“If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade”.
(Tom Peters)
My current Walk into the Future allows me to constantly look for opportunities to impact others and make a difference in this world. My why was identified in June 2018 — to impact people in a positive way to leave them better than when I found them. To stay consistent with my why I make a point to take meetings from everyone who requests a sit down with me. Taking meetings is a form of reaching back to help someone else and it helps me continue to build tree branches.
Received a request via LinkedIn last week from someone I knew from my former role at FSU–we sat in several meetings together but never engaged much after the meetings were done. Fast forward a year and a mutual friend suggested we get together because we both are making a difference in the world (different focus areas) and he thought it would be good for two like minded people to sit down. Opportunities are all around us!
I happily accepted the meeting and let my new tree branch select the date, time and location. We were able to quickly identify this meeting should have taken place a long time ago. Sometimes career ambitions AND life get in the way of two people sitting down to talk about life, plans and focus. Discovered quickly we have similar passions to help others in their walk into the future. Shared my why with him and several of the projects (blog included) I like to work on and how my why guides my daily interactions.
I was able to listen with intent during our time together. What I heard from him was a need to generate/identify a why to create the foundational model for his work. Leveraged how creating my why gave me a renewed focus and helps drive my efforts.
The why concept was well received during our time together and resonated with my new tree branch. It wasn’t rocket science, but I was able to listen to him and help strategize a way to gain the focus needed to take his operation to the next level.
My takeaways from our meeting:
- Opportunity to help someone expand their message / focus
- Opportunity to add another branch to my growing tree
- Opportunity to share my why and leverage it in real time (application not just a theory)
- Opportunity for future networking / interactions with a new tree branch
- Opportunity to watch a branch grow and move towards goals
- Opportunity for me to learn from someone doing great things in the world
- Opportunity for me to continue to grow
So, when presented with an opportunity to take a meeting, go ahead and meet. You may be able to help someone find exactly what they need for success. You may also make a new friend which is awesome on its own. Stay available to opportunities around you, they may provide the compass needed for your Walk into the Future!
Note: I have taken 3 additional meetings since I originally wrote this article. They have all been beneficial and I’ve added more branches to my tree. Always looking for continued growth.
How open are you to accepting a meeting request from someone? What benefits would taking this meeting have on your growth? Curious, thanks!
“Keep your mind open to opportunities. They are closer than you think”.
(PictureQuotes.com)
Walk Into the Future 