As many of you know, I recently hitched my wagon to the steed of Josh Kayser. We wanted to do something fun together, and apparently we settled on throwing a speed dating event.

We had the first of what we hope to be many events last night. It went, as I like to think, about as well as it possibly could have. After expenses, we raised $400 for Big Brothers Big Sisters. We had a turnout of 30 people, twice as many girls as guys. Generally speaking, a good problem to have.

So, what did we learn from this? I think we have some good take aways, and, when combined with everything I learned in Vegas, I think there are some life lessons here:

Aim Big. Our goal should never have been to fill Quinton’s with 200 people. Then, you get 50 people and you are disappointed. Our goal should have been to fill Faurot Field with 2,000 people. Then, if we got 500, that would be big.

Wisely hitch your wagon to good people’s steed. You can’t under estimate the value of knowing people. This event could never have been pulled off with a connection at Big Brothers Big Sisters, knowing Mike McClung from the Big Thinker Meet Up, having a connection with Tak at Columbia’s number 1 hit music station, and the help of Katie Olson, the best wedding planner in the business. Networking is valuable. So get your nose out of the laptop every once in a while and say hello to a new friend.

Understand your talents. I have many talents. Well, ok, maybe two or three. But one of them is definitely not ‘event throwing.’ In fact, I had never even been to a speed dating event before. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to try new things. But if you are going to sink your teeth into a large project, it tends to go better if you are one of the world’s foremost experts in said area. So, for future events I will probably stick to pay per click competitions, college football betting, and being the world’s most eligible statistician.

It’s better to have tried than done nothing at all. We had fun, and learned some lessons on the way. It’s great to stay busy and stay challenged. It’s what keeps your mind sharp and body guessing. Sure, there were people who thought sure we’d fail. To them, I say in the words of my good friend Blue Jay, “Hey, how’s the view from the cheap seats?” Challenge yourself to do something you never thought you could.

I have to admit, there was a time I thought we might have 5 tables. I thought we might have 5 people. I had to tell Mike I thought we’d have 5 tables, which was embarrassing, but not nearly as embarrassing as it would have been to actually have only 5 tables. Even so, I would have still been happy we stepped out on a limb and tried something differet.

So the million dollar question is, should we throw another event? Who knows. Columbia is a relationship town once you reach a certain age. People grab on to the closest thing and stick to it as soon as college is over. Maybe, Columbia just isn’t ready for speed dating. Better yet, maybe Columbia just isn’t ready for me.

I’d rather see someone else take what we started and run with it. It was fun getting it started, now it is time to pass the torch. If you want to take it on, it’s yours. I have to warn you though, it’s risky. You win some and you lose some in the high stakes world of speed dating.