Embracing strangers is highly underrated advice. I’ve started tracking ‘my’ followers (strangers)

How often do you come across a self-improvement blog that encourages you to reach out to strangers? By ‘reach out,’ I mean engaging with others on every possible level, both on a micro and macro scale. I wanted to reply ‘not often’ to my question, but I’m realizing that even this would be an overstatement. I don’t recall ever seeing such advice.

For an introvert like myself, the call to embrace strangers might come as a surprise. Yet, if I were asked to share only one piece of wisdom from my several decades on this planet, it would be this: meet strangers. Reach out to strangers. Write to strangers. Post to strangers. In this day and age, it’s easier than ever before, thanks to technology and various digital platforms.

Why did I decide to write this note?

Well, for one thing, it’s common sense that seems overlooked for some reason. Our closest partners, whether in personal relationships or business, were once total strangers. We interact with strangers every day, and many of them play crucial roles in our lives. Educators, doctors, pilots — we don’t question being ‘exposed’ to these strangers, do we?

Secondly, now more than ever, I find myself on an explicit mission to connect with strangers.

I’ve even started tracking my audience.