Despite what your mother told you about not talking to strangers, when you’re trying to promote a business, networking is a necessary evil, and one that is particularly challenging for when you’re an introvert. If this is something you can relate to, you’ll want to check out Patty Dost’s blog post, Do you get butterflies when you go to networking events?

Through the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention which took place last week, I became acquainted with Becki Noles and discovered that she has recently started a blog on introversion, called Introverted & Loving It! Subtitled “Die-Hard Introvert (INFP) Living In An Extrovert World” it is definitely worth paying a visit!

A talented trumpeter who toots his own horn winds up playing to an empty theatre.  A talented trumpeter who lets others recognize his talent winds up a legend.

Lisa Edmondson

CNN.com has posted a Special Report on working from home which asks readers to vote on the best reason for working from home, choosing from:

• Save time, money, fuel
• Be close to family
• Focus on work
• Be your own boss
• Avoid co-workers

Even though I’m an introvert, I would never have thought of avoiding co-workers as a reason to work from home, but apparently 8% of people responding so far did! It was not the least popular answer, however - that was “focus on work” - which would also appeal to introverts.

It would actually be interesting to know what percentage of people who choose to work from home are introverts. I have met people who tried working from home, but couldn’t handle the isolation. That is rarely a problem for me. If things are a little too quiet, I put on some music - of MY choice. If I need to connect with someone, there is always email, IM, or even (gasp) the telephone.

One of my biggest challenges is making sure I actually get out once in a while.

Introversion, Jung observed, leads to the discovery, in “the depths” of one’s own being, of the “image of the Sun.” With this metaphor, he signaled his clear disagreement with Freud’s position: the unconscious is not, as Freud would have it, the seat of infantile wishes but, rather, is the very source of “light.”

from In the Beginning: Jung and Freud on Introversion
by Richard M. Capobianco