My favourite entertainer (Jeffery Straker) came to our fair city recently. So, I asked a friend if she was interested in going to see him. I received a resounding "Yes!" as an answer and I was off.
I invited two handfuls of friends to join us. One group from the dance studio and another group from my former place of employment.
By the day's end, I had heard from six out of eight and three out of the six are joining the fun (with one "maybe" tossed in for good measure). Pretty good stats if I do say so myself.
I have stumbled across a strategy that works well for me. "Cast a big net and then focus on what you reel in." I do it often.
I sent out mass emails to extended family and ended up with a few reunions in the works. I sent out hundreds of resumés to papers and I have ended up with my column in two more papers. I have tossed out ideas to immediate family and friends and often we are able to turn little ideas into great adventures.
That day was no different. I knew that I wanted to attend this concert and I was (almost) certain that I wouldn't have a hard time finding someone who would like to join me. If no one would have committed I would have probably went and bought two tickets anyway, with the certainty that I would have found someone to take advantage of my offer.
The gift of these mass mailing invitations that I send out into the world, is the replies.
I hear back from many and even if the answer is no, we connect on a level that makes future contact easy and imminent.
This is the benefit of group emails. I can address one email to three people or eight 100. I extend myself one time and reach my intended audience. One reply is all it takes for me to feel I have succeeded in my mission.
Back in the old days, one would have had to pick up the phone and dial it three times or eight or 100. One positive response does not carry the same weight when you have two or seven or 99 rejections.
So I have become just a small bit addicted to the notion of casting a wide net. You may not catch all of the fish in the sea that way, but the odds of catching one is much more likely, than by casting once at a time from the shore.
To a girl who is allergic to rejection and is often scared silly to extend these types of invitations, it is one way I have found to enhance my life and how I live it.
What can you do in your world to increase your chances of success? Whatever you do, focus on what you achieve and give that all of your energy.
Find what you love to do and do it. Look where you want to go and go for it. Book your tickets and invite others along for the ride. You may be amazed at the results. If for no other reason, than you are finally following your own destiny. If you live the life of your dreams, the rest will come.
