Lunch with Conrad

The thing that I really missed when I spoke at a webinar with a friend a couple weeks ago was hearing people’s real time feedback.

I hate to talk AT people. I want to talk WITH them.

More than anything, I want to hear them laugh at my jokes.

Quitters

I watched a promo trailer for a book called “Quitters”. The book is about people who want to quit their day jobs and start their dream jobs.

One thought reached out and hit me in the head. He said:

What if dreaming isn’t an act of discovery, but an act of recovery, of rescuing something from your past that you loved and you lost.

Instead of asking what I want to do with my life, you ask what have I done that I’ve loved.

In that moment, I realized that I loved leading small groups, talking with people, helping them work through issues.

The idea of Lunch With Conrad was born.

Lunch With Conrad

I announced in my newsletter that I would have a free conference call, limited to 10 people, and we could all talk about whatever we want to talk about, in the whole SEO, Internet marketing area. It would be a conversation, not a presentation.

There was no idea to monetize it. It wasn’t for promotion or selling anything.

I just wanted to talk to people (…and hear them laugh at my jokes.)

The Grand Experiment

I’d never been a part of anything like this before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I asked for questions beforehand, which I got. They were varied as much as the people who signed up were.

I was surprised by the varied backgrounds and web sites and companies.

I want to thanks the following for being a part of this inaugural phone call.

Birdy Diamond
http://www.theavianempire.com

Janet Carabelli
http://www.MiamiStyleMe.com
http://www.CigarrilloElectronica.com

Mitch Devine
http://lovehateadvertising.wordpress.com/
http://picturesofmusic.tumblr.com/

Nancy Stuckwisch
http://www.SilverMagpies.com

When I got the report from the conference call company, I discovered that there was one other person on the call that didn’t say anything.

Whoever you are, thanks for stopping by!

The Call

The call started, (of course I was late), and everyone was already talking.

We all started to ask and answer questions, from me and each other.

I think, more than the answers to the questions, (which were incredibly awesome of course), was just the fact that we were all talking with each other.

We were not alone.

There are other people with the same questions and insecurities and struggles.

What I Learned

• Talking to real people on the phone is a very different experience than reading, or commenting on, a blog, or even email.
• Not everyone who tells you they will show up, will actually show up.
• People are more similar than you might think.
• Social interaction is more important than technical solutions.
• We’re doing this again! This rocked. I dug it.

Listen To It!

Click to listen:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Or Download The MP3 File

Please leave a comment and tell us what you thought of the call, of the idea, or if you’d be interested in joining us next time around.

If you listen all the way through, you’ll find out why I love to get comments.