I get asked a lot do you have Netflix? And the answer is always the same, ‘no’.
It is then usually preceded with what about Foxtel? (Australian cable) and again the answer is the same, ‘no’.
The line of questioning doesn’t stop there though as they look at you like what does this person do with their life?
They usually ask then well what do you watch then? I wish could say I didn’t watch TV at all but I do enjoy the football on the weekend and the occasional TV series but my idea of a good time is definitely not sitting in front of a TV watching television series after television series until my eyes get square.
My limit of binge watching a series usually happens once a year and it happens when I just want a break from everything, to not have to think about anything else and just relax for that period of time. But I honestly feel people waste way to much time in front of the TV.
It is definitely a guilty pleasure though. After every single series I look back at when I started and 2 or 3 days has passed and I can’t help but think what a waste of time that was. But the time out does have its benefits it is just not needed on a weekly basis.
It got me thinking. Most of the shallow conversations I have with people usually involves some form of hobby that requires minimal effort like the TV example just mentioned previously. I don’t like shallow conversation and I never have. I like information overload, quickly and I can almost always create a line of questioning to steer the conversation towards a topic that I feel I could pick their brains about. Instead of talking about the weather or what TV series that are watching.
It amazing the knowledge some people have in areas they wouldn’t even considered a real hobby of theirs it’s just something that has been a part of their life for a long time. I love to learn new things, and meeting new people is no exception to that. If they have something of value worth listening to I am all ears.
I think it is important to have a friendship group with a range of interests and hobbies. If I ever need anything I can always think of one person I can reach out to in order to steer me in the right direction or help me out directly. I am that person as well for a lot of my friends. It is definitely a karma circle; you get back what you give.
The problem with todays meet and greets is that they are never very long the majority of them. So you better figure out a way to quickly analyse the person you are talking to and figure out if they are someone you want to continue conversing with at a later stage.
This is a prime example and one I know first hand. I get asked a lot what I do for work and I typically give the broadest answer I can, ‘digital marketing’ and people usually reply with ‘ohh nice’ or something to that effect. The issue with that is digital marketing could mean absolutely anything. On the rare occasion I will get asked what exactly is that? And I bite, the other person has shown some kind of interest and I usually expand to say I do SEO, PPC and Facebook Ad Campaigns, 99/100 times that is where the conversation will end.
It was then I realised if I wanted to learn more about that area or talk about it more I would have to surround myself with people who have vast amounts of knowledge in the area, so I started joining forums, contributing, learning and I have taken two SEO courses.
There was one time I was out and I met that person the 1/100 who knew exactly what I was referring to when I was discussing PPC, SEO and Facebook advertising. I am still friends with that person because the conversations were stimulating, interesting and we were able to bounce ideas off each other in a very short amount of time.
The finding the common ground that sparks a great friendship always pays off in the long run. I hope this blog encourages you to just cut the shit, no-one cares about how good the weather was 3 weeks ago. If you are trying to find something, ask around, meet the right people and start making some headway in what you need to achieve.
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