Today my Journey to Amazing took me a little outside my comfort zone. I've had to attend some meetings for about six hours yesterday and then again today. While sitting through these meetings yesterday, I couldn't help but notice the guy next to me doodling on the white space of his Venti Starbucks Coffee cup. It turned out to be more than just "doodling" though. His designs were amazing! This guy had talent, so I kind of figured he was an artist, tattoo artist, graphic designer, or something professional.
When I got home last night I started thinking about my day, the meetings I had just attended, and that fact that I hadn't seen my son since I had dropped him off at school. His grandma picked him up and took him to her place, where he spent the night so that I could get up and go back to the meetings the first thing this morning. Since my dream that I discussed in my previous post about my corporate job, I have been ending each day playing back the daily events so that I can become more cognizant of amazing moments I would otherwise not consider. The designs this guy was drawing earlier in the day really caught my attention, and I knew that I needed to say something when I went back Saturday morning.
Saying something just isn't my normal modus operandi. I'm the kind of guy who would normally just sit quietly, observe, and mind my own business. The thought of how we are all gifted in different ways that make each of us unique and amazing compelled me to get out of my comfort zone and say something to him. So, this morning when I got back to the meeting I greeted him, introduced myself, and told him that I had noticed his artistic ability the day before as he drew on his cup.
I suppose the funny thing about this is that this guy really didn't look or come across as an artistic person. He was wearing hunter green camouflage, a backward ball cap, and had a big wad of chew in his mouth. He looked more like a outdoor sportsman with a cocky attitude who wouldn't mind grabbing a rifle and unloading a couple shots just to get off on the recoil.
So here I am, curious as to how this guy looking and acting the way he does has this amazing talent. When I complimented him on his design ability, he looked at me kind of funny, like maybe he was thinking, "Are you gay and trying to hit on me?" So, realizing his concern, and relying on my many years of sales experience, I started asking him some questions. Knowing I wasn't going to hit on him, he relaxed and began to answer my questions.
This guy's name is Mike. He is a career firefighter in Denver. He and his wife live here in Fort Collins. Not too long ago he went on a date with his wife. They knew they were going to be drinking, so they rode their bikes. They had a pitcher of margaritas and a couple beers, watched a game and ate dinner. On their way back home a cop saw them riding and having a little too much fun up on the sidewalk, so he flipped his lights, pulled them over and confronted them. Mike got a little cocky with the officer because he wasn't going to be intimidated by the situation. He ended up getting a DUI and the officer took his drivers license away. Mike got with a lawyer and got his license back, but has ended up having to go through the whole DUI experience. He and his wife thought they were safe because they were on bikes.
I then asked Mike where he learned his design skills. He kind of shrugged it off and said it was just a goofy pastime he developed when he was bored. I asked if he ever thought about taking it further than doodling. As he spit in his cup he asked, "Why?" So, this is what I said to him:
"Recently I had an experience and I realized that people are seldom ever complimented on the things they do really well, so they end up trying to do a lot of other things that aren't as meaningful because they are told that's what matters most. I just wanted to take a moment to tell you that you have an amazing talent and I can tell when you are drawing it isn't just a goofy scribble. You are able to take a blank space and bring it to life. If you have never considered it, you should think about creating a website and sharing your talent. Your designs would make some killer art for tattoos or for graphic artists."
Mike wasn't too comfortable receiving compliments. He kinda shrugged it off and said that life was too busy for him to do anything like that. Of course, by the end of the day, his cup was completely full of new and fresh designs. As for me, I moved out of my quiet, intellectual shell and did something I kind of found amazing. Instead of letting an opportunity pass me by, I made a willful, deliberate decision to share my Journey to Amazing with someone else, and hopefully, helped someone else catch a glimpse of something amazing about himself. Of all the people in the meeting, nobody else really said anything to one another. At the end of it, Mike came up, shook my hand and said, "Hey, good luck!...and thanks for the compliment."
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