Have you ever been in a crowded room and recognised a face but couldn’t immediately put a name to the face or where you first met them?
Well, there was a bloke in the audience today at the Little River Landcare groups “Secret Men’s Business” seminar, who I knew I’d met before but for the life of me couldn’t remember his name or even where we’d met. So, whilst I was sharing strategies and concepts to 50 or so local farmers about “How To Find the Opportunities in Change”, my memory banks were being scoured for the answer as to who this fellow was. And then he asked a question….
Bingo! That was it! The combination of his voice and the articulate way he asked a question triggered my memory into action…I’d met him at LA International Airport, the year…1989…twenty years ago!
You see, this bloke and I share a mutual friend. I was living in the US at the time and went along to the airport with my friend who was going to the airport to farewell this fellow as he was returning to Australia.
This meeting, the first and only, in the departure lounge at LAX, lasted no more than an hour but there was something in that hour which created a bloody powerful memory. He had a very warm and easy manner. The questions he asked were thoughtful and articulate and I just knew that he was genuinely interested in everyone there to farewell him (even us hangers on who were just there because my ride went to the airport!)
So I had a yarn with this fellow after I’d finished my presentation this arvo and asked if he was friends with the parents of my friend. The answer … YES! And so we spent the next few minutes piecing together the links. My girlfiend at the time (now my wife of 17 years) and the daughter of his friend were flatmates at uni in Santa Barbara.
Call this fate, coincidence or luck; it really doesn’t matter. What matters is this…
People won’t necessarily remember what you did for them but they will remember how you make them feel.
It really is a small world!
Cheers!
Mick
PS stay tuned for my next blog where I’ll share with you how the dedicated folks at Little River Landcare are making an amazing contribution to their community, our environment and for future generations of farmers
