Rich Picasso, Poor Van Gogh

Ever wonder why some very bright people you know are quite successful, while others who are just as bright seem to be losers in the game of life? Van Gogh died penniless, but Picasso died a multi millionaire. Yet both were brilliant artists that changed forever how the world sees art. According to a new book by Gregory Berns, Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently (Harvard Business Press), it’s because some people don’t know how to network properly. Okay, we all know we’re supposed to network. Some people are so ferocious about it, they gorge at the table. Think the Linked In type who has thousands of connections. But that’s not networking, that’s simply speed dating. True networking is knowing people in many different circles so that you can exchange ideas, learn from each other, and yes, be more successful and make more money. It’s leveraging the power of society. Smart people have been doing it for centuries. But many were often blocked by social, philosophical, or class distinctions that ensured only “the right sort” would be allowed into the club. BC has been, and in many ways still is, a collection of clubs like that for most of its history. Today we have organized networking sessions and Internet based social networking mechanisms to help us build circles of influential friends and acquaintances for mutual success. But there are still many who always want to go it alone. It could be because they truly believe in the heroic loner myth espoused by countless cowboy and cop movies. It could be because they’re contrary by nature, or too egotistical and suspicious to share. Or it could be because they simply haven’t learned how. They’ve been taught by a loner culture to go their own way, and so are condemned to wander through life, alone and lonely. And, probably, are less successful because of it.