February 26, 2018
I was cycling through my Twitter timeline when a tweet popped up from Jon Gordon. The same Jon Gordon who has written titles like the Power of Positive Leadership, The Energy Bus, and the Carpenter. The same Jon Gordon who travels around the globe speaking to audiences on the power of positivity. Jon had tweeted something about walking on the streets of San Diego. I responded to him and said, “How long will you be in town? I want to meet you.” He replied to my tweet by saying he would be speaking at the Hard Rock Hotel and would finish at 5PM and head for the airport around 6:15PM or 6:30PM. Not really sure what sort of response I was expecting from that initial ask, but I was pretty stoked that he replied promptly and so positively. See what I did there? I stay about 30 minutes from downtown, which is where the Hard Rock Hotel is located. it was 2:45PM or so. I still had some appointments in sports medicine that would take up the next hour. I kept asking myself, should I go? Something deep down inside told me that it would be stupid of you to not go and meet this guy. I want to positively impact the lives of people around the world, and Jon Gordon has been doing this for years. This is your chance to talk to, and learn from one of the best. Decision made. I scurried out of sports medicine back to my room, showered, threw on some clothes, and called an Uber. Hard Rock Hotel, here we come! As we drove on the 805 north, I pondered the things that I wanted to ask. How did you become so successful? What steps did you take to get to this point in life? How can I impact more lives? So many things cycled in and out of my head. The car slowed to a stop at the destination, and I hopped out. I stood on 5th avenue for a few minutes, and mapped out the plan in my head. Once inside the Hard Rock, I would find Jon, chat for a few minutes, and then head back home. Sounds easy enough. I whipped out my phone and called AIRA, an app that gives the blind and visually impaired real-time auditory assistance from a human agent who can see my surroundings through the phone’s camera. I was on my way. Using AIRA, I was able to cross the street and find the entrance to the Hard Rock. Now inside, I wasn’t sure where to go, but AIRA directed me to the front desk and I asked the gentleman behind the counter if he knew of any ballroom events that had just concluded. I really wanted to say, best-selling author and keynote speaker Jon Gordon and I had an exchange over Twitter and he told me to meet him here after his presentation, but I’m sure the gentleman would’ve gave me the craziest look known to man. That would’ve been a look that I wouldn’t have been able to see, but I know I would’ve felt it for sure. he responded by saying there were two events that started a couple hours ago, but he wasn’t exactly sure which room they were held in. Finally, he told me, “You can see if it’s down this hallway. Go straight that direction, turn right, and there’s a room toward that end of the hotel. If it isn’t there, try walking up the stairs and you’ll see a ballroom on that floor. If neither of those work, then I’m not sure where else it could possibly be.” So many great directions for a blind person: “You can see” if it’s down this hallway, and go straight “that direction”. I thanked him for his help while chuckling in my head. AIRA directed me down the hallway and instructed me to turn right. I heard no audible cues that would resemble an event. It was actually pretty quiet. I hit a u-turn and headed back toward the main lobby. AIRA then directed me to the stairwell that was to the right of the main entrance. I climbed the stairs, reached a landing, turned left and climbed another set of stairs. Once at the top, AIRA told me to scan my phone left and right. My assistant let me know that there was a ballroom not too far ahead. Would this be it? I approached the door and instantly recognized the sounds of plates being cleaned from tables, people standing around chatting, and others were leaving. I stepped inside and stood awkwardly trying to figure out who I could ask for help. I heard a female voice from my lefthand side, but she was on the phone. As soon as she said good bye, I stepped in the direction that her voice had come from. She saw me and asked if I needed help with anything. “Is this the event where Jon Gordon was presenting? I’m supposed to meet him here after his presentation.” She said yes, asked me for my name, and directed me to a seat. I thanked AIRA and disconnected the call. About five minutes later, I felt the presence of someone walking up. The person sat down and their phone began to ring. “Hi, this is Jon Gordon.” Oh man, it’s him! He was sitting next to me. Jon let the caller know that he would need to give them a ring at another time. Jon said hello to me. I formally introduced myself and we began to have one of the best conversations. I’m assuming he had seen my Twitter profile as he asked me about the Paralympics, training, and life in general. I finally got to my question. As an aspiring speaker, how do I get to where you are? How do I get more speaking opportunities? His answer was very simple. Speak as much as possible. Leverage social media and let your followers know when and where you’ll be speaking. The more you speak, the better you’ll get. Jon then invited me to the restaurant downstairs. As we walked out, he asked if the elevator would be better. I replied that I had taken the stairs to get to the ballroom, and he sounded a little surprised. That made me think of the quote “There’s no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.” We approached the top of the steps and I felt that he was a little hesitant. I confidently stepped forward down the stairs. The best way to ease a person’s nerves is to simply show them that everything is okay. I run stadiums for training so navigating the Hard Rock’s stairwell was a piece of cake. We made our way down the two flights of stairs and into the restaurant. We picked up the conversation where we left off. Jon then grabbed his phone and he recorded a short interview with me. He asked me about how I lost my sight, how did I overcome blindness, how did I get involved with the Paralympics, and what drives me. Had it not been for those questions, you would’ve thought Jon and I had known each other for years. Time seemed to run away from us, and shortly thereafter, we were in the lobby once again, this time to wait for his car to the airport. I thanked Jon for his time and wisdom. What blew my mind next is that he offered to exchange information. That’s a no-brainer. I took out my phone and that led to another conversation on how I use my phone. As I was ordering my Uber, I showed him how I navigate the different options and select the one that I want. Jon sent a text to my phone. I verified the number with him and he confirmed it was his digits. Boom! His car pulled up, we hugged, and went our separate ways. As I stood there waiting for my Uber, I couldn’t help but be amazed. The last hour of my life was pretty doggone exciting. I met someone who has a huge impact in the lives of many, and he took time out of his busy schedule to meet with me. He gave me useful tips on how to become a better speaker. He shared the knowledge that he has gained during his career. The guy who speaks to us, and teaches us on the power of positivity, is the same man that I met. Jon Gordon lives out everything that he teaches on stage, and in his books. The craziest thing about this whole ordeal? Our meet up started from a simple ask on Twitter.
