Quote-A-Day: Day 182

It's harder 2 survive with a million $+no network than with a million people in your network+no $.#QuoteADay #Day182 #edchat #PeopleCurrency

My wife and I took a trip down to Atlantic City yesterday for a quick change of perspective.  We had booked a nice suite, and were amazingly upgraded to an even larger room.  We gambled a bit, had a great dinner, and enjoyed an evening out, while our kids were being watched by my parents.

Today, as I was driving back to New York (wallet just a little bit lighter), and my wife was napping, I had an opportunity to reflect on money as a resource.  Sure, it's great to have a lot of it, and the more you have, the more you can technically afford.  But, it also seems like you can never have enough, and the more you have, likely the more you want (if I ever hit it big, I'll let you know if this is true).

There are a lot of other important resources besides money, though.  For instance, a network of collaborators and friends can be extremely powerful in terms of helping us learn, grow, and lead.  In fact, money, as a tangible resource, tends to come and go quite regularly.  However, the networks we build (if we've built them well), are often there to stay.

As I got closer to my parents' home, I began to think about these two resources:  Would I rather have a million dollars, or a million people in my network to rely on?  The answer seemed pretty clear to me.  A million people is worth so much more than a million dollars, as people to rely on tend to make us richer than any amount of money.

So, as you contemplate what your organization needs, understand that there will never be enough money in the world to supply you with everything you need.  But, build a large enough network, and money may not be as big a deal as we think.