The Place: Austin Java

The Cup: Coffee for both of us.

Background: Cup 7, Ruben Cantu and I got together a couple of weeks ago to catch up. Shortly after our visit, he sent an email to both Yifat and I introducing us, with an added note saying we were both doing similar projects but on different platforms and really should connect. I was intrigued!

Some confusion ensued, as Yifat – the Queen of Google Hangouts – wanted to do a virtual coffee.  I hated to let her down, but I’m really all about connecting in person, belly to belly, as they say. Though we don’t ever get quite that close, do we? This is America where we maintain a two-foot personal space boundary at all times. Lest we be the subject of ridicule…or a Seinfeld episode.

Turns out, Yifat thought she was interviewing me and I thought I was interviewing her and once we got it all squared away, we were golden. In case you’re curious, we met for coffee for this interview, and later Yifat will be interviewing me for an upcoming Google Hangout she hosts called Unscripted. Stay tuned for more details.

How did Yifat become the Google+ Go To Gal? We’ll find that out along with many other interesting details in just a bit. But first, some:

Common Grounds

1. What’s a food you can’t live without? Sandwiches.
2. What is your favorite way to unwind? Going to the movies.
3. What is the last thing you fixed? Cleaned up my house after a Rosh Hashanah party for 30 people.
4. What’s the best place to eat in Austin? Magnolia Cafe or BJ’s. 
   
5. What is the best movie you’ve seen recently? Trance or Now You See Me. Both are psychological thrillers.
6. What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate. Dark with nuts.
7. What is a book that you found impactful? Illusions, by Richard Bach. {I must share that I found this kinda wacky because I JUST got a copy of it in the mail after hearing about it from Cup 59, Brad Closson Guess I better read it. }

Born in Jerusalem, Yifat grew up in a village her parents built. She attended boarding school and then, as is customary for Israelis, served in the Israeli Air Force. After which, Yifat tells me young people either head to India or South America to find themselves. India for those who are also searching for drugs. South America for those in search of a different kind of high, the kind found hiking to the tops of mountains. Yifat chose South America.

To say Yifat was unprepared for her journey would be an understatement. Having grown up hearing English TV and on the radio, she thought everyone spoke the language.  This led Yifat to the incorrect assumption that everyone in South America would speak English. She soon discovered her error.

She didn’t speak the language, she didn’t know a single person in South America, she was traveling alone and she didn’t know where she was going. This sounds like a recipe for disaster or at the very least, a made-for-TV special. In Yifat’s case, it was the perfect recipe for an epic adventure.

She traveled the continent, from one end to the other. She was forced to learn the language as she went, and make friends along the way. The journey was eye-opening, educational and presented rich life lessons one could never learn from a text book.

Toward the end of her adventure, she met up with some folks who wanted to experiment with peyote. The promise of a mind-altering joy ride was alluring and Yifat decided she was “in”. The “dose” she was given was very weak and she tells me she didn’t feel a thing. The next time she was set to try it, her friend had a bad experience and Yifat opted out. Then she met a guy who told her she could find the same mind-opening results through mediation. She figured it was worth a shot and decided to find a class to learn the method. Before enrolling, she made a stop in Miami and stayed with family friends.

When she shared her meditation training plans with her father’s friend, he immediately called Yifat’s father and warned him that his daughter was about to be brainwashed. He could not be reasoned with, so back to Israel Yifat went, where she’s spend the next year and a half as a journalist.

Explaining the journalist gig, Yifat said, “It was fascinating. It’s kind of like what you’re doing (coffee with a stranger interviews). You have to find stories. You sit down and can interview a person, you can get as personal as you want but at the end of it, you don’t have to hug them. It’s like, ‘OK, thank you very much.’ Then on to the next story.”

I consider this and agree, what I do could be called journalism, I suppose. But for me, once I’ve heard someone’s story and they’ve shared personal things – given me bits of themselves and welcomed me in with open arms, I want to hug them. And I do. I don’t think I’ve ended a coffee without a hug. In fact, most of them begin with one. So I suppose I’m not much like a journalist at all – at least not the PDA-avoidance part.

One day, an email came from Yifat’s cousin who lived in New York City. She closed with, “Come visit anytime!” Yifat was gone to NYC shortly after.

After six months in the Big Apple, Yifat found herself in Texas. With a Visa set to expire, Yifat enrolled in college – first Austin Community College and eventually, University of Texas. Her major – Spanish. I know, kinda surprising! The young woman who set off to explore a whole new continent and didn’t speak a word of the language, years later chooses to make that language her college major.

Yifat took a job in technical support. She admits to me, “I didn’t know sh*t about computers. People would call in and say, ‘I have a blue screen, what should I do?’ I’d put down the phone and shout – ‘What do we do to fix a blue screen?'” Ah, this is very insightful infmormation – offering a solid explanation for why I never get a real answer from tech support. The things I don’t know, they don’t know either!

While this job wasn’t the stuff of dreams, she did manage to meet the man of hers. In 2001 they got married and they now have a four year old son. A reminder that sometimes we find ourselves in places or situations that aren’t what we were hoping for, but the purpose for our being there might not be readily obvious.

Yifat got a great job after college for a small company. When she started, there were three people and in her time there, helping to expand the business they increased to 12 people. And then she got fired. She says, “I decided that day that I won’t work for anyone again. I know how to build a company. I don’t have to work for anyone.”

Around that time, she read a book about how to succeed using Google+. She contacted the author to see how they might be able to collaborate. The result wasn’t what she had expected, but it put her on the journey she’s on today – which is running her Google Hangout, interviewing tons of cool people, facilitating important dialogue and connecting people.

“The Next Oprah” is how Yifat describes the vision she has for herself, adding, “Without the mushy stuff. Like Oprah, but without the Dr. Phil.” Yifat describes her style as not so politically correct, adding, “I ask the questions people don’t think to ask. For example, I interviewed a stripper turned business woman and I asked her, ‘How does a woman move from an industry where you are judged only on your looks to one where you are judged on your brain?” Good question.

Yifat believes in the future of Google+ and says she can imagine a future where Hangouts replace watching TV. Instead of watching something, you’ll be a part of it. Referencing the George Zimmerman trial, she said people won’t just watch debates over the issue, they’ll be a part of the debate. It’s about live connection and a conversation. Instead of listening to politicians or “experts” tell us what’s going on in a country half a world away, and convincing us we need to take military action to protect the people there, we can have a conversation with the people themselves. We can hear from them what they need or to give us an idea of what life is like for them. In Yifat’s view, Google Hangouts are a way to connect, face to face, while worlds away. It’s sounds a little utopian. And I love it!

What’s the biggest issue facing society today? According to Yifat, “We are connected, but we are not present. I have this image of a family sitting together in front of the TV with their devices and not really together.” Yifat said this lesson hit home when her four year old son began throwing tantrums each time she picked up her phone – even if she was just going to take a picture of him. He knew that when mom had the device, he did not have her undivided attention. Kids pay attention to that stuff.

I ask Yifat about the best advice she ever got. She says the best advice came from the worst advice. When she was on her South American journey, she was considering going to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. She asked a couple who had been there if she should go and they told her to skip it. Later into her travels she heard from others that it was amazing and not to be missed. The lesson? Don’t take the advice of others. Figure it out for yourself.

If given 30 seconds to make a speech to the world, what would Yifat have to say? “Find your passion. And don’t give up on your dreams. Actually do it! Technology allows us to make money doing whatever it is that you love. You can impact people. Find your passion and be present. Bring your attention to whatever you’re doing. We want to be “right” more than we want to figure out what’s right for us. School teaches us to look for the “right” answer. Do what’s right for you.”

Yifat’s story is one of living life on your own terms. From exploring a new continent as a solo adventurer and finding herself as she found her way, to deciding she’d never be fired again and starting her own business, Yifat is committed to doing what’s right for her. And she reminds us that what’s right or true for someone else, may not be so for you. Wisdom and advice from others can be invaluable. But sometimes we need to experience something on our own and decide for ourselves.

No one ever looked back at the end of their life and said, “I should have played it safe. I should have done less. I should have hugged fewer people.” Live and love with passion and connect. Connect with those on the other side of the planet, and those on the other side of the couch.