Powerful Connections.

One of the best experiences in life is an engaging relationship and intimate conversation with another person. Brains and emotions connecting in spectacular and powerful ways. Telling stories. Laughing. Dreaming. In our modern world, we are communicating at the speed of a Cyborg Nation but struggling to connect with each other. I remember Skyping with my son a few years ago from a hotel in a remote and rural part of China. He was only  3 years old at the time, and sitting some 7,000 miles away back in Colorado at grandma and grandpa’s kitchen table. On one level, it felt like we were only a couple of feet from each other. We had a good discussion about his day at the park and how well he was taking care of the family dog, until be broke down sobbing because he missed us so much. That moment cut like a knife. We were communicating –but not connecting. Even our brilliant technology couldn't close the gap; it felt like we were more than a million miles away from each other. Human connection requires human touch. Powerful connections require physical, emotional, and spiritual presence. We have created 4,500 languages across the planet -and send 1 billion emails and 2 billion text messages every single day- yet we struggle to connect with each other. The evidence is everywhere. Simply look around you at the airport or your living room. Or your bedroom. Our spectacular advancements in communication technology have created real barriers to communicating? Are we truly connecting with other humans? What is happening to all of us?

Rapid and impressive advancements in communication have changed almost every area of our lives. We started with fire signals across the valley from one mountain to another. Then we mastered the written word on paper. Since then, the game has changed completely. It started long ago: Think about Johannes Gutenburg, who in 1456 invented the printing press and published the first book using movable metal print. (The first book printed was The Bible.) In 1844, Samuel Morse sent the first telegraphic message over an experimental line from Washington, DC to Baltimore. The message said “What hath God wrought?” On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, made the first call ever. He called his assistant, Thomas Watson: “Mr Watson-come here-I want to see you?” (Watson was in the next room.) Bell repeated that famous phrase in 1915 when the transcontinental phone lines were completed and connected America’s East and West Coasts. This time Watson replied to Bell that “it would take him a week, since they were now on opposite coasts of the country.” Brilliant.

On October 29, 1969 –just months after the first moon landing- the first electronic message was sent between two computers. The exchange happened over ARPANET, one of the world’s first computer networks and the early cousin to what we know today at The Internet. The exchange took place when UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock sent a message to one of his students, Bill Duval.   The first word typed and sent over email was “LOGIN.” How boring. You would think two computer nerds would have come up with a more inspiring and memorable first email message!? (Even Neil Armstrong a few months before boldly stated “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” when he stepped onto the moon for the first time.) Soon networks started to spring up in Norway, England, and France. Over 30 years later, almost every human being on the planet would be communicating through email over the Internet.  

On December 3, 1992, a 22-year old Canadian test engineer named Richard Jarvis typed out the very first text message in recorded human history. He was using GSM technology over the Vodaphone network and simply said  “Merry Christmas, eh.” (Actually, it was only “Merry Christmas.”, but the first version is more fun - and makes for a better story.) In 1993, Nokia became the first global company to make GSM handsets capable of person-to-person texting, and last year Earthlings sent more than 30 trillion text messages. Mark Zuckerberg launched his "Facebook" on February 4, 2004. Leap forward to March 21, 2006 when Jack Dorsey, the inventor of Twitter, sent the first tweet: “just setting up my twttr."

Steve Jobs had serious difficulties connecting with people. Quite ironic when you consider he was the visionary and force behind one of the most powerful communication innovations in human history. Our communication toolboxes are full of gizmos that make communicating so easy - and fast. John Maxwell, in his book Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently (2010), argues that one of the most important success factors in life is our ability to connect well with other people. It is a big challenge for most of us, but we need to find a new, better path forward and reach way behind electronics and other magical technologies. We must connect and understand each other at human levels that go way deeper than words and symbols. How will you strengthen your ability to connect with others? What if you don't? You might just miss out on many precious gifts in your short life. Maybe some of the most important ones. Talk soon.

Let's Create More Sparks: Robert is a curious Irish-Canadian and well-traveled American who naturally enjoys story telling that includes lots of interesting facts and figures. Stats and data points help tell powerful stories. Interesting quotes and good books bring vivid colors and memorable shapes to a story. Good stories inspire the human spirit. Ideally you found an idea or two in this LinkedIn article that you can now use as a fantastic conversation starter with friends or colleagues over a coffee on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.