Take the Coffee Meeting ☕️ | Day 114

In a world where time is our most precious resource, we often guard it fiercely. Every tick of the clock is a moment we can't get back. As we navigate a sea of deadlines, manage our teams, and strive to keep our innovative ideas flowing, we often find ourselves at the mercy of time.

We've all been conditioned to say "no" more often, especially when it comes to anything that might take a chunk of our day away. But today, I want to challenge that notion and share a lesson I've learned about one thing you should always say "yes" to - warm introductions from your trusted network.

There's a common narrative these days that criticizes such meetings. The popular opinion seems to be that they're time-wasters, distractions from the 'real' work we should be doing. I've been there myself, feeling drained by the constant flow of introductions for my new venture, The Well Home. I started to delay or decline these meetings, convinced they were eating into the valuable time I needed for product development and customer satisfaction.

But here's the twist: you never quite know what might come out of these meetings.

In the spirit of transparency, a friend introduced me to someone a few months back, assuring me we had overlapping interests. Exhausted and skeptical, I used every delay tactic in the book, dismissing it as 'just another meeting that will go nowhere.'

When I finally did sit down for that coffee, it turned out to be a game-changer at every level. I found myself wondering why I waited so long, and what could have happened if I had not eventually agreed to meet.

So, here's my nugget of wisdom for this week:

Don't follow the popular narrative. Be contrarian. As entrepreneurs and innovators, we should be more open to serendipity than most. That means being open to that seemingly innocuous coffee meeting, no matter how pressed for time we are.

Yes, it's true that nine out of ten introductions may not lead to anything substantial. But remember, all it takes is that one golden opportunity to change your trajectory entirely. Maybe later, once your business takes off, you can afford to be more discerning. But for now, every chance meeting could be a door to the next big thing.

So, go ahead.

Take that coffee meeting. Put yourself out there. Embrace the unexpected.