Wednesday Wisdom: Expanding Social Circles
July 31, 2024
| There I was in a literal circle of people dancing on a mid-summer day in a downtown Syracuse bar dressed in a Halloween costume. I was there helping a female screenwriter and producer who asked for costume extras for a scene in her film. After the sweltering summer heat mostly filled with sports, an air-conditioned artistic gig supporting another woman inspired me to dress as a suffragette wearing a printed sash “Votes for Women” and head to the city for five hours. |
| Within this new artistic circle was a woman I met from another new social sports circle six months earlier. I was introduced to her by another new friend I met at an information session at a Liverpool park where Kathrine Switzer was appearing. The park full of women was mostly new to me but I immediately clicked with one of them who started this Run & Write Club. I have attended her club sessions to support her too. |
| So, there I was dancing with a new female friend I met through a new female friend while supporting an even newer female friend – all in different, yet new social circles. I felt like I was in a mathematics class visualizing the intersection of three circles not for a test but for a visual on how social networking works. If I hadn’t attended the Kathrine Switzer event, I wouldn’t have met Julie B. Hughes. If I didn’t attend Julie’s events, I wouldn’t have met Syl. If I hadn’t agreed to be an extra in Sally Monaco Moore’s movie “The Amazing Mary Jane Watson” (Spiderman’s girlfriend), I wouldn’t have known anyone except Syl who I got to know even better. |
| This visual also proves that networking outside one’s typical circle of friends can enhance our personal and career environment. It is similar to how LinkedIn can work where your first set of friends, have their own set of friends, who have their own set of friends and someone in that third set of friends might have someone important to connect with to help your business or personal interests. |
| Today’s Wednesday Wisdom should inspire you to expand the number of new circles you are a part of. Second, look at your closest connections and ask them to invite you to something new they are doing or to meet a different group of people they know. Third, get outside your comfort zone to learn something new and you instantly create a new circle. |
| I can tell you from all my social networking experiences that you always find the right set of people to hang out with for a while and some of them can lead you to new and diverse opportunities that add a different type of zest to your life. |
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