Creativity in business is often nothing more than making connections that everyone else has almost thought of. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, … - Keith Ferrazzi

Human ambitions are like Japanese carp; they grow proportional to the size of their environment. Our achievements grow according to the size of our dreams and the degree to which we are in touch with our mission.

The only way they can do that well is by serving their specific audience. “Listen, I’m a devoted reader of this magazine,” I’ll tell editors while mentioning a few recent articles I’ve enjoyed. “I’ve got a story for you that I know your audience will be interested in, as I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.” That’s not a line, either. Before I call journalists, I’ll spend time reading their articles, figuring out what they cover, and what kinds of stories their publications like to run.

During those long stretches on the links, as I carried their bags, I watched how the people who had reached professional heights unknown to my father and mother helped one another. They found one another jobs, they invested time and money in one another’s ideas, and they made sure their kids got help getting into the best schools, got the right internships, and ultimately got the best jobs. Before my eyes, I saw proof that success breeds success and, indeed, the rich do get richer. Their web of friends and associates was the most potent club the people I caddied for had in their bags. Poverty, I realized, wasn’t only a lack of financial resources; it was isolation from the kind of people who could help you make more of yourself. I came to believe that in some very specific ways life, like golf, is a game, and that the people who know the rules, and know them well, play it best and succeed. And the rule in life that has unprecedented power is that the individual who knows the right people, for the right reasons, and utilizes the power of these relationships, can become a member of the “club,” whether he started out as a caddie or not.