Talk to a stranger, send one email. We're going to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Most of us don't go out of our way to say hi to someone on the street or start up a conversation in a coffee shop. And others know that these conversations could be some of the best conversations we have. Take my first weekend in Poland as an example. I was having some salmon and vegetables for a late lunch ( I was excited to have fish again) at the hotel lobby café with a buddy. This Irish guy is sitting at the bar and leans over to us and does the usual, "You from the states? "Well that question got us to how this guy smuggled diesel fuel with his father back in Ireland, how his best bloke laundered 152 million euro while simultaneously renting out the current local police station, and how another friend got out of a search warrant because they served it to him in his barn which was conveniently located on U.K. land, not Irish. Incredible. Furthermore, at the bar the other night, I met a Polish guy in the bathroom while washing my hands. Same startup question, "Which state are you from?" We got to talking and he knew the bar owner. It was opening weekend and he was sitting just across the bar from us. So my new friend introduces me. We talked for over an hour, took a shot of his finest vodka, and I learned a little about his business. He was the proud owner of more than a few clubs and bars in Warsaw and owns a steak house chain in New York City. Met my first billioniare. Talking to strangers can be a really awesome experience, so take your parents cautionary advise with a grain of salt. You will talk to at least one rando everyday and hope for such experiences.
We will also send one email (total, not every day) to a person you think you wouldn't get a response from. Whether it be a CEO, Kevin Durant, Kim Jung Il, doesn't matter, but someone you want to make a connection with for some reason. The goal of this, at least for me, is to make a lasting connection. I did this before to a gentleman on LinkedIn and got some of the best advice on 'lateral progression' that I look at often to remind myself that diversification is a good thing. So as always, good luck and I'm looking forward to hearing some good stories.
BONUS CHALLENGE: 100 pull-ups each day. However you need to do them.
REFLECTION: How did it go for everyone? I'll tell you right now that elevators became my friend. I'm currently living in a hotel, so I had ample opportunities to use them, but they worked. And you really can't get rejected, which helped my success level immensely. As long as you said something nice and friendly, people are more than welcome to respond back to you; except when you say something in English and they have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. You look at each other and share an awkward look of silence, but you don't know what to say next so you leave. I tried using my hands a couple of times and just felt as though I was insulting, so I stopped doing that. It’s a cultural gap for sure. On the contrary, if you hear a different accent, and make an educated guess where they are from, it makes for a great one. I started a conversation in the elevator with an American, go figure, because I held the door for her and she said 'Thank you.' (in english) So immediately, I said, "where are you from?" She was from Washington state of all places (I'm obsessed with Washington right now and have been looking at acreage non-stop all week, so I was really excited to talk to her). A friendly woman, we talked for a few minutes, I even missed my floor to finish the conversation. That happened a few times with some polish and german folks as well.
My unsuccessful endeavors were with those on the street. Whether at a crosswalk intersection, or just passing through. I think I was almost at 0% with those conversation starters. Live and learn I guess.
So who did you guys write your email to? I hope this one didn't feel like homework too much. I ended up writing mine to a digital marketing firm VP back in Virginia Beach. I went to the contact page on the website and the email was a generic contact email and I was unsure who to address it to. So I went to LinkedIn, searched the company and found the list of employers. Some employers weren't listed because I wanted a hiring manager of some sort but was unsuccessful. So I went for the VP of operations. I used his name for the 'To" line and wrote a well scripted email asking for an unpaid internship. No joy yet, but it was worth it to get a dry run in. If it doesn't work, I'll change my email a bit, and send it to the next company in a few days. I'll adjust from there and when I get a successful response, I know that’s the email I need to go with in the future. I'm curious what you wrote about and what the outcomes were, so post them in the comments section.
The 100 pull-ups bonus, a little rough huh? I found it easiest to do around 30-40 at the beginning of the workout with my warm up. Sets of 10 usually. Then I would try to incorporate pull-ups in the actual workout as well. I make up my own circuits and cross training workouts so it made it easy. Then if I hit a 100 total already, cool, if not, I would add them to the end when I did some sprints or stretching, depending on the day. I mixed it up too. The majority of them were normal, overhand grip pull ups, however, I'd throw in some chin ups ( I never do those, and they are more difficult than I remember. I have to start incorporating them in the training regimes), some wide grip, close grip, negatives, and weighed pull-ups. I like the variety, made them a little easier, and shocked the muscles a bit.