Monday, September 16, 2013

The Fine Line Between Fantastic and Bizarre

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I love me some Facebook, and therefore, by default, I love Mark Zuckerberg.  This social media network has done some really fantastic things for me but that's a story for another time.

I was perusing the national news earlier today when I came across a story of interest to me.  Because it used "Mark Zuckerberg" and "bizarre" in the title, I was intrigued and clicked in.  The story talks about his efforts to learn or do something different each year, which I appreciate - it kind of goes along the lines of my word of the year project, giving focus to an area (or areas) of your life that could use a change.  But as I read about his goal this year, I was suddenly put out by the headline, "Mark Zuckerberg's Bizarre New Self-Improvement Goal".  His goal, it states, is to meet one new person every day.

That's bizarre?

That's been my LIFE for the past 11 months.  Everything I've chosen to do or try has been in an effort to meet new people and to recreate the support system I had back home.  While I realize that to introvert, the thought of meeting one new person a day may seem not only bizarre but also daunting; to an ESFJ on the Myers-Briggs scale, it's a fantastically wonderful plan.  I'm also what Malcolm Gladwell calls a "connector" in his book, The Tipping Point:  I love to find commonalities between people I know.  It's always wildly helpful when someone has a question or a need, to be able to say, "Oh, I know Paul.  He does that for a living!" or "Sue had the problem.  Let me see if I can find out what she did about it."  You're limited in your scope if you don't know or connect with anyone outside of your immediate social circle.  I'm sure Mark Zuckerberg doesn't have that issue;  I mean he did start Facebook, for crying out loud.  But wouldn't it be interesting to find yourself next to him while waiting for a plane?  Or standing in line to pickup takeout from your favorite restaurant?

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