How People Changed My Life - Networking 101

”I'd forgotten how lovely it is to network - there's so much that can come out of a connection. Your entire world can change just because of one person and what you give each other. From putting a smile on your face for two minutes to changing your entire path in life, connections are truly what makes life happen.” I posted this update on Facebook a few days ago and true to my words I met up with someone I connected with through LinkedIn the next day and ended up with an introduction to to a potential new writing client. Completely unexpected.

If I look back on my life thus far I see an incredible amount of experiences - many which have happened thanks to making connections with the right people at the right time. Having traveled the world and lived in six different countries I know how much a connection can do for you. In fact, it can save your life.

When I was 19 I left Sweden to go backpacking through Europe. On Christmas Eve I so happened to be on a Metro that passed through Pigalle and I decided to get off and to try to find the Moulin Rouge, as the film with the same name was what had inspired me to pack my bags in the first place. I walked into an Irish pub close to the Moulin Rouge to get away from the cold (having given up on finding the Moulin Rouge elephant, which I later discovered had burned down years ago). Somehow I came to play pool with some guys and one of them, a journalist for Le Monde, asked me if I was looking for a job? I said yes and in that moment I decided to stay in Paris and find a job.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I had found a job, gone back to Sweden to get my things and was standing close to the pub where I was to work as a waitress, getting ready to meet the manager. For some reason I sat down to pick something out of my backpack, having my credit card in my back pocket. The credit card broke in two. I was officially standing in Paris with no money. I had no idea how I was going to pay my hostel that night, much less survive until I got a new card.

This was back in the day - I didn’t know something like Moneygram existed, you couldn’t do internet transfers to pay bills and the thought of paying over the phone didn't even occur to me.

That night I was having dinner at a table in the hostel and got talking to a girl - a recent Oxford graduate who wanted to become a writer. We connected and she paid my hostel bill, my food bill and got us a flat that she paid the deposit for. If that isn’t magic, I don’t know what is. She became my best friend when I lived in Paris - she was working at Shakespeare and Co., taking French classes at La Sorbonne and attending a writing course. I would join her and work on the same writing assignments she had, having tremendous amounts of fun with my creativity. Little did I know I would become a paid writer myself one day - writing was just something I did. Directing was what I wanted to do.

Earlier this year I met up with a woman from Kenya who now lives in Seattle. I met with her because she was my penpal when I was a teenager living in Sweden and she a teenager living in Kenya. She told me that as a teenager every time she saw an airplane she would think of me and tell herself that one day she would leave Kenya. Last year we found each other on Facebook and she invited me to come to Seattle to meet her family to thank me for the fact that she did indeed leave Kenya for the world. Together we drove to Vancouver - a city I had sworn to re-visit after it changed my life as a teenager. She made that trip possible for me.

I have found through my travels that pretty much anything is possible when you connect with others - people are the key to your dreams and you are the key to theirs. I have lived a life less ordinary and whilst I haven’t always made the best decisions (who has?), I have always found a solution to every problem. I never gave up and I have experienced more things than most dare dream of. All this was made possible because of people. I always trusted that I would meet the right people to take me to where I needed to go, when I was ready to go there. Somehow I always did. We really are the keys to each other's dreams and when we connect simply to explore our connection, not to demand things of one another, magic can happen. The story below goes to illustrate it.

Lately I got excited about Stage32, an incredible network for creatives. Today when writing this post I accepted a network request from Curtis McGann. Low and behold, I found another incredible story about connection and how stopping to say hello can change a life:

"Today a man, Vernon, tried to sell me a newspaper. For some reason I felt really compelled to talk to him, and I mean really have a conversation with him. Upon talking to him I asked what his dreams are, what he really wants to be doing with his life. He said he wants to write. He's a writer and has written a feature film as well as a couple one offs. He gave me a brief description of his script, which is a thriller and mind teaser. I was immediately drawn to help Vernon make his dream into a reality, and that's where you come in; I cannot produce a movie on my own, but I really want to help Vernon's dream become a reality. This will be a true under dog story. Vernon recently lost his wife of 17 years and is now living on the streets, selling newspapers just trying to survive.

I need help. Anything that anyone can do to help me make Vernon's dream a reality, please respond to this post, message me or email me ([email protected]).”

Maybe you can help these guys? Become part of their story? If it inspires you and makes your heart sing, then you are about to make a connection to change not just theirs, but your life.

By Maria Montgomery – Maria is a freelance writer, director and social entrepreneur. She’s also the spokesperson for The Little Angels Community Center - a charity for underprivileged kids and youth in Cape Town - and an avid blogger. You can find her somewhere between Cape Town and L.A., where you will most likely find her in the hills, looking out over the city she loves. @OhMyMontgomery

A picture I took of my beloved Paris, many years ago. Le Marais.