I want you to take a moment and drift back in time, looking for the faces of those people who havemade the most positive, long-lasting impressions on your life.
Who do you see?
Why do you see them?
I mean, what did these people do or say that duct-taped themselves to your memory?
I have to admit, living in the “seen-it-all” world of my middle aged life, rarely do I run into someone so compelling that the memory of the introduction lingers long after we’ve gone our separate ways. But last week, I met such a person.
I flew to San Diego to attend a Mastermind group for business owners, the first of several meetings in a year-long commitment where twenty people dedicate themselves to helping each other achieve their professional goals and dreams.
The first person I met, Wally, came across as a delightful man. But I’d never heard of him. You probably haven’t either unless you’ve read an instructional “how-to” book for an Apple product. On that rare occasion when you have read such a book, more than likely Wally wrote it. And yes, he’s that intelligent.
Even though I’m the stiff and stuffy guy who works on a PC and carries a Blackberry, I can certainly appreciate Wally’s skills. In fact, he showed me a cool app he had written for the iPad, which allows the user to instantly cue up any point in an audio presentation—pretty nifty if your job requires you to give a lot of “leave behind” presentations.
I also met a talented woman named Michelle, a graduate of Tennessee and current member of the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars. Michelle was the first woman to dunk a basketball in a televised game. In the off season, she plays in Russia, and this, coupled with her WNBA schedule, requires her to live away from home all but two weeks during the year. I cannot remember the exact statistic, but I think she said around eighty percent of professional athletes go broke within five years of concluding their careers?? Her refusal to become part of this statistic explained her urgency to create a business she could fall back on after her playing days ended. I applaud her drive.
Wally and Michelle seem to have it all together.
Time doesn’t allow me to tell you about the others in our little group of twenty, people who know and work with some very famous entertainers and self-help gurus. I guess I don’t have time because dropping names of the rich and famous sounds boring to me. (I currently have a business relationship with a man, who every time we talk, works into the conversation the one famous person he knows. If only he could hear how insecure he sounds!)
But by chance, I did happen to meet someone whose star power topped them all, and I just have to tell you about how we met.
On the second day of meetings, I slipped out the back door to take a “bio” break and headed straight for the bathroom. I’ve heard stories of people meeting the famous in some very strange places, and although I guess the same has happened to me a time-or-two, like I alluded to earlier, I really don’t get star-struck very often.
But when I opened the bathroom door, I had no idea that I was about to have a one-on-one meeting with a person so famous that I actually asked if I could take his picture! Yes, I know it sounds strange asking someone if I can take his picture in the bathroom, but knowing that I’d never have another opportunity to speak with this guy again, and being so taken aback by his star power, I couldn’t help myself.
Now, as I alluded to before, I don’t like to name drop. And I know many of you get put-off by listening to people who do. So, I’m going to stop short and not tell you who I met.
You really don’t have the time for this anyway, do you?
-David-
PS (Can you do PS on a blog post??) Okay, if you must see, here is the man’s picture and a little of my commentary on him.
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