@Kellye – What sticks out in your thought is the word “aggressive”. We really HAVE to be aggressive, in anything that we do, if we expect to get results. In a project for a company, learning the piano, or networking – if you aren’t aggressive in your actions then you’ll remain mediocre and ultimately just blend in with the crowd. Thanks for making me think even more!

@Claudine – That must be mind numbing being in an educational environment where some still don’t understand the benefit of constantly networking. Hopeful real-life examples, like those of some of your friends, shed some light to others.

@Juli – That’s fantastic what you’re doing over at Digital Rochester. A lot of people seem to have the take mentality without the giving of effort. It definitely makes you reluctant at times to help those type of people, but like you said – paying it forward not only helps the community thrive but gives good karma back your way.

Now, with the state of the US economy, several of my colleagues and friends have found themselves out of work. The ones that maintained a network have had success leveraging those contacts and were back to work quickly. Others that didn’t see the benefit of building and maintaining relationships are still out of work – and don’t seem to even be interested in networking. They want, want, want but don’t want to give anything in return.