Ok, get your mind out of the gutter…this isn't naughty!
Everyone knows the definition of "moment" so there's no need to define that part of today's Word Wednesday phrase. Here is the actual definition of "seminal."
sem·i·nal
A seminal moment is that brief lapse of time in which something happens that is potentially life changing, or changes the course of things. It is that instant when the seed is planted to develop into something bigger! We experience seminal moments every day but often, we're simply not aware that the seemingly insignificant experience is about to change the course of our entire lives.
My co-worker and I were just discussing one such event. Several years ago, well over a decade, a customer called me to ask if we could help them with a rush order. It was a super hot rush and if we were going to make it happen, we had to act quickly. I called our supplier in California to see if they would be able to turn the job that quickly but our sales rep wasn't yet in the office. Given that it was such a hot rush, I was pretty persistent and asked if there was anyone else who could help me. I was transferred to Trudy, a sales rep for a different territory.
Trudy (pictured above) wasn't even our sales rep for Oregon but she was a huge help and we worked it out that her company would be able to help us with our rush order. At the time, this just seemed like another typical situation which we both experienced on a daily basis. It didn't seem too significant at the time, but that phone call, that seminal moment, changed the course of our lives forever.
After I had placed our order and we buttoned up all of the details, we were able to spend a moment on the phone just visiting. Trudy casually mentioned how much she loved Portland and somewhat-jokingly asked if we were hiring. That phone call, those few brief words, were the beginning to a pretty awesome change for us both.
Trudy flew into Portland to interview with our company. Given her quick and friendly response to our urgent needs, we already knew she was going to be fabulous. Within just a few weeks, she moved to Portland and joined our team and has made a huge difference to the company where we work. Since moving to Portland, she's married her husband and had many other awesome life changes.
Neither of us knew at that moment, the significance of that one single phone call. We both laughed today wondering what would have happened if I had been a little more patient and waited for our Oregon Sales Rep to call me back? Because of that rush order and my need for a prompt answer, Trudy's life and all of our lives, have been forever changed.
It isn't always this easy to identify that single life-changing, seminal moment. Seemingly insignificant events or interactions with others can actually have a huge impact on our lives. The smallest actions or decisions could actually set our lives on a completely different course. This…this is what makes me happy and excited to be alive. In nearly everything we do, we're planting seeds for the future and I'm just so excited to see what grows!