#fallingonmyface

Every day of every week I focus on connecting people. Connecting like minded people. Connecting creatives. Connecting interesting cross sections of people. Connecting people to cool events. Connecting people with speaking opportunities. Connecting people to sales. Connecting people to advice. Connecting people to money. Connecting people for a variety of other reasons relating to interests, life and especially work.

I do a great job of connecting others but I do not do the best job of connecting myself. This is especially true when it comes to work opportunities, career advancement, new business ventures and career changes.

People reach out to me to ask for help and introductions to a new job on a regular basis. I never have any issue with introducing people or recommending great people. I enjoy it much more when I  come across an opportunity that is a good fit for a friend, mentioning it to them and then making an introduction to the person that has the opportunity available. It makes me feel good and I love helping friends.

I am terrible about going after opportunities for myself, taking others help and accepting offers being extended to me.

As my brother said in some fashion to me. Why is it that no one helps you as much as you help others or better yet, Mike why are you not helping yourself?

With the good always comes the bad. With the bad always comes the good.

I started working a second job that was paying well, close to my home, flexible and my manager was way cool. This seems like it is really awesome, right?

The part that completely sucked was that I was now working at a conference center where I typically was an attendee at the events. All of my friends attend events, conferences, fundraisers and etc. What I did not realize was that every day that I worked at that conference center there would be at least one event that would have someone that I knew in attendance.

It was extremely uncomfortable to watch friends, community leaders, business men and women, fellow committee and board members, politicians and others that you knew well, look at you while attending an event with a weird look on their face. It was a curious look. They were looking at me trying to figure out if it was really me. Is that Mike? Is he working here or is he here for the event? They looked at me like why is he working here?

People are starting to wonder whats up.... Every time I got that weird look from a friend, I wanted to throw up.

The woman giving the keynote had coffee with me last week.

The organizer of this event was in my leadership class.

That media guy in the corner interviewed me a few weeks ago.

I made an introduction for that guy over at that table.

That person over at that table reached out to me directly because he knows I am connected and for his new job he needs to fully immerse himself in the community.

That person over there called me a couple of months ago because they fell short on their fundraising target for a large event and kindly asked me to reach out to my friends to meet the goal.

That person over there recently became unemployed and reached out to me because I have a number of friends at the company she wants to work at.

That person hanging up his coat sat next to me for a panel we both sat on.

I was a guest speaker at that young mans school.

That person over there offered me a nice job in the past and I turned them down.... Karma is not in my favor.

What the hell have I done? Why did I put myself in such a bad spot? Why do I like to suffer?