40+FAB Blog

I know someone who can

From time to time, we might be asked for a recommendation in an area that we have absolutely no clue about or we may even be the ones asking.


I remember as a teenager being asked by an older friend from out of town where to hire sound equipment for a wedding party. I had never hired such before and had absolutely no clue, so I took him to the middle of a market in Ikeja, a town in Lagos Nigeria, close to where the Afrobeat legend Fela used to play his gigs. I pointed at a shop which looked like they had sound equipment.
We got offered everything else from drinks to drugs by some very dodgy characters in that shop, let’s just say we were very lucky not to get duped or worse. I was absolutely relieved when we got out of there in one piece. 

Have you heard about the 6 degrees of separation? This is the idea that all people are six, or fewer, social connections away from each other. This is also known as the 6 handshakes rule. So based on this rule, you know a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend that knows the president of the United States. Somewhere in your connections, you can reach anybody in this world that is able to do what you ask.

Had I known this rule at the time, I would have called on a friend who knew more about gigs to help us out and saved myself a very unsavoury experience.
I have had the privilege since then of meeting some world famous footballers, Hollywood actors and politicians based on this rule.

The next time you get asked for a recommendation or you need one, don’t just throw your hands up and say I don’t know where to begin, the reality is you do know someone who can.