Allow me to paint you a picture for a second…
Let’s say you’re riding on the public bus, and as chance would have it, you strike up a conversation with a complete stranger about a topic that you happen to have a moderate interest in. During this conversation, you find out that this stranger happens to know quite a bit about the subject matter, enough to the point that by the time the conversation is finished and you’ve walked off of the bus, you’re genuinely happy that you had the conversation because you were able to learn so much. In fact, it would be uncharacteristically selfish of you to keep all of that information to yourself when you can think of at least 3 friends who could possibly benefit from the information or at least enjoy what you have to share.
And yet, that’s what a lot of people do, almost all the time. Usually, it’s unintentional; most people, given the opportunity, would willingly share information with another close friend that they felt could benefit from it. However, a lot of people just end up being a sponge for information and never share any of their knowledge.
Obviously this isn’t limited to knowledge, but it’s a good place to start. I’m going to try to keep this as general as possible but it also applies to things like a lack of support with small businesses, aspiring musicians, and yes… Blogs 🙂
We’re all guilty of it, even myself, but now that I know better I’m trying to do better. No matter how great of an idea/business venture/whatever, it can only do so well on its own merits. You want your friend’s catering business to do well? How about offering to help pass out flyers or recommending them the next time someone is looking to get catering done? You want your musician friend to succeed? How about actually going to one of their shows to physically show your support? It may be hard to believe but “I hope you succeed in everything you do, you have my support” isn’t what it takes for them to achieve that next level. Even in this age of technology, word of mouth(even if it uses technology) is still the most effective way of getting a decent buzz going for anything.
What happens when you don’t show that level of support, what you end up doing is putting the person in your “personal box” meaning that while you could very well be their biggest fan, the fact that you never made the effort to share their efforts may lead to you being their only fan, which doesn’t do much good for their cause.
Now obviously this all applies to me personally, probably more so than you think, but I’m trying to communicate this ideal as unselfishly as possible. I’ve seen the difference between someone who supports me and someone who supports me and all the benefits it can bring. I just think that if people made more of a conscious effort to support their friends, those same friends could succeed at a much faster rate than they would expect, and if it’s a true friend, they won’t forget the people who helped them when they needed it the most.
Spread the word people… You really have nothing to lose.
