Press to Talk

Pastor Chuck once told me that on any given Sunday he tried to have as many meaningful conversations as possible. Whether it ended up being one or 15, pastor Chuck was the kind of gentleman that people still speak well of 10 years after his death.I’m convinced it’s in part because he valued people and made genuine interactions the goal.

Today I talked to a neighbor for about 30 minutes when honestly I had intended to use those minutes to clean up that jealous lawn in need of weeding and mowing. My neighbor is struggling to find work like many Californians and he and I talk irregularly when one of us catches the other outside .

I had a basketball game this afternoon as well and mixed in some conversation between free throws, timeouts and dead balls. The side banter was fun I discovered. It always is but it takes a minute or a day to realize the truth of Pastor Chuck’s inadvertent advice. Meaningful discourse leads to everything from friendships to NBA tryouts. That’s what I’ve found. It begins casually but can have lasting effects of spousal proportion (I met my wife based on a casual conversation with my eventual best man.) It’s hard to believe that decisions like running for President begin with a conversation. Never underestimate the power of pressing yourself to talk.