This is one of the greatest stories of persistence! I promise you the story of Mel Fisher will inspire you!

I sincerely wish you will have the experience of thinking up a new idea, planning it, organizing it, and following it to completion, and then having it be magnificently successful. I also hope you’ll go through the same process and have something “bomb-out.”

I wish you could know how it feels “to run” with all your heart and lose – horribly.

I wish that you could achieve some great good for mankind, but have nobody know about it except for you.

I wish you could find something so worthwhile that you deem it worthy of investing your life.

I hope you become frustrated and challenged enough to begin to push back the very barriers of your own personal limitations.

I hope you make a stupid, unethical mistake and get caught redhanded and are big enough to say those magic words ”I was wrong.”

I hope you give so much of yourself that some days you wonder if it’s worth it all.

I wish for you a magnificent obsession that will give you reason for living and purpose and direction and elan and life.

I wish for you the worst kind of criticism for everything you do, because that makes you fight to achieve beyond what you normally would.

I wish for you the experience of leadership.

Yesterday I went to a networking event for lunch. There were about 80 people there and we were assigned to tables with 8 at each table. The conversation was good, but superficial throughout the lunch. The typical question was directed at the name of the company on the name tag. “Tell me about XYZ company?” or “What do you do at XYZ?”

Then the event director introduced an activity. We went around the table and each of us had two minutes to answer a personal question and then 2 minutes to talk about what we do professionally.

The personal question was either “What is a mistake you have made in the past?” or “What has been a memorable sporting event for you?”

I don’t think it mattered what the personal questions were but the interesting thing that happened was when people began to open up and talk about personal things, the mood, conversation and connection at the table changed. People were laughing and interacting more naturally. They were interested and engaged. It was no longer superficial, it was genuine.

When we can talk to people personally and not just professionally – we connect. When we open up personally – others can relate. When we are vulnerable and real we allow others to be the same and we bond.

Just some food for thought at your next networking event

1 – First Important Lesson – Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one:
“What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50’s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

“Absolutely, ” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
is smile and say “hello.”
I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. – Second Important Lesson – Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African Americanwoman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had
broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally
uheard of in those conflict-filled 1960’s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.
It read:
“Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away… God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving
others.”
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 – Third Important Lesson – Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
“Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. ” Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins.
“I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress
came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies..
You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 – Fourth Important Lesson. – The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 – Fifth Important Lesson – Giving When it Counts…

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.” As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed
next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away”.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

“Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody’s watching.”

Let me know how you did on the test at the end – and share this with other leaders