I was sitting on a frigid Greyhound bus the other day. I had just purchased Tim Ferriss‘ new encyclopedia-sized monster of a book, which I readily pulled out of my knapsack and began reading.
About twenty minutes in, I wrote my friend the following txt message:
“You know that feeling you get when you start reading a book and just know that this book will change your life? Yup. The 4 Hour Body. Next time you’re in a bookstore, read the first few pages…”
I hit send and suddenly realized that I hadn’t programed my friend’s new number into my phone. I had just txt’ed a complete stranger!
I started thinking about who this stranger might be and what it would feel like to receive such an odd message from an unknown number. How would I react?
Serendipitous Moments
There have been a handful of moments in my life when I stumbled across a video on YouTube or TED that changed everything, hurtling me down a new path I never knew existed. There were certain people who said certain words that inspired life-altering ideas, whether or not they knew it.
Many of these were serendipitous coincidences that came to me at the exact right moment- precisely when I needed to hear them.
A Ready Receptor
For these moments to have happened, I had to be open and ready to receive the message. A year, month, or minute earlier and I might not have been ready. If you’re not looking out for signs, you will miss them.
Perhaps this is self-centered thinking, but as I sat on that Greyhound, I couldn’t help but wonder… Although an insignificant event in my own life, was this tiny mistake I had made a life-altering omen for someone else? Was it going to hurl some random stranger down a new path toward health, life hacking and lifestyle design? Was he or she in need of receiving that message at that very moment?
Or would my txt simply be ignored?
Maybe months from now this person will look back through their messages and then the time will be right- who knows.
Human Interconnectedness
In any case, this experience got me thinking about the interconnectedness of human beings. Things happen for a reason, but not always a reason related to you.
Sometimes a certain event is significant because of how it impacts someone else’s life. Your effect on someone may not be obvious, but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t happened.
We all impact each other constantly. It’s important not to forget that.
oh! Not again, another epick post. Before I could finish the post I immediately shared it with @ChiomaChuka, who has Impacted me in a way she doesn’t know. Met her on twitter. This article is deep. I’d be doing an adaptation and sharing it in a future post too, that is if you don’t mind, including my own expeeriences too.
Thank u emilie. I like the spur if the content. You took advantage of an event to share a great post. Awesomely epical.
Thank you Jesse. I’m so happy that it resonated with you. Of course I don’t mind you referencing it. Looking forward to reading your post.
I also realized how easy it is to generate content ideas from things that happen in your every day life. It’s pretty cool… You just need to be looking out for them (kind of similar to what I wrote above, I suppose.. :)
I think it’s good to stick with the attitude that your actions can shape people’s destinies, whether it actually does or not.
We don’t know a lot about the future, and like many people, e.g Tim Ferriss probably wouldn’t know how he could affect future actions in 200 years time.
Peter- Yeah, it’s a good thing to keep in mind. You never really get the whole picture. Everything we do has all kinds of effects we’re not aware of. People are so different and view the world in so many different ways that you never know the meaning someone else might attach to something you say or do.
y’know emilie. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I never met you on the D.U. message board (lol..so lame). Without you, I wouldn’t have met Moses who led me to another message board that changed my career path forever.
Aw Alice, you’re too sweet. And the feeling is mutual. Remember back when we met up and you were like ‘have you heard of that guy Seth Godin?’ haha… I’m so glad that we’ve gotten back in touch after all these years and I can’t wait to collaborate. Mind explosion!
that is exactly the way i saw emilie’s article. If I had not heard that sermon or be at that workshop, I may not have decided not to practice being a teacher. That would have been so boring and so lame. am with you alice.
Aww, that makes me think of the whole ‘pay it forward’ concept, or Acts of Random Kindness (thank you Evan Almighty). We are all touching people everyday, with intent and without. Remembering to stick to your ‘brand’ -even, or especially, in real life- is so important to having a say in HOW you impact people.
Thanks, Emilie for the fun reminder!