Something amazing happened today. Something that would ordinarily go unnoticed. Something that without the right perspective would just be another meeting or casual occurrence…
As I reflect on the day, however, I realize that these two little things happened today only because I allowed myself to be open to them. For their significance to be recognized, they need to be put into perspective.
This morning I was called by a recruiter trying to fill a position with a local company. I’m not looking for a new opportunity at the moment, but I did take the call because you never know what might result from one of these chance meetings. Perhaps I could learn about something really interesting. Perhaps I could help a friend who would be right for the role. Networking is always that way, being open to those around you to learn and to establish relationships – an asset that will always give more than it takes. As the recruiter briefed me on the highlights of the company she represented, I discovered that this particular company had existing relationships with all of the local hospitals that I was attempting to interest in the online testimonial service that I’ve been working on. By the time the call ended, I was convinced that this company that I had not known of before would be a great channel for us to take the service to market without having to build up our own sales organization. If you embrace opportunity – even when it is not for yourself – you may discover things that pay you back in ways far beyond what you expect.
Tonight, about the time that mom and I were leaving a restaurant to come home, we met Lawton. Lawton was a friendly man with some amazing stories. He was in the peace corps in Nepal, he lived in a commune, he was a high school math teacher, he was unable to find a teaching job in Austin and had to do shift work at Samsung, he has a 27 year old Mercedes Benz and is nursing an ailing transmission, he cares about people and places and life. Even though we had to get home, we listened to his stories for 30 minutes or more. He was fascinating and I especially loved his description of hiking in the Grand Canyon and camping out at Havasu Canyon on the Havasupai Indian Reservation.
He shared his love of Oregon and the diverse weather patterns that exist west and east of the Cascades. He suggested that we visit Corvallis, Oregon on the west and Bend, Oregon on the east.
Here’s the crazy thing, just minutes before, mom and I were talking about where we want to live when we get older. We know we want to be near mountains and have always thought it would be the Rockies. Who knows, maybe it will be the Cascades…
The whole point of this blog post is to emphasize two things that I hope you will always do:
- Listen – You never know when you will be introduced to something that will be important to you. Be open to the possibility that everything you learn will benefit you or those around you in some way.
- Everything is a gift – When you consider each new situation as a gift for you to open and cherish, then your world expands beyond a series of events and becomes a chance set of circumstances that can shape you, inspire you and allow you to grow.
Keep your eyes and ears open – there are little gifts just waiting to be received!
