We had so much fun in Florida! We went to the YPO GLC (Global Leadership Conference) so we found friends from all over the world there. Here is an email home with a synopsis of what we did. Pictures follow in the next blog entry.
We’ve finished our three days of hard work and “appearances” and “moving around” amongst 2000 YPOers at the GLC (Global Leadership Conference) which was fun and interesting. We did meet lots of old friends from previous YPO events which is almost like seeing family!
We did get to visit with the wife of the guy who wrote “The Last Lecture”, Randy Pausch before he died. Oprah and Diane Sawyer had begged for interviews but she felt more comfortable in this setting and was interviewed by a darling woman with whom she really hit it off. She is a brave soul, going on without him with her three little children but is doing so will grace and courage.
The former President of Mexico, President Fox came for a little “chat” as well. Also we heard both in word and song from a famous ragae singer from Haiti, saying that he ate dirt paddies for dinner sometimes and is now working on a foundation for kids in Haiti. Lots of good people with great ambitions.
The final speaker was the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and he was animated and taught us a lot, not only about music but about leadership. He said, “You cannot appreciate great music until your hear has been broken.”
My favorite speaker was a gorgeous woman who was born without bones in her lower legs so they had to be amputated just below the knee. She then became a champion in the para-olympics with fiberglass legs to help her run. A truly remarkable story! She’s about 32 and forging her way forward even though she’s not racing anymore. She came out and walked around the stage on perfectly beautiful wooden legs and high heels. Except for the ankle not bending, you would never know that they weren’t real. I loved the advice she gave us about adversity: “Adversity is just change that you haven’t adjusted to yet.” “Never stop thinking like a child.” “Adapting to change helps us see possibilities where others can’t” “Value challenge. Value Change. Value what makes you different.” So true!
So many interesting people to meet and fascinating things to learn!