You Never Know...

It's 3PM on a Thursday and I walk into a Starbucks to do some work on my Laptop. I had about an hour or so to get a project done, so I made sure I was focused on what I needed to do. I ordered my coffee, sat down, put my headphones in, and got to work.

After about ten minutes, a guy about 30 years old walks in and sits down at a table next to me and starts doing work on his laptop; Naturally, I thought nothing of it and just continued to do what I was doing. Maybe five minutes later, he strikes up a conversation with me, leading with a random question about my laptop.

40 minutes goes by in the blink of an eye, and we already had conversations about our jobs, our goals, relationships, his family, where we were from, and more. After a great conversation cut short, we both headed our separate ways since we had obligations to go to. We exchanged business cards and we left. A few days later, we got back in touch.

I'm not trying to speak for everyone, but I notice a lot of people that won't take the time to start random conversations; I've certainly been that person before so there is no blame being put on anyone. I knew that I had time later that night to finish the work I had to get done, so I openly accepted that conversation, and I'm glad I did. We got in touch after and are planning to meet up soon for a coffee or lunch.

I'm not saying that everyone has to strike up conversations every time you go out, but you really never know what might come of that coffee shop friendship that you make.

You never know who that person might know.

You never know how you can help that person and how they can help you.

You just never know what life may bring you.

I don't know if anything will come of this relationship, but It's better to try than not.

Networking and connecting with different people has become such a big part of my life and my career, but I think that the word networking is slightly overused. I prefer relationship building, and relationship building comes as easy as a conversation at a coffee shop. I consider the relationships from these encounters to be meaningful to my life, and I plan to build on them every chance I get.

I know my story is short, but I hope that anyone who reads this can be more conscious of the friendships that are surrounding us; you never really know where you are going to find them, but I hope you all can be more open to building some of these relationships.

Relationships run the world, and it can all start over a cup of coffee.