Do you have the profile to position yourself as soon as possible or are you the type who prefers to mature the idea?
I love the new one! New plans motivate and move me. You will rarely say that you have an idea that involves me or not, that I won't be interested in hearing before giving you any feedback (haters will say that this is pure curiosity, lol).
In my opinion, I have many reasons to want to hear about someone else's project or idea, to reason about it, even before taking any position, whether it's denying it because I think I won't have the time, skill, interest, or even accepting it! Why do I think this? I will list some motivators below.
What if I'm not interested?
Ok, in this case I try to be clear and say that it's not my time, leaving the other person on the back burner isn't fair either, lol. First I do an analysis, even if brief, is it really useless or impossible?
What if through that opportunity I managed to help someone close to me who was looking for a chance? One of the best questions you can ask yourself is “What if?” It often goes beyond you 😉
Yes, some people say to me “Juliana, tell me someone you DON’T know?”, jokes aside, I can only say that I love networking and what it gives me, and I only discovered this 5 years ago, when I joined a project (in parallel to my job as an interior designer), which made me even more aware of any and all relationship opportunities, and do you want to know more? Today these contacts are worth gold. Why? Several reasons:
- I love knowing people's stories, I use them as inspiration to achieve what I want but also as sources to generate connections, rapport can be a decisive tool in a negotiation;
- Being remembered and useful in the best possible way is an achievement for me, after all, what legacy do we want to build?
- I remember, very easily, the people I met and interacted with, and I use this to my advantage in each project I join or am already involved in. When we turn our gaze to each other, we become present. Knowing the needs of others contributes to the defense of your idea and the partnerships you intend to establish;
- Hearing that I made a difference in that person's life, with information that was often trivial for me, but was empowering for them, is fuel for me to continue my journey. Feedback, whether positive or negative, is fundamental to my sail alignment;
- Following the old maxim “it is in giving that one receives”, I trust it a lot, even though it is old and even a cliché, in times of social media…digital influencers, the law of reciprocity remains more present than ever.
I could list countless benefits here, but I want to get to the moral of the story straight away: pre-judging is a shot in the foot for me, closing doors then… don't even mention it!
Today you may be living your life with position XYZ, but tomorrow is increasingly uncertain, one of the most valuable sources you can make use of are the connections that life can provide you.
If you like a proposal, great! If you didn't like it at first, even better. Absorb it, understand how (and if) it can be useful, for you or a client of yours, understand the best way to position yourself and try to maintain ties with that person in some way, today they are interested in you, tomorrow you can benefit for her.
Important Note: strengthen your bonds in an authentic and genuine way, never out of interest, people feel more than they imagine. Your intention will always speak louder than every word that comes out of your mouth!
Did you stay here with me? I already love you for that!
Let's connect? Say hello!
