Life is a lot about who you know.
You’ve heard that, right? Sometimes, said poorly, that sounds like either an excuse to never work hard or a lament about how life is unfair. While both may have a whiff of truth, the reality is much more complex and the lesson to be learned is critical to find success in life.
At the College, this truth was once again brought into stark relief. We had two students win the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, a major financial award given to approximately 85 of “the nation’s top community college students to complete their bachelor’s degrees by transferring to a four-year college or university.” .
One of these students, a Ms. Bobbi Stephenson is now on her way to Yale…but she wasn’t even after winning the scholarship. What happened was a lesson in the power of connections. She was given the information in the office of our College President. When he asked about her plans, she shared that Yale was her dream school, though she also had a few other applications. However, she expressed that she had not heard back from Yale, so our President offered to reach out to Yale. When he did, it turned out there had been some complications, but his inquiry would help set things in motion again so that Ms. Stephenson could pursue her dream school.
Now, to many, what they read is that this girl got lucky or they might complain that nothing good like that ever happens to them. In doing so, one would miss the point…that it was the opportunity presented by hard work and effort on her part that put Ms. Stephenson into the office of our President. Heck, if nothing else, she had to actually apply for the scholarship. Every year, millions of dollars in scholarships goes un-awarded because students do not apply. So, Ms. Stephenson applied, and her previous hard work and excellence put her into a place to win the award. That provided the connection to our President, who graciously took the time to make a simple call to Yale.
Connections are everything, and they are created by how one acts in this very moment. They are not something you can plan, as if you target a certain person to be a key connection in your life, and then you go brown-nosing or kissing up to try and get in close. In fact, a lesson about the power of connections is that you never know when or where a connection will come. What becomes critical is to be your best self at all moments.
Another aspect is of the power of connections is that you can’t predict what thing from your present experience will be key in a positive outcome of your future. And, the key thing might not exactly be a person, but a thing or a place. To make this point, let me tell you a story from my own life.
Over the Christmas holiday of my sophomore year at Auburn University, my dad arranged for me to get a job working at Roses Department store. Roses was basically a smaller version of Wal-Mart, mostly in the deep south. This was in the ‘80s before Wal-Mart had penetrated so deeply throughout the country. I worked in the men’s department doing all the tasks that you’ve all seen in stores where you’ve shopped—cleaning up, straightening clothes, re-hanging shirts, stocking new product, etc….
I did well enough so that in the summer between by sophomore and junior years, I was re-hired. It was simple enough work and I enjoyed the people I met. I could tell that retail would not be a career choice for me, but it was honest work. Even better, I got my first lesson in working alongside people who may not have been as academically smart as I was or who didn’t have the same life dreams as I. I wasn’t better…just had different dreams; it was a lesson that would be repeated many times over in my life.
The summer ended and as far as I knew, that was the end of it. However, fast forward a few years to 1989. I was in the first months of married life, attending seminary in Wake Forest, NC, just north of Raleigh. While the marriage to Kim was outstanding, living was very tough as we navigated on her job which didn’t pay over $20,000. We were shopping at the grocery store on $20 every two weeks. It was a very tough time and we wondered how we would make it.
In the fall of that year, a new store opened on the edge of town….a big deal for the tiny town of Wake Forest. Can you guess what it was? Yep…a Roses Department store. In early November, we were in the store and a chance conversation with an Assistant Manager led to me getting hired to once again handle the evening shift of the men’s department. During the chat, I was able to share about my working history with Roses. Later I found out that he contacted the store manager in my hometown. I doubt it was the same person whom I had worked for years ago, but regardless, there were no black marks or negative information that came from my work there.
My previous work where I gave my all, did my best, had a positive attitude and kept a smile (most of the time) made my hire an easy decision for the store in North Carolina. I did so well there that my new boss wanted me to join the managerial team. Of course, the new experience didn’t change my mind that retail wasn’t really my thing, but the work provided slight breathing room for Kim and I.
I didn’t work there long. I was able to find work on campus that provided almost the same income as Roses while at the same time allowed me to have more time for school. The lesson, however, lasted till this day. Had I not worked at Roses previously, the odds of getting that job would have gone down. If nothing else, I probably would not have thought about even asking the assistant manager about work. I certainly would not have told him about working at Roses in my hometown.
The Power of Connection is key to Living Well. Take advantage of every day, and cherish every interaction. You have no idea when that connection will be crucial in your future.