Learn Through the School of Hard Knocks

You can connect with people by bullshitting your way through stuff, but only for a short period of time. You don't build a great reputation by talking about what you're going to do. The more successful someone is, that means the more shit they've had to deal with. So if you show up just genuinely with sincere appreciation for a part of their work or you're just continuously that positive force of good energy in their life, they will actually take notice.