Monday Morning Match is a quick post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.
In a distracted world how close and dear human relationships may become.
– Ellen Glasgow
Technology advancements are happening faster than we even realize. If you looked at your mobile device right now, you probably have some applications that are ready to be updated. It’s just a matter of time before (insert technology company) announces they are releasing their newer, better, improved (insert product here).
No matter how many updates there are or how fast our mobile phones improve, there’s still nothing that replaces a genuine voice to voice phone call to a good friend. If you can’t connect in real life and be in the same room as someone else, no tweet, text, social comment or “like” can have as much impact as a well-timed phone call.
Connecting from the Car
Last week I was driving home from Cincinnati at the end of a long day. The time change is now in full effect so that means it’s dark by 5:30pm. It’s a simple 100 mile drive between Southwestern Ohio and my home in a suburb just West of Columbus but it’s a very boring drive. There are 15 exits and a whole lot of cornfields between the two city’s outer-belts so it’s usually a choice between listening to music, 
sports talk, comedy or a recent podcast to pass the time but this night I used the 90 minutes to reach out and connect with some good friends, mentors and peers.
I was using my hands-free dialing and had my ear buds in so I was being as safe as I could be (even though I feel like I could drive this stretch of interstate with my eyes closed). I randomly called names of people that popped into my head with no ulterior motive other than to say hello and let them know I was thinking about them. Where the conversation took us from there was totally unplanned.
Some dials led to voice mail so I left an upbeat message just letting the phone’s owner know that I was thinking of them and was hoping to catch up. A few of them have already traded voices mails with me while some others texted me to set up a time to talk this week.
I ended up catching a few people at home or was able to talk as they were just finishing up their week and hadn’t checked out for the weekend yet. I even had an unexpectedly deep conversation with someone who seemed like she really needed to talk to a friend at that moment. I was more than happy to be that opportunistic voice that reached out at the right time.
It’s Your Call
You don’t need a long drive to find time in your schedule to make a connection with someone. You don’t need to block off any time in your schedule either (although if you do it might make it more successful). A phone call can happen pretty much any time you were going to tweet, scroll Facebook, scan Instagram or play Candy Crush.
You just need a phone, a number and a reason to call. Be honest…it’s not very often that you don’t have all three of those at the tip of your fingers or the tip of your tongue.
Have a great week building relationships, solving problems and having fun.