read this if you're a boring person

Here are three micro-stories from my week that will teach you how to be less boring and add excitement to your life...

1) The Consultant

Last Monday, I had my first consulting session for my email marketing business.

I pumped myself up beforehand and knew I’d kill it.

Then, I completely embarrassed myself a few minutes into the meeting.

See, I wanted my client to share his screen so that I could look through his website and email service provider.

And we chatted through Zoom, so it was nothing new to me (I felt like the Zoom King after using it every day in college).

But when my client tried sharing his screen, he told me I had to give him permission.

That’s when I realized that I’d never hosted a meeting before. I’ve only joined them.

He had to walk me through the steps of how to allow participants to share their screens.

And I felt completely unprofessional.

I knew he’d have to share his screen during the meeting. So, I should have checked my tech before the meeting to ensure everything worked fine.

Lesson learned.

2) The Lazy Man

Last Thursday, I went through my Twitter accountand sent some cold dms to potential clients.

I realized there were a few leads I messaged days earlier, so I followed up with them.

Since all my leads were in the same industry, I created a two sentence follow-up message that I “copied and pasted” for all of them.

It looked like this:

…

After checking out your website, I thought of an idea to help you close more clients without wasting time emailing every single one of them.

Could I send you a 90 second audio message to explain?

…

Here’s the thing…

Cold Outreach 101 says that you should never do this.

NEVER!

But I was in a hurry, so I did it because I knew nothing could go wrong…

Or at least I thought nothing could go wrong.

Because an hour later, one of those leads responded to me.

And he said these terrifying words… “I don’t have a website.”

That hurt.

I realized I messed up big time.

Like…. BIG TIME.

Whenever I message someone now, I double-check that my message pertains to them.

3) The Hunter

Doing cold outreach is like walking through the woods with a rifle as you search for a deer to shoot.

So, when I send cold emails, I’m a hunter scavenging the woods for a client.

On Friday, I finally found a potential target.

An online coach replied to my message and said I could send a voice memo about how I’d help.

I sent the message (a terrible one, by the way) and waited.

As I walked on the treadmill a few hours later at the gym, the coach responded to my message.

I opened the email and saw this…

…

Hi Mike,

Thank you so much for sending it over but it seems your service doesn't pertain to my situation very well.

Thanks anyway!

…

That’s when I realized I was searching for a deer in the middle of the damn ocean.

The response taught me that I need to focus on looking for quality leads that I could actually help.

So, why am I sharing these stories with you?

Because starting a business means that you’ll take risks and fail often.

But it’s part of the hustle.

One thing I noticed, however, is that starting a business also gives you stories to share.

Stories that make you more interesting…

Stories that make you learn more about life…

Stories that people want to hear.

So, if you want to be less boring, then find more stories to share.

And here’s the thing…

You don’t need to start a business like me.

You just need to take risks and do something you normally wouldn’t.

That could be:

• Talking to a stranger
• Eating at a fancy restaurant alone
• Going on a weekend getaway to a new town

Taking a risk doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment.

Start small, and take one risk.

I promise you’ll have an exciting story to share.

But watch out because it might make you addicted to taking risks :)