Today . . . I am thinking about meet-cutes.
Have you ever heard of meet-cutes before? I hadn't until I was watching The Holiday the other night. In it, Eli Wallach's character, Arthur Abbott, described to Kate Winslet's character, Iris Simpkins, a meet-cute as,
Say a man and a woman both need something to sleep in and both go to the same men's pajama department. The man says to the salesman, I just need bottoms, and the woman says, I just need a top. They look at each other and that's the meet-cute.
So what's a meet-cute?
In real life and in the movies, it's when two people meet in a clumsy, awkward, unusual way that if you are a viewer watching this happen; you just know that the couple will get together. However, if you are the people going through the meet-cute, it's not so immediately apparent.
Possibly, they have an instant dislike for one another from the moment they meet. Maybe they crash into each other in a hallway and papers fly about. Perhaps one or the other is naked or in an otherwise embarrassing situation.
Meet-cutes sound much like what happens when Accidental Pren-hers turn their "accidents" into accidents by design -- turning lemons into lemonade, painful events into small business successes, failures and losses into gains and strength.
In my podcast show, Stories of the Unexpected, I explore with Accidental Pren-hers their journey from traditionally employed to sole proprietor, from working for someone else to working for themselves. Together, we talk about how something unexpected has happened in their lives that is shaping who they are and what they do today. We talk about how unforeseen it was. How ungainly, painful, and undesired it was . . . atleast at first. That's a meet-cute.
If you are an Accidental Pren-her, this idea of meet-cute is a good perspective to keep in mind. It will make the awkward transition from what was to what now is easier. It will turn "chance" encounters into potential relationships, and moments of setback into moments of clear inspirations.
Have you had a strange, embarrassing, or downright humiliating meet-cute that has turned out to be a most significant encounter? If so, we'd love to hear about it!
The original Accidental Pren-her™
Author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success
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