Every story is one of two plots: someone leaves home or a stranger comes to town.

Selling ads for the local community newspaper, I am walking the streets where I grew up, but I am  the stranger.

When I go into a store and introduce myself, I don’t occupy a defined role — that of customer or potential client or vendor

Some people respond with fear — as in I am a salesperson who is trying to get something from them. What I am offering and whether or not they can or want to give it, is secondary to the fear of being approached and asked for something that at first you may not fully understand. 

One salesperson froze and I could see the fear in  her eyes, when I introduced myself.  This was not part of her script, and I could see in her sideways glance she wasn’t listening to what I said, she was trying to figure out how to get rid of me, quickly.

Other store owners lean in, ask questions, want to know more, thank me for coming by.

This is one test of a what psychologist Carol Dweck describes as a fixed vs a growth mindset:

When you encounter something or someone you don’t know, is your default to resist or escape discomfort, re-establish the safety of the status quo.

 Or do you lean in, allow yourself to entertain something or someone unexpected?

Do you believe the unknown, even with its discomfort,  is worth entertaining for the new idea or possibility it offers?