Synchronicity
"A few months ago, I watched a video called SurfWise with my soon to be 16-year-old son, Austin. It was a documentary about 'Dr. Paskowitz,' the famous and controversial surfer/physician. It tells the story of why and how Paskowitz chose a radically different path for his life and family.
While his radical choices might not appeal to everyone, it did offer Austin and me a chance to share our personal ideas about what is truly important in life. Out of curiosity, we decided to look further into Dr. Paskowitz and purchased his book entitled, Surfing and Health. Austin has almost completed reading it.
The deep and meaningful conversation I had with Austin after we finished the video led to the decision to take a trip to the West Coast together to explore surfing, colleges, and a West Coast lifestyle. Rather than just leaving this as a fun thought or good idea (which often happens in our lives) we went to the internet and booked flights for July. However what happened on our trip was better than any of our plans could have anticipated.
We took our trip a few weeks ago and traveled the coast from Malibu all the way to San Diego. During this 6-day trip, cruising along in a blue Chrysler Convertible, Austin and I talked about many things, from deep issues like the meaning of life, to whether the East Coast or West Coast has better looking girls. After one of these discussions centering around health, happiness and choice of careers, Austin confidently announced his choice of Pepperdine University as his choice for college. (Mind you, Pepperdine is in Malibu, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with no shortage of freshmen coeds, playing volleyball.) When I pointed out that there are more important considerations in choosing a college than its 'scenery,' he informed me that they also offered one of the finest International Business Degrees in the nation. I smiled – he's a smart kid.
Just when I thought the trip couldn't get better, something else happened. While sitting in the soft sand on Pacific Beach in San Diego observing the surfers, Austin and I heard an elderly man's voice behind us. He was commenting on the surfers, and had a curious laugh. After a few moments of listening to him, I asked Austin, "Does that voice sound familiar to you?" About that time, we both turned around and realized that the man, who was with his wife, sitting under an umbrella was indeed the same man we just watched on video a few weeks earlier and the spark for the whole trip - Dr. Paskowitz. We were shocked and knew we had to speak with him. I introduced myself and Austin, who shared he was reading the doctor's book and was proud to have met him in person.
After a few moments of delightful small talk, we snapped a photograph of the three of us, and then delved into a discussion on leadership and health. We learned that Dr. Paskowitz is now 87 years old. He had just surfed the day before. He radiated vitality, love and peace.
I knew within a few minutes that he was destined to be my guest in Charlotte. I shared my commitment to working with corporate and community leaders, and he enthusiastically replied, "Those folks can be a leverage to change the world." He also added, "Wealth without health is nothing,"
I asked him if he would come to Charlotte and speak with an audience of my clients and friends, an invitation he graciously accepted. We are now in the process of securing that date for him to be one of our first of many high impact speakers at our new Center for Intentional Leadership.
You are in for a treat. We'll make sure you are invited.
I'll leave you with this thought: Is what happened on this trip simply luck? Or does this have something to do with the power of intention? I think you know where I stand on that one. Our lives are meant for a great purpose and when we can choose to make a difference with them, incredible things happen.
Until Next Time,
Mike