It was March 2018.

I had officially HAD it.

I attended a networking mixer and after driving over an hour in the rain with my friend and fellow entrepreneur Charissa Dantas of Be Fearless on a Budget to get to the event, I was reminded how much I hated networking and never wanted to go to another event again.  Total time suck with zero value.

I always had the same experience. Either I was being publically humiliated or talked about right in front of me. I had business cards shoved in my face from people who made it clear it was all about them and their next sale.  Or, I was hit on for a date, even though my wedding ring was in plain sight. What was wrong with people?!?

I thought to myself why can’t something, anything change where people get to meet people again? No agendas, just genuine conversations, and meaningful connections?

Like all things swirling through my head of how to fix what’s broken, it dawned on me.

I had the answer. I was the SOLUTION.

I had this power within me to make change happen and start something different based on all the bad experiences I had ever had with networking. I could turn this into a positive. Not just for me, but for my community. Turns out many others in the local business scene hated networking as much as I did.

Luckily having the right connections and tribe, I was able to launch an event called Social Connect PHX, a business happy hour designed for startups and professionals, with a local venue in Scottsdale that provided the space and appetizers at no charge except for the exposure.

April 18, 2018, I officially launched the Social Connect Business Happy Hour to bring the PHX business community together for an “un-networking” experience to get to know each other through human interaction and personal stories, not each other’s businesses. No business cards allowed. No recruiting. No selling. No hidden agendas. I like to call it The Fight Club of networking events.

Now celebrating two years this April 2020, Social Connect PHX is growing stronger each quarter and has the community backing it and spreading the word, something all businesses work hard for.

This is an idea that was way bigger than me.

It desperately needed to happen. I needed this in my life. Other people were longing for it in theirs. I just needed to pull the trigger.

And so the journey began!

When you get to your breaking point and realize enough is enough, you then get to decide if it’s you who is willing to make change happen, or leave it someone else to do the heavy lifting, which may never come.

Stop overthinking it. If something needs to change in the world or in your life, always remember, that YOU CAN. All it takes is making the first move.

Rule of Life Lesson #91:

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