I hope I don't miss my flight...

Cup # 11 has been weighing on my mind for a few weeks now - and I think it's time I share it with you. Not weighing on my mind in a bad way however. Weighing on my mind in all the best of ways - forcing me to engage my thoughts and aspirations. To refine my ideas. To adjust my approach...

To reach out...

I guess meeting strangers for tea may fall under the 'reaching out' blanket - but I need to reach further. I will continue to sit down for tea with all of you of course - but I need to stir things up for all the people who have thoughts and ideas to share, whether they wish to sit down for tea with me, or not.

You already know that I spent about a week at home in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy London - I'm learning to love it even - but there really is something about those first steps off the plane back home... The familiarity is difficult to put in to words - maybe it was the anticipation, but even the walk through the airport felt incredible. And trust me when I say that the journey through customs is not one that I generally look forward to...

Taking advantage of a wide open and sunny Monday afternoon in Vancouver, I tackled cups 8 through 10 - but you already know about Robyn, Marianela, and Julie, don't you...

Tuesday passed by - filled with last minute errands, dinner with my family, and a much needed cup of Tim Horton's coffee with one of my best mate's, Matt - a reminder that time and distance do very little to the friendships that really matter in life. 

As 2am passed us by, it seemed appropriate to call it a night. We said our goodbyes, as if we'd be seeing each other much sooner then we likely will. I drove the long way home that night - taking a moment by myself to soak up every last bit of home that I could. Home is doing just fine without me it seems - but the familiarity and comfort that it all holds seems to be doing just fine as well.  I got back about half past two - feeling tired but refreshed, ready to take on life in England once again, but finding comfort in the fact that home is, and always will be waiting for me.

A quick check of my emails and I would be off to bed to rest up before my flight. 

Or would I...

Waiting for me in my inbox wasn't quite a request for a cup of tea - but it might as well have been. Justin Sudds - a talent managers/agent with S.L. Feldman & Associates - had written to me. His agency is largely involved in the Canadian music industry, representing the likes of Michael Bublé, Elvis Costello, Rush, The Barenaked Ladies - some of Canada's finest musical offerings really... I'm not one to drop names normally,but I need to you all understand my excitement here. After years spent in pursuit of a career in music, I know what it's like to vie for the attention of the likes of S.L. Feldman. They represent the big boys. And all little boys want to hang with the big ones someday...

Anyway, that is all besides the point. The opportunity to meet with Justin and hear his thoughts on the project was sitting in front of me. I had a plane to catch the next day - but something in me couldn't put this cup of tea off. I emailed Justin back, proposing that we meet the next morning. I would wake up early and head down to Granville Island to meet him - an hour for tea and a chat - and just enough time to drive back home, throw the bags in the car, and head off to the airport.

Luckily, Justin was keen on the idea - so was his colleague Adam McIssac it turns out - and a 10:30am meeting was set. 

Justin met me with a warm handshake, showed me around the office a little - or around his workspace anyway. Chatting as we waited for Adam to finish a phone call - I tried my best to hide my excitement as Tony Bennett grinned down at me from one of his platinum records hung on the wall. If you had told me after cup number one that having tea with strangers would soon have me standing in the offices of Sam Feldman - I don't know that I would have believed you.

Justin, Adam, and I took a short walk across the street to Starbucks and settled in to a cup of Earl Grey and some conversation. I don't want to paint this as a business meeting, because it was far from it. The ideas that Justin and Adam shared with me however, have changed the way I am looking at all of this. This is quite the journey for me, as you know. Meeting strangers, sharing thoughts and ideas. And with the challenge to be more open, I am opening myself to the many opportunities that these new connections may lead to. The truth is though - I want every single person who reads this to be part of my journey - regardless of whether or not we sit down for a cup of tea.

We, as humans, have a unique ability to affect each other. We all do it, whether we take the time to recognize it or not. We interact constantly, and our actions have a subsequent reactions. Change is constant, but we all need to look at the ways we interact with one another, and consider whether the change we inevitably create is positive or negative in nature. The personal reasons behind my quest to meet 100 strangers should be evident by now - but there is another side to all of this that Justin and Adam have helped me to grab hold of - and the other side has everything to do with all of you. 

I have tea with strangers because I want to push myself to be more open. To be willing to embrace the people I pass on the street each and every day. 

But I share my stories with all of you because, more than anything, I hope to inspire you to do the same.

Alone, I am a just a silly boy, travelling the world to have tea with strangers. But together, we could be a movement. A global phenomenon. 

Look at the way you life your own life. How do you see the world, and all the people in it? Do you believe that your actions affect others? Do you have any ideas to share? Could you stand to be more trusting? More accepting? Less judgmental? 

I know I could...

And so I left my meeting with Justin and Adam with a new energy about me. My adventures aside, I have been inspired to take my broadcast to the next level. I want not just to tell you about my adventures, but to engage you. I want to invite you all to share with me. I want to hear stories about strangers who have changed your life. Stories of how simple things, like a cup of tea and some conversation, have changed the way you look at the world. I want this all to be as much about you guys, as it is about me, and the 100 people I will eventually meet...

I had one other question for Justin that day, being how he discovered me, and my quest to meet 100 strangers, for 100 cups of tea. Turns out, his wife knows Robyn Thomson. The same Robyn Thomson who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. The Robyn Thomson who met me for cup number 8.

Funny how these things happen... isn't it.

And before I go, I have one last question for all of you... 

If you woke up one day, and realized that you had the power to change the entire world for the better - would you?

Yes? Good, then you're still with me.

Now, are you ready for the best part?

You have that power. We all do. It's called our voice. We can use it for many things. But the most important is conversation. Through conversation we discover common ground. We create mutual respect. We develop relationships. Conversation leads to inspiration. Inspiration leads to opportunity. And opportunity, to change...

So let's get talking...

Let's change the world.