Burgundy Challenge

The ending of another year…and another opportunity NOT to make resolutions! I did take a brief inventory of life overall and asked myself what I might try to do differently in 2014…save more money, see Mom more often, clean the "company-is-coming" areas of my house with a bit more frequency. NOT resolutions! Just aims…

I was reading this month's issue of Good Housekeeping and there was an article about "Make 2014 Your Luckiest Year" or something like that. I do not believe in "luck"--I believe in God's Providence and His orchestration of all life's happenings…still, it caught my attention.

The first challenge was to "Forge a New Path" and discussed how to surround yourself with new opportunities that could ultimately lead you to a new relationship, job, etc. Some of the examples were attending networking meetings, taking a new path to work, shopping in a different store and at different hours etc. The author also included something she called the "Burgundy Challenge"=find someone wearing burgundy every 24 hours and strike up a conversation.

I posses a few skills but small talk isn't one I'm comfortable with or feel I can do easily. Still, in my line of work (at least now in the fund raising realm) I know I need to develop this a bit more and take risks. I recall one time over the last year where one of my supervisors alerted me to a free networking event in Cherry Hill and suggested I go. Eh…I stocked up on my business cards, arrived a few minutes early, and watched people go in (This is a usual routine--I have to psyche myself up for these kinds of things). I gave myself a one hour limit and said I would leave with at least 5 business cards.

 About 90% of the folks were squeezed into the room clamoring at the bartender for a drink. Everyone looked professional and beautiful and rich and smart…and it was obvious that many of them knew each other. I could not find a familiar face. Since we are not allowed to partake in adult beverages during anything work related, I paid $3.50 for a very meager serving of Diet Coke so I could walk around holding something and would have something to do (sip it) walking around the room with a fake smile on my face. Finally, I spotted someone else standing alone, walked up, said something introductory, and continued to do this for the next hour. I can't say I met anyone who changed the course of Covenant House but I do know that I gained one donor and a lot of self-confidence that I could "network" by myself.

Father Steve is the king of random meetings. He can (and does) talk to anybody and more often than not will get a resource out of a "chance" encounter. I've watched him so often, seen the ease with which he'll just insert himself into some one's life, introduce himself, what he does, and come away with a new volunteer, check, place to host an event, etc. It's uncanny. It's challenging. It looks easy.

So…Burgundy Challenge sparked my interest. How hard could it be? See someone in burgundy, strike up a conversation, see what may come…I decided to start at church on Sunday.  When I got to church it was raining, I was running later than usual, and as I rushed to get inside, my nerve to execute this new challenge began to wane. As I looked up to cross the parking lot, I saw a guy that wasn't familiar in a burgundy shirt. No jacket to keep it a secret--a blazing, long sleeved, declaration of my challenge. I wasn't disappointed that he was about 6 yards ahead of me and went in the other door. Still, as I crept inside I scanned the lobby for him. Ghost, he was. Challenge avoided.

I went into the sanctuary to "my normal seat" (yeah, I'm one of those), and who should be sitting behind that seat but Burgundy Shirt. Urgh…Got to the seat=some one's pocketbook so I chose the next seat up and glanced up at the countdown clock=only a minute until the start of the service=not enough time to stand up, walk back to Burgundy Shirt and start a conversation. As I sat waiting for the service to begin, I was struck by the fact that I must have missed the church memo that stated that Sunday, December 29th was "Wear Your Burgundy" day at Shore Fellowship. It appeared as if every other person was sporting the color. Ok, God…I get it.

Church began…I resolved to talk to someone in burgundy during the "meet and greet"…but that never happened because our pastor was out of town and we didn't do that portion of the service (saved!) I had zero interest left in executing this ridiculous goal by the time church ended so once the final good-bye was said I fled towards the emergency door I'm not supposed to go through to avoid talking to anyone (remember, from "Pride" post) and found myself being followed by a new Burgundy Shirt who got a head nod from me when I held the door for him. I slunk to my car, defeated by my own misgivings. What would I have said? Would people think I was weird? Do I like it when folks randomly insert themselves in my life? Still, church was probably the safest place to start this little challenge…and then leave the results to God. At the very least, I'd learn to develop the art of small talk. 

And that's it. The Burgundy Challenge is on for 2014 (NOT a resolution!) I was out and about yesterday and oddly did not run into anyone wearing burgundy but did have a few random and albeit extremely short interactions with strangers initiated by me. I can only trust God, as I have in the past, to orchestrate the right people in the right places at the right times…whatever color they may be wearing.

Happy New Year!