Let me share
a true story. I went to college in eastern North Carolina and one night, I
took a young lady I was interested in to a play held on campus. It was a great
production and we were walking back to our residence halls after.
It was
one of those soft Carolina nights that only happen in early spring! A gentle,
caressing breeze was coming across the lake and the intoxicating smell of
azaleas were gentle in the wind. Every star that was ever created and that
would ever be was blazing in the night sky. A soft, full moon was rising in the
distance.
It was
magical! One could say, a perfect night for romance! And here I was walking
hand in hand with this beautiful, blue-eyed, blond-hair southern bell. Youth
could have not been sweeter at that moment.
All of a
sudden she looked at me and said “Bill (pronounced “be-ill” because in some
parts of the southeastern USA it is perfectly legitimate to make one syllable
words into two!), what are you all thinking about?” Now as every guy knows,
this was a pivotal moment!
What I
SHOULD have said is something like this:
“Darling,
I’ll tell you plain. I was just thinking about how all the stars in this sky
tonight cannot compare to the beauty in your eyes!”
Pretty
good huh? I don’t care who you are, that’s a good line! Again, that is what I
should have said. Instead, I said something like this:
“I was
thinking about how effective the lighting was in the third act. I was really
impressed by the metaphor of the tree. I thought the blocking was a little off
but the good dialogue made up for that. I really was not expecting that plot
twist” . . . and so forth.
Now I
went on and on . . . . and on . . . like this for a few more excruciating
seconds and then I finally stopped. I saw her staring at me as if to say, "you
brain donor!" But she just looked up at me and in her honey sweet voice said,
“Bill (be-ill) not everything is a learning experience!” But EVERYTHING really
is one way or the other! You see, this is what I learned that night:
- First, when a significant other or potential significant other asks you what you are thinking, it’s a trap (but I am getting better at it as my wife will attest to!)
- Second, some lessons are more painful than others because I walked the rest of the way back to my room by myself!
- Finally, don’t MISS the MOMENT!
The point
is we often miss the opportunities of the present for the concerns for the
future. We need to pay attention to the joy that is right in front of us! Life
does not always give us breaks, so we need to enjoy the gifts we are given, as
they are given to us! In other words, according to author Dr. Rick Hanson, we
need to marinate in every great moment!
As always, if I can help you Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would love to hear from you. Also, as
a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will
send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your
organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to
your organization!
Yours
in Leadership,
Bill
Faulkner
Co-Founder
– Out Loud Strategies
Independent
Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email = bill@outloudinc.com
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