No need to be in the big city

No need to be in the big city

By Derek Sivers

I used to advise(ədˈvīz) ambitious(amˈbiSHəs) people to move to the big city, where everything is happening(ˈhap(ə)niNG
). And it’s still true that it offers some benefits(ˈbenəfit).

But now “where everything is happening” is online. And the way to be there is to create something that adds to it.

Most of the fascinating(ˈfasəˌnātiNG) and successful people I know now are people I met online. I see something they’ve done, or they see something I’ve done, one of us sends the other an email, and that’s it. A few emails, maybe a phone call, and we’re friends.

What’s even more fascinating is finding out that the super-connectors, the people who know everybody and everybody knows, are often physically(ˈfizikəl) remote.

The reasons they’re so connected are:

because they keep creating great stuff(stəf) and posting it online, which gets the attention of their peers(pi(ə)r), so soon “everyone” knows who they are
because they reach out to say hello to the people they admire(ədˈmī(ə)r)

So if it seems that there’s an uncrossable canyon(ˈkanyən) between you and your heroes, don’t forget that all it takes is one connection to catch your rope(rōp), so you can shimmy(ˈSHimē) across. And you can do this from anywhere by creating great stuff online, and reaching out to potential(pəˈtenCHəl) friends.

No need to attend Harvard with Mark Zuckerberg. No need to become a cousin(ˈkəzən) of Richard Branson. And no need to date Taylor Swift.