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SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Why You Don’t Attract Important People
Is it possible to make useful connections if you have no experience and no one knows you?
Recently I discovered for myself why I am struggling to make new connections with people who could make a significant impact on my career. I remember how I questioned myself:
How can attract the attention of that person on LinkedIn?
Why should he or she be interested in communication and partnership with me?
The answer to my questions was the so-called Benjamin Franklin effect.
In the late 18th century, Benjamin Franklin was involved in politics in Pennsylvania and tried to win the favor of one of his fellow legislators. This is how he describes the story in his autobiography:
“I did not seek … to win his favor by showing him any servile signs of attention; but after a while, I applied another method. Hearing that there was a very rare and interesting book in his library, I sent him a note in which I expressed my desire to read this book and asked him to be kind enough to borrow it for a few days. He sent it immediately and I returned it about a week later with a…
