The Life Lab: When Preparation Meets Opportunity

This morning reminded me of how important it is to be prepared. I got a panicked phone call from a bureau with whom I work who said that a speaker who was originally slated to deliver a program for 1400 educators had an allergic reaction and couldn't make it. The gig was in less than two hours and it was a 20 minute drive away from my home. I said yes and told her to text me the details while I feverishly created a miracle (Needless to say, I was soooooper scary looking.)

I made it with minutes to spare, hoopdanced onstage in my blue Calvin Klein dress and said, "I was in my pajamas an hour-and-a-half ago!" The crowd went bonkers and never left me. 45 minutes later, I made some money, filled an auditorium with laughter and good juju, saved the day for the client, and earned a friend for life from my bureau. I texted her when I left my house, when I arrived, and when I got the Standing O. (This is what mindful customer service looks like.)

Honestly, today's lucky happenstance was EXACTLY what I needed (both financially and emotionally), and it reinforced the notion that there really IS a difference between a professional speaker and an amateur one. I am proud to consider myself in the former category, and it is due to my National Speakers Association community AND all of the seemingly endless tweaks to my many scripts and outlines, practice sessions out the wazoo, memorizing during mind-numbing seven-hour car rides to Bismarck ND, frustrated tantrums over less-than-ideal gigs, micro-nudges on hundreds of Powerpoint slides, tackling the mechanics of GarageBand projects, daily visualizations and most importantly, my regular meditation practice.Today was a day where I got to practice in the Life Lab what I have learned over several years in the NSA classroom. YAY! It feels good.

W