Listen to Your Gut: Turning Chance Encounters into Global Adventures, My Recent Journey to Cambodia

Hey, my friend. Stuff happens. It happens all around you. Really, it’s just a case of you tuning into it, listening to that vibration, and deciding if it’s a go or a no. There’s so many opportunities, but you have to pick a lane.

So I had an opportunity recently to go to Cambodia, and it all came about from a chance meeting in 2006. So 18 years in the making. One of my early projects when I was a solopreneur, was to help a not -for -profit raise a quarter of a million dollars through a Guinness World Record for of all things, the world’s largest tape ball, which we did. It came in at 1860 pounds and we managed to raise actually over the 250, $275 ,000 dollars. That built a ton of homes in, Uganda through Compassion Canada. And, it was great.

One of the friends of the principal that I was working for was a chap called Rod Cameron, who at that time had lots of different diverse businesses, one of which was a firework business in Canada. He told me he was given some sage advice to pick a lane. So despite being super talented at multiple streams of income, he doubled down on fireworks. And we stayed in touch, you know, through Facebook as you do over the years. And last year, I got to work with this company through a Government grant program and created a digital adoption program that really brought their business up to date and kept them very secure in this digital age. And we stayed in touch.

So when I was in Hong Kong a few weeks back flying to Thailand, he noticed that, I checked in at the airport Hotel. He asked me how long I was going be in Hong Kong ’cause he was likely to be there a few days later. Unfortunately, I’d already planned to come to Phuket at that point. So he said, “Oh, I wish you could have come and see the fireworks factory.” So to me, that was an invitation. So a couple of days later, I said, “Hey, Rod, you know what? “I could.”

I looked at the flights, Phuket to Bangkok, Bangkok for Phnom Penh, and, we arranged it. So last week, 4:30 AM, I got up, flew from Phuket to Bangkok, Bangkok to Phnom Penh. And he picked me up with his wife and two of their team. And I spent two whole days understanding how outside of China, he has created the only profitable practical firework factory in the world.

And it’s under a brand called PyroPlanet. and he’s contracted me now to build out the story of PyroPlanet on their new website. The purpose of this story is, you know, keep those relationships going. Never lose touch with people that you feel a connection with. Who knows what might happen one month, three months, one year, 18 years later, right?

It can happen. But here’s the other side of the coin – if I’d have thought small, I’d have went, “Mmm, gosh, firework factory. Travel to Cambodia. That’s all out of my comfort zone.” And I could have just passed, right? But I didn’t. I listened. I let my intuition, my gut reaction say, “That would be cool.”

And despite overcoming certain sorts of nuances and objectives, I chose to make that decision to go to Cambodia and it was fantastic. Rod and I are now in a whole new relationship at a much deeper level. We’re friends already, but now we’re going to be business colleagues together for a very long time, I just know it. So today, I just want you to listen for those opportunities.

Fireworks manufacturing Cambodia

Something that may be just resonating in your brain, coming back to you and, you might think,” I wonder what happened to such and such?” Well, you know, maybe that’s a sign from the universe that you should just reach out to them and ask them. And you don’t instantly say,
“Hey, how are you? You know, is there any business I can do for you?”

How about just, “Hey, how are you?” Right? Ask them, show interest in them, show a desire to want to get to know them and ultimately serve them. But don’t just go to third base like, “How can I do business together?” But when you are in that relationship, which I’ve been doing with Rod for a number of years and an opportunity comes up. they feel much more compelled to work with you because they know you. They like you, and if your social media is good and they trust you. We call that a KLT factor.

Know, Like, Trust. And when you have a very high KLT factor, when you have a lot of deposits in the bank of exchange, i.e., you’ve paid it forward with these people many, many times, they will come and make a deposit in your account. And that’s what happens. Your gut is almost as important to you as your brain. It’s almost like a second brain in the human body it’s fascinating. And the more you listen to that intuition, which is a brain combo with inner feeling, the more it’ll serve you.

And it’s a refining process, it’s something you need to get used to. But it’s something that works. I’ll share some pictures in this blog, of my trip to Cambodia, and maybe even I’ll find a picture of the Guinness World Record back from 2006.

And dream big, I created this business in 2004. So 20 years this year, I decided I was then unemployable and wanted to make a difference in the world. And I have, and I am, and I continue to do so.

And maybe it’s your time. to make that difference too.

Jonathan Christian | The Resilient Business Coach™
Jonathan Christian