I recently saw Midnight in Paris, an excellent film about a modern writer who thinks other artists’ lives and times are better than his own and gets to hang out in Paris at night with historic literary figures before they reach their prime. The film’s message concluded that we always glorify others’ lives and times when in fact our own can be as interesting (or as mundane). It resonated with me now that I’m living in San Francisco which is beginning to see the second Internet boom and many aspiring entrepreneurs move into town in hopes of capturing some of that excitement and glory that made up the dotcom boom of the late 90’s.

I had the opportunity this week to co-host a dinner party where we were fortune to have some amazing guests come join us. Discussion ranged in topic from Yahoo to Y-Combinator. The accomplished and successful figures unleashed their full personality in a way that reading about them on blogs and Twitter couldn’t capture. I had a moment where I felt similar to main character in Midnight in Paris in that I was surrounded by some of the emerging leaders who didn’t even realize how they will be revered by their successors in the future.

When someone pointed out how “unscalable” this event was in terms of spreading the knowledge and friendships, another person pointed out that “well, sometimes the most unscalable things are the most meaningful.” I think that’s true and I hope to have many such unscalable nights in the next year.

I ask myself now, what would a Midnight in San Francisco look like? Who would be cool to just get a drink with? Who doesn’t realize they are going to be a big deal and is looking to spend time with strangers wanting to learn?

Photo of the View From Dinner by Dan Martell