The great Charlie “Tremendous” Jones is very well known for this quote: “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
Because I am a voracious reader, I have always focused more on the “reading” portion of this quote. And I habitually quote it to my non-reading friends challenging them to expand their horizons with the world of books.
A few weeks ago, I was reminded of the other part of that quote: “the people you meet." My habit when traveling is to take at least two books, one for the flight to the destination and one for the return home. It is always my goal to read at least two books on any trip. And I have to admit to you that after boarding a plane, many times I sink into that book, ignoring everything (and everyone) else around me until landing.
On one particular flight, I became intrigued when a nicely dressed gentleman sitting beside me who was obviously working on a presentation on his laptop. When I asked him if he was a professional speaker, his response was “no, but I am giving a speech." One thing led to another, and I discovered that he was the former CEO of both Maytag and the 2002 Winter Olympics.
"Wow! What an opportunity," I thought. I pulled out my handy dandy notebook and asked if he would mind giving me a short interview for my blog. He graciously obliged—but then again, where would he go? We are thousands of miles up in the air!
I have wondered since then how many missed opportunities there have been for me to speak and interact with individuals who have truly made a difference in the world. This man has made a significant contribution to the world of business and sports and I was privileged to hear his story one on one. I am going to try to do better on this. What about you?
