“It’s not what you want, it’s who you know”

My informant told me of this saying his dad once told him and it stuck with him the longest. My informant explained that his father stood by that quote and it is responsible for getting him where he is today: a successful hotel owner. To my informant, this meant intense networking skills are needed to survive in this world. It is about meeting and hanging around the right people. By using those people the right way, you can get where you need to be. Sometimes sheer ambition and will cannot get you the things you want without having the humility to go through certain people/groups first. By “using” he means sharing knowledge and experiences to help one another grow. 

This quote strikes a cord with me every time I hear it. If I remember back on my accomplishments, I could not have achieved them by myself; not by a long shot. For example, getting accepted into USC was not a goal I could have attained through just perseverance alone. I had met all kinds of the right people who would directly or indirectly help me get into college. Almost by accident, I had met a professor that was a USC alumna (88′) and after a few months with her in her class, she agreed to write me a recommendation. My grades were just as good as other applicants but nothing was really setting me apart other than my personal statement. To this day, I believe because of her recommendation, it tips the odds into my favor. I truly believe that one can only go so far in life being comfortable in his own bubble, but in order to succeed one has to rely on being social. Otherwise, it is arrogant to think you can accomplish anything with no help.