Your network is your net worth is the most bullshit stuff I've ever heard and a terrible piece of advice to give anyone early in their career.
Crypto Twitter feels like a deserted island these days.
No one seems interested in crypto anymore, and the app itself has quickly become useless.
Our feeds are full of junk, packed with endless AI tools threads, and overflowing with people like me shouting into the void for 3 likes.
On this deserted island, you have two choices to save yourself.
Choice 1: The Waving Approach
The first choice you can make is to wave your arms frantically and shout for help to any passing ship in the distance, desperately seeking rescue.
This is the choice I made in the past.
When I started my career and was looking for new opportunities, everyone kept throwing the same worn-out advice at me:
"Hey, Eliot, focus on growing your network, man."
So during my first internship in Amsterdam, I went to networking events.
Now, for context, I've always been scared shitless to talk to new people, and in real life, I'm more of an introvert and a private person.
So believe me, the idea of going into a sea of unfamiliar faces and forced conversations was like being thrown into a pool with sharks, except the sharks were aspiring Web3 bros.
Quickly, those so-called networking events turned into me spending the first 30 minutes of the event analyzing the room, then going to the mini-bar every 10 minutes to pretend I was actually doing something, and eventually ending up talking to a dude during the remaining 30 minutes.
Obviously, it didn't help me land new opportunities.
Half the fault lies with me - I'll admit it.
But the other half?
Those events were filled to the brim with people who had nothing to offer and no idea why they were there in the first place.
But with no other experiences, I thought it was just the way it was, and I needed to get used to it— keep trying to grow my network.
Fast forward a few years, leading us to today, where I want to drop some truth bombs:
Your network is your net worth is the most bullshit stuff I've ever heard and a terrible piece of advice to give anyone early in their career.
Because it makes ambitious young people believe that, in order to accomplish anything, they first need to grow their network.
It makes the person on the desert island believe that to be saved and get new opportunities, they must wait for someone to come and help them.
That they have to keep shouting into the void instead of using the few resources they have to start taking their future into their own hands.
But here's a piece of advice you probably won't hear often:
You should probably stop looking for help by going to these networking events or sending those cold DMS on Twitter.
I know.
This is the opposite of what all your favorite influencers are telling you.
And maybe this is too late, you've already spent many hours circling the buffet of those events, or hitting that send button.
But let me tell you something.
There's one thing your favorite creator is not telling you.
People answer DMs only when the person sending it has something to bring to the table.
Not to say that you don't, but if you're rocking a whopping five Twitter followers with no profile picture, your chances of getting an answer are close to zero.
It's a harsh reality, but it's the truth.
And this truth is even more tangible in crypto, where anyone with a somewhat "high profile" gets their DMs bombarded by airdrop farmers or scammers.
In those tough times, there's a much better option to grab someone's attention, and this is doing cool shit and sharing them online.
This leads us to our second option.
Choice 2: The Bonfire Approach
Your second ticket off the "Crypto Twitter" island is what I call the blazing bonfire approach.
Here, you build a massive bonfire, shooting flames high into the sky, signaling your presence and capturing the attention of the passing ship. You decide to showcase your worth and use your skills and talents to create something impossible to ignore.
Let me share a personal story here.
Two years ago, when my pleas for any help to find a job in Amsterdam fell on deaf ears, I decided to start writing online.
And if you think I knew how to write, that I had some kind of special talent, and that you can't do it, trust me, I was far from being a Shakespeare.
Coming from France, my ability to speak English was questionable at best, and my writing skills were, let's say, a work in progress.
But I kicked myself in the ass and started forcing myself to write online daily.
I started slowly, anonymously, writing comments under other people's articles until I gained enough confidence to write my own tweets and articles.
And after a couple of months of sharing my Web3 learnings with the world, one of the editors at Bankless—a crypto publication I could only dream of being spotlighted in—reached out asking if I wanted to write for them.
I was ecstatic.
But do you know why they gave me this opportunity?
Hint: it's not because I sent them a DM asking to “pick their brain” or see if there were “synergies” (in this desolate island, no one sees you or cares that you're in dire need of help anyway).
No, it was because I had proved my worth.
Because I had proof of my work online. Because I was constantly publishing online, and because over time if you're consistent, it becomes inevitable that the right people will discover you. Was it an obvious decision for them? Well, maybe not.
But at least they didn't have to take a leap of faith in me because they already had access to an extensive portfolio of work to dig into.
After that, the opportunities started to compound.
After publishing my article on Bankless, I got the opportunity to write for Business Insider. Then with all my articles, I decided to turn my work into a book. The book's release got me to talk with the person who manages Coachella's Web3 strategy.
And still today, despite the bear market, I keep getting new opportunities to ghostwrite for leaders on Twitter or advise Web3 communities.
Side note; One of my latest articles just got featured in JUMP, a community for Web3 marketers —You can read it here.
The crazy thing is that, by doing something I truly enjoy daily, I talk with far more people than in any networking events I attended.
Which made me realize:
A great piece of content about a cool thing you’ve done will reach 100x more people than forcing luck in Twitter DMs or at networking events.
And if you continue to be consistent and share online, the ship will come closer, ready to take you away from this abandoned island and towards new horizons.
Closing Thoughts
More than ever, Web3 companies and creators need help with their content or growth.
And if there's one good thing about the current bear market, it's that it allows those who persist to get noticed more quickly.
Not by sending DMs.
But by keeping doing cool shit online. By keeping showing their worth. By keeping doing stuff no one can ignore.
Your content and personal brand are your job insurance.
And if you keep shipping, you will inevitably attract opportunities your way, even in this bear market.
Speak soon,
- Eliot
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