We’ve come a long way as a human species. In the grand scheme of how old we think the universe is, we have been around for a very small chunk of that, and the way we live today is an even smaller chunk of that already small time span. In fact, I think I’m underselling just how small that chunk of time is… I mean we’re talking like a billionth of a percent as far as how long cell phones or the internet has been around as opposed to humanity in general, much less the conceivable universe. We have come a long way from gathering around water for irrigation to gathering around office buildings for computer jobs.
Yet despite all of these differences in humans and the way we live, I found out recently that in the end, we are still a social animal looking for an opportunity to prosper. I’ll tell you a story of something I did recently that proved this idea.
In the beginning, there was a WiFi hotspot that my work gave me for when I travel and need to work out of the office… you know… something like this. This was a useful piece of technology that I didn’t realize I needed as much as I did until I had it. It was so handy for work, I never had to worry about the crappy hotel internet again.
There was about a month or two when I didn’t have to travel for work very much, so I just held onto the hotspot because my company didn’t ask for it back, and thought… what can I do with this?
One gorgeous day outside, I decided I would go to a nearby park, set down the hotspot, bring my laptop and a blanket and work outside. What a perfect way to stay focused but still feel like I’m resting. After a couple of hours, I got a little lonely so I called a friend that lived nearby and asked him to join me. He did.
Pretty soon this turned into a weekly activity, and we started to invite others to it. My hotspot was able to support 5 different connections and had no problem providing reliable internet to all five.
Eventually, we invited another person who said they had their own hotspot, so suddenly this opened us up for five new people. Within a month or two we had 10 to 15 people working out in the park with three different hotspots enabled. The most we ever had was 23 people with four hotspots and that day was magical.
All it took was a decent internet connection to develop an entire community of people who all saw this as a chance to get out, experience life, and meet new people working in similar ways. This whole experience has proven to me that no matter how society evolves and what technology we bring into this world, what remains true is the fact that humans like to be near each other, and they congregate around ideas and opportunities. Go get a hotspot and start your community now! What are you waiting for?
