A tweet I just saw made me realize something.

There are two types of people in this world. Those who drive down roads and those who pave their own paths.

I am guilty of being the first type of person - to an extent.

I'm talking about more than entrepreneurship. I'm talking about knowing the doors to knock on to achieve what you want in life, and knocking on them. Some may call it the "hustle". Some may call it "power networking". Others call it "common sense".

An classic example: You need a job: what do you do?

Do you
a) post on twitter - "looking for a job, if you hear of anything, let me know"?
b) send out a mass mail to your friends - "hey guys, i need a job - let me know if you know of anything"?
c) talk to people in the field personally - "if you know of anything in x, y, or z please let me know"?
d) ask the ceo of the company that you want to work for a meeting?
e) come up up with a prototype/business plan and start looking for angel investors?

The c-level and below are all more of what I am talking about. Sure, you can go with my mother's advice of "you never know", but if you know exactly what you want - why go the roundabout way?

This is not only good for finding jobs, this is also good for making connections to advance your current job with strategic partnerships, clients, etc. Certain things are good for group-thinking, i.e. how long can raw chicken last for, how do I format my windows mobile phone, does anyone know a good place to buy dentures?

But my experience shows that other things are better achieved one to one. It's hard work, but there is no road to where you need to go.

Please note: this is assuming that you are going the networking route and not the job-board route, and sending your CV (resume) to a million different companies. Personally, I have never had luck with that. But hey, I'm unemployable... (Note to future employers: I'm really not unemployable, kinda smart, creative and available right away...)