I stumbled into public speaking unexpectedly last year.  A colleague of mine was organizing an eCommerce conference in New York.  We shared a mutual client.  He reached out to me one day and asked me if I would be the keynote speaker.  I thought he was playing a joke on me.  

“I’ve never given a professional talk before let alone a keynote” I told him, shocked.  “Are you sure I’m the right person for this?”

He spent the next twenty minutes selling me on it.  “You’ve got a great story, a great case study”  He said.  

The funny thing is I had actually written down a goal in my journal maybe a year or two prior to this that I wanted to speak on a stage one day.   

This was my chance and I knew it.  Who cares that it was only three weeks away.  I’d make it happen.

So there I was in the middle of trying to run a business, write a speech and rehearse it in three weeks time.  I thrive on chaos.

When I arrived in New York, I remember being in the cab and blasting Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” and Alicia Keys and Jay Z Empire State of Mind while dancing in the backseat and singing out loud shamelessly.  All while pinching myself.  That moment of delight and wonder will be forever etched in my memory.  

Speaking in New York City, a favorite city of mine, after years and years of hard work in the trenches trying to bring about change and digital transformations was like a gift. 

The day before the event I went to the venue – New World Stages.  I walked onstage in front of an empty room.  I looked out from center stage and my body got goosebumps.  

I mean if that isn’t a sign of what your body and soul wants to do, I don’t know what is.

I had so much fun giving that keynote.  Like I felt alive on that stage in a way I hadn’t felt in years.  

I guess the audience had lots of fun too, because I was invited to speak at another conference that day.  Then another one.  Then a friend told me about a speaking opportunity in London….London!   For real?  

I applied for it and then later found out that they had a record breaking number of submissions that year which cut my odds to get a spot down to 15%….It was a long shot and I knew it. 

I immediately messaged the organizer separately once I submitted my talk and thanked him for the opportunity and let him know why this topic would be so valuable to the attendees.  I didn’t get a response for over a month.

Still, I bought myself a wooden London puzzle from Wentworth Puzzle Company (try it you’ll like it), and sat down and manifested that opportunity into fruition one puzzle piece at a time.  

When the organizer reached out to ask me a few questions, I gave him a huge pitch of all the reasons why he should pick my talk.  

After making me sweat, he dropped the news – You are in!  

I was going to London, speaking at my largest conference yet.  This was happening.  I couldn’t stop smiling for weeks!

From New York to London to speak in less than a year?  How did this happen?

I believe in serendipity.  But serendipity doesn’t happen by accident.  It happens when you are committed to doing the work that solves a problem and lights you up.  And when you let the people that matter know that you want it.  When you light up people can’t help but notice and want you to be part of whatever it is they are doing.  

Keep showing up and doing the work that matters to you and lights you up and people will take notice and they’ll want to be part of that magic.  This is serendipity.  

Next time I’ll share what happened just before I went to London that almost derailed my trip, and what happened onstage that could have derailed my speech!  Stay tuned!