Wow, there’s a whole world out there!

Say yes. Yes to the random opportunity that comes your way. Yes to the invitation you didn’t see coming. Yes to something a bit different. The tiniest yes can start an avalanche of positivity.

It started with a call from a number I didn’t recognise that I nearly didn’t answer. Would I like to be part of an expert panel on BBC Radio Suffolk, discussing what makes young people cite ‘fear of failure’ as a  major reason for not starting a business? Well, despite having neglected this blog for a while now, and despite not feeling much like an expert in anything, an opportunity to discuss life and business with like-minded people sounded like fun.

So I had my radio debut on Mucha Murapa’s Monday evening show and enjoyed every minute. The content of the discussion will furnish many future posts I’m sure, but in this one I’m focusing on the experience itself; an experience which left me thinking, “wow, there’s a whole world out there that I’ve been missing.”

It’s so easy when living and working at home to stay in a safe and cosy cocoon and rarely venture beyond it. I work remotely with most of my clients, and have never even met several of them except as a voice on the end of a phone. I like my office, I like my home and garden, and I like my family and friends, including my ‘coaching tribe‘. Most of the time, that’s enough. But yesterday evening I found another part of my tribe: some of the many other people running their own businesses in my local area. Chatting to artist Andy Greenacre, Cad Taylor of Ipswich Community Media and, of course, Mucha himself – all in very different businesses from mine – I thought, these are my people.

Andy’s wife Cassie, of My Thrifty Life, joined in the chat off air and inspired me to dust off my keyboard and get writing. And meeting her and the others made me determined to keep exploring this wide world, keep meeting new people and keep enjoying and learning new things.

I’m going to keep saying yes. More than that, I’m going to actively look for new opportunities to say yes to! Can you offer me any? What will you say yes to?