“What does he want?”

Trying to make a list of people I know who can help me get new customers. I look at each name and try to remember my relation with the person. I wonder if they remember me. I wonder if they will be annoyed that I am contacting them out of the blue. I haven’t made an effort to stay in touch over the past many years. And now I am reaching out when I need something. 

I hope that a few of them will be happy that I reached out and asked for help. 

Most of them, I suspect, haven’t been thinking about me or my absence in their lives. 

I wonder if this is normal. Isn’t this how life is supposed to be? Isn’t it deceitful to stay in touch only in the hope that some day, a person might be of use to you? Would that person even like it? And, if they don’t like it, will they even offer their help when the time comes?

I think this is a characteristic of status driven societies. You always try to stay in the good books of everyone. Especially, the ones who are at a perceived higher status than you. Because, the systems don’t work objectively. You can’t afford to offend people around you. You never know who holds the key to your lock.