February 24, 2020.
I was invited back by my good friend and publisher, Ray Schey at the Phoenix Business Journal, to participate in the national event #MentoringMonday for women as a business mentor. Any chance to meet good people and do what I love, sign me up!
As I entered the AZ Science Center and took a seat next to 33 other mentors, all highly regarded women leaders and entrepreneurs in the Phoenix business scene, I looked up to see a line of mentees waiting and I couldn’t wait to get started.
For the next hour, each mentee had seven minutes with a mentor of their choice to ask anything related to business, leadership or career advice.
One woman who sat down with me started off by saying she saw me speak at PHX Startup Week the year before. She shared she had been following my journey on LinkedIn and was excited to get the opportunity to meet me at this event to ask me about my entrepreneurial journey in the seven minutes we had together, which wasn’t a lot of time.
I was so flattered by her sweet response, but also very surprised it took her over a year to connect with me. It got me thinking about how much could have happened had we met each other sooner.
We often think the people we admire from afar are untouchable. We consume and love on their content day to day, but something stops us in our tracks of making a move to actually “connect.” Reaching out to someone doesn’t mean you have to be in the same room with them face to face in order to strike up a conversation, or even on the same continent. Especially with the COVID current circumstance, sending a personalized direct message or an email is a great first start!
Many of the people I follow on social media and admire became instant fast friends and long-term relationships because I simply said the first word, “hello.”
Take a step. Don’t be shy and see what unfolds when you stop being merely a fan and show up as a new friend.
Rule of Life Lesson #122:
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