I am asking around for teaching opportunities these days, and the answer I always get is that in order to get your foot into a good institution one has to be friends with the dean of a school, or in my case, the chair of the finance department. This must be music in the ears of my father-in-law, who, growing up in over-populated and resource-starved India always praised the power of hanging out with the Who-is-Who of society. I, in contrast, mind schemers and social snobs just as the bull minds the red cape waved in its face.
There is a way to square the circle, and my father-in-law and I finally see eye to eye on this touchy subject: we just have to be interested in the person standing next to us! The professor I had lunch with today to inquire about opportunities said that in his case he one day just picked up a conversation with another father of his son’s lacrosse team and it turned out that he was the dean of a prestigious school who offered him a job.
Introverted or extroverted, it doesn’t matter. Take interest in the brother standing next to you and the meaningful connection will be made apparent to you. No scheming necessary, just take good interest in what your brother has to say. As Rumi once said, ‘If everyone is GOD speaking why not be polite and listen to HIM.’
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