I used to be afraid of surprises. In my old way of thinking, surprises meant something bad: change for the worse, a deviation from my plans, or a new player in my life who was going to cause me trouble.
Now I call in wonderful surprises every morning before I get out of bed. Bring them on, I say. The more magical, the more miraculous, the better.
Recently, my circle has been growing again on the business front. I’ll have a good feeling about someone, what I call a God feeling (good feeling, God feeling, get it?), and I’ll run with it. We start off by talking business, and then the magic happens. One comment or question in a business conversation will blow open the door to the unexpected. This is the way I’ve discovered everything from connections to my old career of rebuilding war zones to spiritual simpatico, and it’s made me say, aha!, I knew there was something about that person. We were brought together for a reason.
Happiness is unexpected connections.
How often have we heard someone say they felt another person was a kindred spirit? I know I have felt this way many times and hope to feel it many more. In the beginning, you may not know why the person strikes you so, but as you come to know him or her better, you will realize what it is you’ve been sensing: commonality, similar ways of thinking, and shared life experiences.
Nothing makes me happier than when I discover this kind of unexpected connection in my business circles, because let’s face it, there’s no need to put business in a small box of rules and “unfun” where nothing special and magical can enter. I want all my relationships to be full of life and meaning. I want them to make me happy.
What unexpected connections have you made? Have they lasted forever or only for a season or a day? How happy were you when you discovered all that you had in common?
I met a man on a trip to Istanbul many years ago, and though I don’t even remember his name anymore, I do remember that special spark of connection I felt with him. And in case you think it was romantic, it wasn’t. We took a boat ride together on the Bosphorus and talked about traveling and other things I can’t even recall anymore. But I’ve never forgotten him. He was an unexpected connection in a place very far from home. He said that meeting people on the road is like eating an ice cream cone: marvelous while it lasts. I’ve loved that image ever since.
So, call in more of those ice-cream-cone moments or those forever moments by making unexpected connections. They’ll add to your happiness factor, I promise.