This is not a call to all idle violins to dust themselves off and start playing a theme like “Where Do Dreams Go To Die?”, or similar.
It is a conversation I’d like to have because it's bloody real, and I’m guessing I’m not alone.
When I started the business, I decided my No.1 task was to listen…..listen to my customers, listen to my loved ones, listen to people I trust.
But above all, I decided I needed to listen to myself.
Like, really listen.
And over the past few days, I’ve felt s**tass.
Foxtel have been showing all the Bond films. I think I’ve watched every one of them, or part thereof. (I never realised how appallingly sexist and racist they were.)
I’ve eaten pizza for lunch, and then for dinner, with the oil-soaked artichoke hearts thereon being the solitary source of my daily 5.
The dog has stared at me longingly, gagging for some fresh air that lasts longer than an ad break in whatever crap I’ve been watching.
But worst of all, I’ve closed myself off to the outside world. The thought of a simple conversation with someone, anyone, was beyond me. And the idea of an open and honest exchange of my thoughts and feelings made me as tense two parties staring each other down on the last point of a lease negotiation that has lasted way, way too long already.
And this morning, just like that, for whatever reason the dark clouds transitioned into an intermittent covering of stratus cumulus. You know, the friendly fluffy ones you see when you’re lying on a picnic rug whilst listening to “Here Comes the Sun”.
I got a call from an old colleague, James Treloar. We talked about cooking and the market and family life and it was just so nice to hear his voice. He told me about a conversation he’d recently had with a bloke in the market he hadn’t spoken to for a while, and how valuable he found it. And then we came up with a couple of business ideas that look really exciting.
From nothing came SOMETHING.
So, if you’re feeling like me, do what James did and give someone from your business history book a call out of the blue.
I can’t begin to tell you how great it made me feel, and who knows where your chat could lead to, or from.