Announcing Project One Hundred
A personal pursuit to re-establish connection and trust with my friends and advisors
I have been living in Chicago area in the US for more than a decade. During this time I made lots of acquaintances and formed many professional associations but only with a select few, made much deeper connection — found lifelong friends and wonderful well-wishers. This connection was based on mutual appreciation and trust. These people are the ones who shaped my journey and gave me my worldview.
But as with any relationship that doesn’t get nurtured, trust slowly fades away and those who were once trusted me eventually languish as a LinkedIn connection. Of all the 500+ connections that you have in your LinkedIn or Facebook profiles, how many of them have you personally met in last 12 months. Lets take it to last 5 years and tell me the percentage. Not that many, isn’t it?
I have the same problem. I constantly think about meeting them but I haven’t put enough energy to make it happen. And when I did reach out, it inadvertently seemed like I was looking for new opportunities or had something to sell.
This changes today.
Announcing “Project One Hundred”. The plan is simple — meet 100 of my closet friends — one person per week.
To make the intention clear, these are the rules for the project —
- Group meetings are not considered part of this project. Its just you and me.
- You should be with someone that I enjoy spending time with, trust and look up to and hopefully you find me worthy enough to spend your time as well.
- In-person only. Phone calls, Facetime and Hangouts are not considered.
- Food is compulsory, could be over a breakfast, lunch, coffee or dinner and I pay for it.
- No sales pitches. Not intended for seeking job opportunities.
- Only on a weekday. Weekends are for family, except when they are not ☺
- Share those moments online.
This project is inspired from a highly successful project by my good friend Melissa and its called “1 Million Cups”. 1MC provides a supporting and nurturing environment for startups — with no funding involved. With P100, I am hoping to create such an environment at a personal level.
On 1MC, I am thinking about starting a Chicago chapter. But I can’t do it alone. Are you interested?
You my friend, when I reach out, hopefully feel as excited as I am. If this messages resonates with you and want to meet me sooner, send me a message and you will be slotted in first available week.
P100 #1 — Satish Patil
We haven’t met for more than five years. We met in a vegan restaurant and discussed some wonderful memories, enjoyed good food.
It made my day.
Satish was and still is someone who is as passionate about technology as I am. He is the one who taught me to be relentless, dig deeper until I find the root cause or a solution. One of the few people who I envy.
Thanks for sharing the moment with me Satish.
