Partnerships II

Firs published on January 27, 2017

Partnerships start with a connection. But we have lots of connections every day, with people, with organisations, and not all connections become partnerships which change our lives. 

Partnerships truly start with vulnerability. They start with reaching out, exposing yourself to the possibility of rejection, offering some of yourself for nothing. 

After the connection, someone has to say 'I want more of this'. Whether to another business, a potential mentor, a potential business partner, or a potential lover. At some point, someone has to reach out. This can be hard, but there's really no other way about it. And there's a lot of fear involved. Of rejection, of being laughed at. And a lot of 'who am I to partner with this person?' And a lot of 'why would this person want to partner with me?' 

But reaching out, risking that exposure, can be so powerful. And you can make it a practice in itself. A practice of love and of admiration and of generosity. 

I learnt this from Natasha, in one of her brilliant articles on the Careershifters blog. If you reach out to someone, and say 'I'm really inspired by what you do. I'd love to buy you a coffee and ask you about it,' then most of the time, if people can, they will. And you can double the amount of times people will do this by telling them why you're inspired by what they do. 

'Your work is exactly what I'd like to be doing in ten years. I love the way you're changing the world.'

Imagine if someone said that to you. Wouldn't you want to meet them?