Used to be called “five degrees of separation.” That meant if you wanted to get to the VP of Production at Warner Brothers, you knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone, who could get you to that person.
Today, it’s “one degree of separation.” That means that if you’ve been playing the game for the past few years, and you’ve built up a good following, you’re probably already connected to someone who can help kick your creative career up to the next level. When was the last time you filtered through your Twitter followers? How long has it been since you shuffled through every one of your Facebook friends? How often do you cruise through every one of your LinkedIn contacts to see if there’s a really good connection there—one that can assist with your current situation? When was the last time you went “fishing” in your own private pond?