Hello!!!
Today is #WorldHelloDay and your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to say Hello to 10 people across the world today.
In case you didn’t know, this is the 47th annual World Hello Day and it was started in 1973 in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel. The goal was to greet 10 people and its purpose was to emphasize the importance of communication and preserving peace.
In 1973 it took a lot more effort to participate in #WorldHelloDay and greet 10 people, especially if you were trying to extend it outside your own local circle of influence. It would have required phone calls and long-distance charges. Today, you can call, text, Instant Message, video conference or livestream. Technology has done an amazing job of closing the distance gap between people and helping them connect as a community.
When livestreaming on Periscope started in 2015, I became a daily livestreamer and developed an audience all across the world, which is what launched me as an International Business Consultant. Through those daily livestream shows, I found friends and created relationships all over the world, including one of my favorite places, Australia.
It was through a livestreaming platform called Blab, (which many of us are still mourning over) that I started my podcast He Said, Red Said and how I achieved the very special status of #HonoraryAussie. Although it was all in good fun, I had to work hard at it! My friend Vin Brown from Vintuitive in Australia sent me a very extensive Aussie Dictionary to study and required me to take my #HonoraryAussie test via livestream, on Australia Day in front of the entire world!
I was nervous to say the least, especially when I found out my final exam was having to correctly use three Aussie words into an original sentence. Well you can see by my Aussieversary screenshot by Stacy Braiuca the hilarious phrase I came up with to secure my coveted title, but unless you watched the event you wouldn’t know why I chose that.
The phrase:
“This bloke in the budgie smuggler, has a kangaroo loose in the top paddock.”
Translation:
“This guy in the speedo is a little bit crazy.”
From the screenshot you can see me in the bottom right-hand corner, my friend Vin in the bottom left-hand corner, and the guy in the top right-hand corner… actually modeled his Australian Budgie Smuggler earlier in the show… #TrueStory
That was
a fun and memorable day that I share in more detail in book #6 of the #12Books12Months series, #Fitchslapped: Building a Brand and Creating a Community in the Livestreaming and Podcasting Space.
My point in sharing this #HonoraryAussie story on #WorldHelloDay is to recognize the value in your relationships all across the world and to recommend you take a moment to reach out to 10 people across the globe today and spread the joy of connection and relationships. Try to learn something new about a different country or culture and maybe try to say “Hello” in that language or vernacular. (Remind me to tell you about the time I alienated the entire country of New Zealand in 3 seconds… )
So, in signing off on World Hello Day as an #HonoraryAussie, let me just say “G’Day!”
Until next time…