we can fail. we can get rejected.
My ferret dies. One friend says “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” What an offer! anything! Another friend shows up at my door with some mediocre home made mac and cheese – a few meals worth because he knows i won’t feel like dealing with feeding myself.
The Mac and cheese is way better.
Offering to serve is asking for something
we want to serve the people we care about. Not wait for them to ask for help.
The pasta is a gift. The “Let me know” is a request or at least a bluff. Making an open offer is telling people they need to ask for help. People don’t ask for help and they don’t care about what we could offer. They care about what helps them.
Offering takes many forms
- I see creators starting youtube channels with an initial video that says what the channel’s going to be about. Asking people to subscribe. Just start making the videos. If we’re helping people, they’ll want to subscribe
- Performers talk about gigs hypothetically with bookers instead of saying “this is what I want to do for you…”
- We say “I could connect you with Jane Sanders” instead of “Jane Sanders said i could give you her number. She is _____ and the best thing to do is to set up a meeting at her business. If you take her a bottle of Morgran Tequilla, she’ll be your best friend for life”