I work from home. I don't see people that often. So for me, I've been able to really lean on a supergroup of online friends, collaborators, and instigators to help me get out of a rut of feeling too down about not having people I can talk to...
It's definitely not perfect, and if I'm being honest, I wish I had more friends in L.A.
In fact, I wish I had more regular touch with a professional network in general.
The tough thing is time and energy.
I'm so focused on my work, that most weekends I'm heads down on my laptop, or I'm out of the city.
Of course, I could go to more meetups, but it's a mixed bag in terms of whether or not it's worth it.
And, in LA that means driving an hour and a half across town.
In the real world, we bond with people over discussions about our interests, our values, and ultimately that moment of serendipity finding someone who's weird just like you.
The more I've been talking with other members from this community, the more I'm hearing some of the same sentiment as it relates to building and maintaining a vibrant professional network.
It's just not that easy. And seems to be less so as we get older.
A place for people like us, where we can be ourselves (no pressure, no pitching).
Something regular.
I want to be in touch with others. And, I want a group that raises the bar.
To me, Creative Caffeine is a place for people like us.
A group of artists, introverts, thinkers and everyone in between who enjoys having a space to pull our head out of day to day work to discuss bigger topics.
We stay in touch via email, and the topics that surface simply set the table for us to bring our ideas and thoughts.
I think this problem of creative isolation is actually pretty serious.
It's something I've hoped lessen with the weekly live streams. (Have you been to hang out?)
But I can't help but believe that there's something more that can be done here.
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Would you mind sharing something with me?
A:What are your top 3 problems related to Networking?
or
B: What else comes to mind, as you think about your network?
Answer A or B or none.
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I'm going to keep thinking on it.
Thanks,
David Sherry