Have you ever been ask to do something or presented with an opportunity and your initial reaction was one of apathy? Maybe you think it’s going to be boring, a gigantic waste of your time. Maybe you don’t really want to take time out of your busy day to do something that you believe will add no value to your life at all. Maybe you think that the idea is an absolute non starter anyway and why are you stringing this idea along? I bet you have, I bet we all have.
I was asked, not so long ago, to meet up with a young man, the son of one of my old school friends. Apparently he wanted to talk to me about IT. Do you know what? I hate IT. It bores me beyond belief. I couldn’t distinguish between hardware, software, malware, anywhere! And do you what? I don’t care that I can’t. But he’s the son of one of my friends, it’ll be a quick coffee, a smile in the right place, a nod here and there and a thanks, but no thanks.
So we met. I made sure I looked interested as he walked in. The conversation began. I waited for the opening line, I already knew it would be boring and I already had my response ready. “Hey Steve, I’ve designed some logo’s that you might be interested in. I’ve also produced some business cards and some colour themes for you to look at. Thanks so much for meeting me today, can I show them to you?” I sat there for a while considering what he’d just said. It was just a while. I don’t think the silence bordered on that awkward gap. Where did that come from I thought? You are supposed to be talking to me about IT, you know the boring stuff. So began a meeting that was scheduled to last an hour, well 10 minutes in my mind, that ran for 3 hours. This young man literally blew me away with his passion, his enthusiasm and ideas. He had prepared, he had researched what we do and he had produced quality of work I had never seen.
My biggest learn from this? Well I still think IT is boring so it’s not that. Never, ever make assumptions about an opportunity that presents itself. You may miss out on something that will fundamentally change your life and that of others. The young man? He’s now our lead designer.