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One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea. - Walter Bagehot

One of the reasons the internet has revolutionized the world is because it contains the collected wisdom of the western world.  If you want to know the roster of the 1934 St. Louis Browns, a little work on Google and you have your link to Ski Melillo.  What’s on the New York Times bestseller list?  Go to Amazon and you can find out, then buy what you like.  How about following your favorite team when you live 800 miles away?  No problem thanks to the internet…

But as great a resource as the internet is, it’s not the only place you can learn.  It’s still important to utilize whatever source is available; and one of the most important, and often overlooked, source is the people around us.  Monday’s Chicago Tribune had a good article from Barbara Rose profiling Thomas Kemeny, a 23 year old breaking into the advertising business.  What struck me about Kemeny was his approach to success in a competitive industry.

One thing about Kemeny, he puts himself out there. He’s willing to ask anybody anything.

It’s more than natural curiosity. It’s part of a drive to figure out his place in the world while learning what it takes to practice his craft at the highest levels.

I’m sure Kemeny devours copywriting books and has a feeder full of advertising related blogs, but he also realizes great advice is specific to the situation and great advice comes from the best people.  So if you can get specific advice from the best people in your industry, it’s probably going to be worth listening to.

"When you’re a student, you can ask anybody anything, and as long as you follow it up by saying you’re a student, it’s totally acceptable."

He called it "student immunity," and he invoked this right often.

The one place I’ll disagree is that it’s only acceptable to ask people questions when you are a student.  People love to talk about subjects that interest them.  If you approach people with a sense of curiosity and genuine interest they will usually share their expertise with you. 

Go get your student ID and start asking some questions.