This Is What Happened!

Have you ever gone on a trip, and something happened on the trip that was different than the way you dreamed it before you went? This is what happened on mine. I got COVID, I wasn’t able to keep some promises I made, I needed to evacuate from the path of a hurricane, I went a number of days without hot water, I lost my server and the email address I have been using for 25 years, nine of the ten visits to clubs and associations I was going to make couldn’t happen, and I got word that my dear friend Skip’s wife Monica had passed away.

If any one of those things happened on a trip it could take away from the enjoyment of it but having all of them happen at once truly helped me to take some time for refection. Two lessons that Shelley and I often teach came into my thoughts. We often talk about the dark spot in the middle of a white page, and we talk about never taking anything personally.

That dark spot in the middle of the page illustrates the learned human tendency to focus on the negative. Based on the first paragraph, it would be easy for me to declare that I had a disastrous, disappointing trip. The truth is that I had an extraordinary trip with some negative things in it.

The second awareness is that it is easy to wallow in the belief that somehow, I must be cursed because this is happening to me. Most people who attended the rehearsal dinner on the first day of my trip got COVID, not just me. Hurricane Ian was just being Hurricane Ian without any knowledge that I would be in the area. I was staying in a place that hadn’t used that hot water heater in a while and it needed service. Due to a corporate take over and geographical move I had to get a new server. The people I was scheduled to spend time with had just been through a hurricane and had other more important things to do that hadn’t been anticipated when they asked me to visit. Although I felt pain for my friend’s loss it wasn’t happening to me.

This Is What Didn’t Happen

My COVID experience didn’t go to my lungs, and I didn’t die from something that caused the deaths of so many.

A hurricane didn’t take my life, my home, my workplace, my job, my possessions, and there are thousands close to where I was staying that can’t say all of that.

My lack of hot water coincided with my COVID isolation period, so nobody had to smell me or see me in a non-showered state.

I didn’t lose any of my family members.

I didn’t go without food, water, or electricity.

I didn’t get caught in a traffic jam when I evacuated.

This Is What Happened

I got to attend Andrea and Tim’s wedding that was officiated by Gregg Patterson. It was Extraordinary!

I was on a plane sitting behind Tommy Spaulding. It was before his new book was launched and he told me he had two copies of his new book and wanted me to have one.

When I was sick, I was blown away by the kindness and care of Crystal Thomas, Three and Jackie Carpenter, and Donald Sawin. I received a call from Dick Kopplin every day for at least 10 days to make sure I was ok. My dear friends Jack Sullivan and Michael Feil gave me places to stay.

I was truly taken care of and shown hospitality by John Fornaro and the Distinguished Clubs Conference. Vanessa at the West Bay Club, The Kopplin Kuebler & Wallace Summit, and the teams at Admirals Cove and The Club at Mirasol. I was pampered by hospitality masters like Michael and Kara Feil, Kevin and Lisa Carroll, Ken and Kim Kouril, Chip Misch, CW Cook, Bill Langley, Kevin Bauer, Michael and Irene McCarthy, Attilla Kordas and Anne, and Tony and Jennifer D’Errico.

My Extraordinary Partner Shelley was always there to cover for me in sickness and when I needed to attend an unscheduled opportunity to help in some way.

Our Extraordinary Leader Community was incredible. My coaching clients were so flexible.

My team was supporting me from a distance.

Rose, my kids and my friends from all over were checking in on me. I got to see so many friends, many of which, I hadn’t seen for over three years. I met some clients I had never met in person. I met up with some masters from our Extraordinary Leader Program.

I got to experience food prepared by world class chefs and I met some sommeliers that wanted to select wines that I would enjoy.

I played some really bad golf with some really good people who made me feel ok about it.

I met some Extraordinary Leaders of the Future!

I got closer to some old friends.

I made some new friends.

I also had a lot of time with me. I had time to reflect. I had quiet time with no talking. I had a drive across the middle of Florida on roads where I didn’t see another car on some twenty-mile stretches. I did a lot of cooking for myself.

Although there were some days with extreme Florida weather, I also got to experience many days of ideal Florida weather.

What an Extraordinary trip.

There are three levels of awareness: judgment, acceptance, and appreciation. In life it is easy to judge what has happened as good or bad, right or wrong. After a while you accept what is, even if you don’t like it and if you decide to you can appreciate the things you judged in the first place.

I am grateful for my Extraordinary Trip!

By the way I have a new email address. It is kevin@claritysuccesscoaching.com