Don’t be so quick to write someone off…
We don’t meet people by accident.
They are meant to
cross our path for a reason.
~Unknown
You’ve heard it many times, right? You’ve read it, heard some inspirational/motivational speaker say it, and maybe even printed it out so that you can read it again and again.
But, what comes after those brief, few seconds that follow immediately after hearing the quote? Do you take it to heart or are you as quick as ever to write someone off?…
Or, maybe someone has been quick to write you off…(I can hear the collective “YES!!” right now). We’ve all felt that way. You say something, do something or act a certain way and a family member, a friend, or a business associate decides “not to have anything else to do with you”. And you probably didn’t even realize that you were saying, doing or acting in such a way to offend or hurt anyone.
I hear that collective “YES!!” again.
Recently, I had a business acquaintance approach me about a collaboration. And while I could see the benefit for their company, I couldn’t really see a benefit for my company. Maybe there was a slight financial benefit for me, but potential revenue—no matter how much—isn’t enough for me to go into a business relationship. If it doesn’t feel right in my heart, I won’t do it.
I listened to him as he went over very well-laid-out plans. He had sent me a business plan, a financial plan and an action plan in advance of our conference call by email. He was very well prepared to say the least. All the plans were great. I couldn’t really see any holes in them.
But neither could I see benefit for The Horse Mafia. I patiently waited and listened as he talked about net profit and risk ratios. I must have been very quiet because several times during the call he asked me, “Are you still there?” To which I replied, “Oh yes, I am here.”
As he finished up, he asked, “So can we count on you to partner with us?”
I told him that I’d like to look over everything again, pray about it and I’d call him in a couple of days.
He hesitated and said, “Okay. You have all my numbers.”
Over the next couple of days, I prayed. Something just didn’t feel right. And there was that one little nagging thing…I just couldn’t see benefit for The Horse Mafia. I ran the numbers, checked percentages, looked at involved risk compared to potential revenue. It just didn’t feel right.
On the third morning after our conference call, I called him. We shot the breeze for a few minutes and then I told him that I had decided not to partner with his company at this time. Dead silence.
“Well, why not? This would be a great partnership for our two companies. Don’t you see that this could bring in revenue for you?” I told him that revenue wasn’t the only important thing in a business relationship and that it had to feel “right”. I heard his sigh. It was so loud that he sounded as if he were sitting next to me.
“Well, I guess that’s it then. YOU have a nice day!” He didn’t sound very happy.
I thanked him for his outreach to me and thanked him for his hard work in preparing the plans. And told him to have a nice day. It sounded like he threw the phone down.
That was seventeen days ago. Not a word from him or his company.
Written off. They didn’t want to know what it would take to feel “right”? Is that how the “sales world” works now?
I turned it over to God. I knew that if it was supposed to be, things would work out in His timing.
Yesterday morning (Monday) my phone rang early in the morning. I knew before I picked up that it was someone who knew that I’m an early riser and they knew I’d be working.
I was delighted to hear the voice of a good friend of many years. She is the kind of friend that, no matter how long you go between talking, you pick up where you left off the last time you talked. We talked about families, children, grandchildren. We talked about milestones and we talked about “back in the day”. She surprised me when she asked “Charity, did a Mr. So-and-so call you from a company called —-?”
Well, well, well. It’s a small world, isn’t it? She didn’t know it, but I began to smile…a really BIG smile.
I told her, “As a matter of fact, yes. How do you know him?”
“He works for me, Charity.”
I had no idea. It had been years since we talked and she had started a company, was doing very well and she had put her employee in touch with me about a possible collaboration. My, my, my.
“Was he rude, Charity?” I told her “no”. And told her that something just didn’t feel right about it and I had decided not to partner at this time.
She immediately said, “What can I do to turn things around and get our proposals and our potential partnership at a place that feels right to you?” “You and your work are important to us and we want you to know that we would want you as a partner any time.”
I smiled, my heart lifted and I began to talk.
You just never know.
I don’t believe in luck at all. And I don’t believe that I meet anyone by chance or coincidence. Everyone I meet is meant to cross my path at that exact moment. Including Mr. So-and-so. J
By the way, I asked her to leave him on the sales team. I think that is the important part. I know I learned from this experience. And he probably did too. And I know I will continue to learn and grow as we move forward. And maybe he will too. And maybe that’s the reason he’s crossed my path.
Blessings to you!
Charity & The Horse Mafia
Recommended The Horse Mafia Products:
“Live Your Dream” Inspirational Tee
A lot of companies are copying this tee, but you can get the original ONLY HERE at The Horse Mafia!
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Get our beautiful horse dominoes! Many more images available at the link! These are truly wearable art and you’ll love them!
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I've always heard of that saying that everyone who crosses your path was meant to for a particular reason. After reading your piece, it made me realize how much more mindful and aware I must be when particular people happen to cross my path in different life situations and figure out what God wants me to learn from this person or gain this situation, or perhaps just think about the lesson presented in the situation and how I can use it to better myself or to better the lives of others by making adjustments in our circumstances in order to not repeat them again and to learn from past mistakes or failures to move forward and to grow as a person in different capacities in our life as we continue to engage in self development and to empower ourselves to always do our best to have a vision of how we see ourselves in the future,to set our goals we want to meet,to develop an action plan,to achieve each goal,and to finally be able to celebrate all of our successes along the way,whether it was a small vision or a big goal. We should always dream big and celebrate success!