@Lew G So can I network with LeBron James to get into NBA? (jokes aside, but you got my point. It doesn't really work like that)

Amazing Discussion. Love this group! @Lew G , I'm in tech industry. It's a heavily skill and background based industry. Skill refers to your experience, and background refers to if you are from an elite school with advanced degree and big name company (the FAANGs). Networking does help in terms of getting information but once you have those info, it still takes an extended heads down focus time of learning and preparation to hopefully get the skills and backgrounds that's desirable in a networking situation. E.g: I was able to connect with the V.P. of Google and some other very higher up people in the industry (from way back in 2017 when I was obsessed with social circle and network building), but it was very hard to convert those connections to opportunities because high status people are also surrounded by lots of people with high values. It wasn't until I have the skills and backgrounds I mentioned above, then the opportunities starts to be thrown at me. But there's still levels to this game even though I have the big tech name and elite schools in my background. E.g: I have alumni that work for OpenAI (the company that developed ChatGPT), but that doesn't mean networking alone can got me into OpenAI. I remember Michael mentioned recently "You gotta have value to offer value". This is why in different phases in your life and career development, you sort of have to switch between things, have prioritization, figure out how to balance. But, yea, never underestimate the power of network. It has gotten me critical information and friends that lead me to be better prepared for certain opportunities.