You are reading a book, an article, or a blog post. The piece spoke to you. It resonated with something inside you. You thought “Wow! This is great. I must contact the author!” You get on to email… Then you stop.
“Why would they want to hear from me? They don’t know me! They probably have loads of more important people writing to them. I don’t have much to say anyway. Why would they be interested?!” So you never send that email. That one moment of potential possibility and serendipity, gone forever.
The reality is, you never know what your message, however insignificant it may seem to you, could mean to the recipient. The simplest words can make a huge difference in someone’s life. I have had this brought home to me powerfully and personally recently.
A few months ago, I was not in a good place. My world was bleak and most days seemed filled with hard, soul-destroying toil. It was the perfect environment for the self-doubts and fears to have a field day, or two, or three…
Then one day out of the blue, I received an email from a completely stranger. The subject said “The Beatles without John Lennon ... Vermillion without Zern”. The email then went on simply to say the world needed my original thoughts! Can you imagine how that made me feel? Do you think that made a difference to my day? You bet! That one email made my month!
When you are next moved to contact someone out of the blue because something they have done has resonated with or moved you, just do it! Mia someone today.
A big thank you to Mia Breitfuss. Your little email said just the thing I needed to hear at just the right time. I will start Mia-ing everyone out there whose work has moved me.
If you have a Mia story, I’d love you to share it here.
