This week, I want to start by giving you a ‘snapshot’ of 3 real conversations I’ve had over the past few days.
(while living and volunteering in Macedonia)
In no particular order, here are those conversations…
Conversation 1:
Us:
“We’re volunteers for our Church. What do you believe in?”
Him:
“Communism.”
Conversation 2:
Him:
“So basically, the difference between mechanical engineering and civil engineering is that civil engineering focuses on buildings, infrastructure, and projects that have a direct impact on large groups of people, whereas mechanical engineering focuses on machines and mechanical devices on a more micro scale, impacting individuals rather than communities.”
Us:
“Wow, that’s actually really interesting.”
Conversation 3:
Him:
“Yeah. I used to work in the government and this dude tried to bribe me with 300k in cash, but I got him arrested because I have integrity.”
Us:
“Yeah…we’re not really supposed to talk about politics. But good job.”
Okay.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Basically, most conversations you have with people aren’t anything like what you expect them to be.
Luckily, I was prepared for this.
How?
One of the most common pieces of advice I heard before my 2 year volunteer mission went something like this:
“You can learn something from everyone you meet.”
This might sound cliche…but it actually reminds me of something I first learned from Jay Abraham, a marketing genius and consultant for some of the world’s biggest brands.
Some context:
Jay used to host huge conferences where people would pay ridiculous sums of money to listen to him lecture.
One of Jay’s favorite ‘exercises’ went like this…
First, he would take all the attendees to a local bookstore.
Next, he would ask them which industry they worked in.
Based on their answers, he would buy them a book that seemed to have zero connection with their area of expertise.
For example, if someone answered ‘automobiles’, he might buy them a book on cake decorating.
If someone worked in the entertainment industry, he might buy them a book about farming.
Next, Jay would ask them to read the first two chapters of their book, and look for ways to improve their current work based on principles they discovered inside.
Invariably, people would leave the conference full of new ideas and ways to improve their work.
The point Jay was trying to make brings me back to what we established earlier…
There’s always something to learn from everyone and everything…even if it doesn’t seem like it.
Alright.
That’s it for this week.
I hope you enjoyed the brief update and some notes on what I’m learning.
I’ll see you next week.
Чао.
Benji.
From The Act of Creation by Arthur Koestler (I think I got that right)….
Creativity is the connection of previously disconnected ideas or frames of reference.
I’ve been traveling for decades and had my share of hauling heavy suitcases and garment bags. It never occurred to be to stick 2 wheels to the suitcase! And the wheel has been around since how long?!
We sometimes think of creativity as “genius” or this big breakthrough idea. If we reframe it as “connection”, I’m sure, as you mention in your post, we would be more creative.