Have you ever really looked at your own personal network?

Your personal network includes your friends, relatives, neighbors, and the people at your work or school.  The more those people connect to others, the more people you’re connected with.

That’s where the term six degrees of separation comes into play.

The idea is that you are connected to anyone else in the world through your network within six or less steps.  For example, did you know that pop icon Michael Jackson is six degrees of separation from steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie?

How can this be when these men weren’t alive in the same time period?  It all has to do with their connections.  It also means that you are also connected to some powerful individuals as well.

And that’s exactly what networking is all about.  It is designed to connect you with people that you can learn from to help you succeed.  Studies have shown that when experiments were held to determine just how connected people are, most of those connections included one specific person.

You may have heard of the popular game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”  It’s where you try to connect any other actor or actress to the actor Kevin Bacon by linking them according to the co-stars they’ve had in the movies they’ve acted in.  You can even do it with some of your favorite actors or actresses and pair them up according to their co-stars.  It’s a fun game to try!

It’s also important to remember that when these studies were conducted, social media wasn’t even invented. So when you think of the people you connect with online on a regular basis, you’re only adding to your network of connections.

As you continue to make new friends and meet people, you increase your chances to connect with other individuals not only in your community but in the entire world.  You never know, who you meet may end up being connected to someone that makes a significant difference in your life or theirs.