Finishing the Race
If you have followed my journey since the Miracle on the Hudson, you know I made a promise in 1997. For about twenty years, I had failed to fulfill that promise, but in 2016, my mission became to fulfill that promise. That promise and my legacy are to teach the next generation everything I was taught to me by my mentors.
At that time, I didn’t know how I was going to do it but as I learned directly from Tony Robbins, you don’t know how to do it, you just need to resolve to do it, take action and the HOW will come to you. It took me a couple of years to figure out HOW but when I employed my three year Dave 2.0 strategy, the HOW came to me.
I have been honored to coach and mentor many people, and when we deployed Dave 3.0 earlier this year, the focus was narrowed down so I could serve more effectively.
Something bigger than us
One of the people I have been honored to coach is a young salesman, his name is Chris. We began our journey together a couple of months ago and we arranged our second coaching session three weeks ago. One morning I received a call from him asking me if we could reschedule our call. He told me the next morning he was going to the hospital for a heart procedure. Rescheduling our time was no big deal. I wished him well, told him I would pray for his quick recovery, and told him we’ll pick it back up in February. The last thing I said to him was “Godspeed” and his Creator would look over him. He thanked me, and we rescheduled our time.
He went in for his procedure and discovered it was more complicated than he thought. It was a rough surgery, and he went in for recovery and then to critical care. His VP kept me posted on his progress.
During this time, I was going about my business and on a recent flight, I was sitting at the exit door and a couple from Iowa came and sat next to me. A very nice couple, we started a conversation about the exit row. I mentioned I usually sit at the exit door as I know I could handle it in case of an emergency. When the flight attendant came and did her exit row check, I was the last to respond and she looked at me, thanked me and nodded. The lady next to me noticed and asked if I had ever been in an inflight situation and I told her I had and the discussion about the Miracle on the Hudson ensued.
As we were discussing this, she asked me if I had written a book and I showed her copies of two of my books. She immediately went to the chapter on faith in “From Turmoil to Triumph,” and she asked me how faith played a role on the plane that day. I shared my thoughts and while I was sharing, she read a little about the story of Bill’s son who was killed during the Korean War and how faith brought he and his wife through it and his message about the same God that was there at the beginning was there with them when their son died and I shared with the lady, the same God that was there that day on the Hudson. She was kind to purchase both Moments Matter and From Turmoil to Triumph, and I started thinking about Chris and his recovery and how important faith is when life throws you a curve ball.
Fighting the good fight
Last Thursday evening, I received a text from Chris’ VP that Chris had passed away at 9:04 pm after battling for over two weeks. He had fought the good fight and finished his race.
That is why I wrote a blog last week about an event I spoke at in Arlington, VA, on February 3, 2016, and when my friend Patty Coffey came to support me. When I saw the memory pop up on Facebook, it was timely.
That was the last time I saw Patty alive as she passed a few months after that day. That is why I shared that post about WHY all moments matter. You never know when the last time you will see someone who has impacted your life will be. You always need to leave that moment with gratitude.
I shared these moments with a young lady yesterday, and she asked me how I keep my faith when things like this happen. I told her about something that happened shortly after the Miracle on the Hudson and one of the most challenging questions I have ever had in an interview.
The toughest interview
A few weeks after the Miracle on the Hudson, I arranged a meeting with a VP of Customer Service at one of my prospective clients. About a week after we scheduled our meeting, she was on Colgan Air Flight 3407, the flight that crashed in a house in the Buffalo, NY area. There were no survivors.
I received a call from a TV station in Montreal, Quebec, to be interviewed about the Miracle, but the interview quickly transitioned to Colgan Air 3407. The interviewer asked me, ” Why do you think all those people died on that flight, but you didn’t on US Airways 1549.” It was an awkward moment, and I answered, I don’t know, but it just wasn’t my time that day. I had not finished my race.
After I shared this story, I told the young lady that if you are a believer in a Greater being, you know there is something bigger than you watching over you, and when you have fought the good fight, you will finish your race and receive your just reward in eternity. Chris and Patty had fought the good fight; they finished their race as they kept their faith and received their just reward. May God’s Hands be on Chris’ family in these challenging days as they were that day on the Hudson River.
The pathway out of uncertainty
There are many people living in uncertainty right now. Things are coming at us at a much more rapid pace than ever before. There is a pathway to create opportunity from uncertainty and it starts with having faith and giving gratitude to something bigger than yourself. Faith is not learned, it’s something you are born with. Grace is fueled by gratitude and gratitude begins with having faith and faith is what fuels you through times of uncertainty. It will fuel those left behind, especially loved ones and friends, knowing their loved one has fought their good fight and finished their race.
Remember that All the MOMENTS in your life MATTER!