058 : Professional Genius : How To Network Without Being Disgusting

How to make new friends and liberate yourself from transactional grossness.

I’ve worked a few rooms in my day.

During my first couple of years in New York, I managed to hustle my way into a lot of rarefied circles within the music and fashion scenes. 

Parties, afterparties, openings, closings.

I wasn’t out there to get drunk. 

As a student of the Business Art game, I was inspired by savvy bohemian entrepreneurs like Fab 5 Freddy and Glenn O’Brien.

Every night, I would spend a lot of effort hitting the town and sussing out the pecking order.

I’d charm whomever held the power and get on their radar.

Whether they liked me or not was kind of irrelevant, I just wanted them to feel my presence, and notice my shoes.

When it worked, it worked very well. I met a lot of my early mentors this way.

But when it didn’t work well, it was mega gross.

Viewing people based solely on what they can do for you reduces them down to commodities. It flattens them out and assigns them a number and ranking.