active networking is the 10th circle of hell,never in my life have I felt so actively disgusted with myself in a social context. how do you do this without the urge to 
or how do you tamp down that urge because oh my god I cannot stomach it, it feels so fucking slimy to do. i can't even do it at events where the sole purpose is networking, my dad pressed me into one and I bailed 15 minutes in after hovering around, it feels so utterly degrading and gross
business is all about who you know and who knows you. there are 50 plumbers in the area, and while most of them will certainly do a good job, i know josh the plumber, they were nice to me that one time, so i'm going to contract his company to do our plumbing work. it's not more complicated than that.
it's never been something i've enjoyed, but after years of being forced to engage for the sake of "advancing" my "career"
i've managed to create a facade i employ while networking, where i play the role of what the average "doer of this specific thing" is in the eyes of the average person. and at least for my industry, it works way too well, as if the entire concept is just a joke and only a vessel for patronage and nepotism.