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