I Got the Shivers!

This morning at my regular weekly BNI meeting, one member brought tears to my eyes. It was Barry Van Hoozen's turn to deliver a ten minute presentation about the work he does as a State Farm insurance agent. On Monday of this week, Barry had attended a training I delivered about giving these very presentations. During the training we worked on developing stories to tell facts, figures and benefits of a business.

Think about it. Barry's talk could have been very boring, but instead he began by telling us about a customer named Fred who called Barry and said, "Get your checkbook out." Barry thought he was about to be asked to donate to a community cause and was ready to wisecrack back. Instead Fred said, "My house is on fire, please come quickly and bring the State Farm checkbook." The rest of Barry's story let us know his compassionate nature and his immediate knowledgeable estimate of what the damage claim was going to be. Finally even though he was able provide the financial resources for Fred and his family to rebuild their home, Barry shared his limitations. The family sold this home soon after moving back in, as they couldn't get over the death of their pet, Pepper, who had died in the fire.

The story brought tears to my eyes for the obvious reasons, but there was a second reason for tears to well up. For me, it is the greatest honor to have a student show me that a training I gave impacted their life. That happened for me this morning! After the meeting was over, Barry told me that he almost pulled the plug on this talk and instead almost gave his usual "this is what I do" talk. I have already told several people about his delivery today, and I know that he will be on my mind for weeks to come. Barry made it easy for me to tell others about him by stretching himself and giving me a peek at the real Barry. Thanks Barry, you made my day.


Who has made your day recently? Did you tell them?