The cognitive limit to the number of stable social relationships that one can maintain is around 150.
Kevin Kelly wrote a famous blog post about “1000 True Fans.” If you’re someone who makes things, or making things happen, you should read this.
He argues that if you can cultivate 1000 true fans of whatever it is you’re making or doing, you have a sustainable business. You can bypass the traditional channels that require someone or some group to select you for success, such as record labels, book publishers, media publishers, HR departments in corporations, etc.
But what about the subgroup of 150 people inside that group of 1000 true fans? Your inner circle.
What if every day you woke up and nurtured a true and meaningful relationship with one or a few of those 150 people. Not 150 every day. Just a few. Over the course of the year, you’ve touched them all.
Now, what if each person on this planet did the same.
What kind of a world would we live in if each and every one of us cared about, nurtured, and built a relationship with our 150?
