Start a conversation with a stranger.

“I was at a coffee shop yesterday working on my laptop. The place was packed and someone asked if they could share my table. I said sure. We both worked in silence for like 20 minutes. Then my laptop charger died and I sighed out loud. The person looked up and said "Rough day?" That turned into one of the most unexpected and genuine conversations I’ve had in a long time. We talked about work, relationships, childhood memories, weird family stuff, the kind of things you usually only get into with people you already know well. There was no agenda, no trying to impress each other, no phones out. Just two strangers talking honestly for almost 45 minutes. When they left, we didn’t exchange names or socials or anything. Just smiled, said "take care," and that was it. It sounds small, but it honestly stayed with me the rest of the day. It reminded me how rare it is now to just be present with someone you don’t know and let a conversation unfold naturally.”

“After a 5:30 am November Project workout followed by a cold Barton Springs swim, I went into my neighborhood coffee shop to do some work. All the small tables were full, so I sat at a larger table. A few minutes later, a man with long gray curly hair and wearing a tie-dye shirt carrying a tiny chihuahua dog in one arm came up to me and asked if it was okay if he shared the table. “Of course,” I said. “Do you know how you can tell if someone is a real genuine Austinite?” He asked. “Authenticity.” He said it’s the ability to be yourself with a stranger. To share stories and have a deeper conversation. To discuss and debate and learn something new. “You’re a real Austinite,” he said to me. [...] While I didn’t get much work done, this conversation and interaction with another authentic person was worth so much more than the email replies I was about to tackle.”