Chance Meeting Leads To A Motivational Moment

A funny thing happened on a plane to Boston last year. The experience reminded me of the importance of being open to connecting. I had just finished climbing into the middle seat between two strangers, and stuffed my bag under the seat in front of me. The person occupying the window seat looked over at me and said, “What a train wreck.” He was referencing the process by which this particular airline boards its planes. My first thought was, “I hope this guy isn’t a Debbie Downer, and going to complain the entire flight.” So I responded to the gentleman politely, “Well at least it is a short flight.” He smiled, as if testing me, and thus began one of the most enjoyable and funny — hilarious actually — conversations I have ever had on a plane. Turns out, I was sitting next to Bob Garner, a motivational speaker.

What About Bob?
You may be thinking, “Never heard of him,” and I will admit, neither had I. Being a chief editor I am in the habit of asking questions — lots of questions. I think the first one I asked him was, “What do you do?” He informed me that he was a mentalist. Clueless, I said, “What’s that.” He proceeded to tell me about it. Basically, it is a performing art, whereby practitioners demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities, such as mind reading. I didn’t want to ask him to read my mind, as I had a lot of stuff going on up there. So I proceeded to ask more questions about how he does this, where, and why. Turns out, this is just one of the skills he incorporates into his repertoire as a motivational speaker. In addition, he uses humor, magic, and impressions to communicate motivational concepts. As he was telling me this, he impersonated Johnny Carson, William Shatner playing the role of Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek fame, and others. Ok, so he was good, and funny, but I was still wondering if this guy was legit. “Have you ever written a book,” I inquired? Indeed he had – “Blueprint for Success – Proven Strategies for Success and Survival,” and when he mentioned the other co-authors, he immediately got my attention - Ken Blanchard and Stephen Covey. He also has a blog, CDs, and podcasts. So I told him what I did. He informed me that he does a lot of talks for life science companies. In the end, I asked him to write a “Leadership Lessons” article for Life Science Leader, which appeared in our January 2013 issue – entitled - 7 Tips To Help You Speak Like A Leader.

Preparation Meets Opportunity
Some say, serendipity rewards a prepared mind. I believe this to be true. But to capitalize on it, you have to be open to connecting. I know, that both Bob and I could have put on our headphones, as he had the same brand of noise cancelling headphone wrapped around his neck, tuned each other out, had an enjoyable flight, and merrily gone our separate ways. However, because we were both open to connecting, Bob wrote an excellent article for Life Science Leader, and I now have a motivation speaker on speed dial. If you ever need a little “pick me up,” check out his blog. I think you’ll be glad you did.