In the Midst of Greatness
I am absolutely in the presence of greatness this week in Milwaukee. I have been around so many people who do so much for this company, it's incredible. People walked across the stage this morning at our first general session who have put billions of dollars worth of insurance in force this past year. They are really the backbone of this company and are some of the most successful people I've ever met.
Things should be getting interesting in our office when we get back to Lawrence because one of the people who has worked for Joe for at least the last 5 years gave him his 2 week notice on Friday before we left for Milwaukee and Ashley and I will have to play a whole lot of catch up to be prepared to run the office by ourselves. I am so glad that this situation made itself present right now because we will need all of the ideas and motivation that we can get to reorganize the entire office and make it work a lot more efficiently.
The highlight of my morning was having the privlidge of being in the same room as a former President of the United States. George H. W. Bush was in attendance at our general session this morning as the keynote speaker. He spoke about life, and about the difference that we make in the lives of everyone we touch. One of the most touching stories I heard this morning was the story of one of the kids (and I say that lightly because he is the same age as me) who was injured in the Columbine Massacure.
The boy hanging out of the window in this picture was at the top of his junior class at Columbine High School in April of 1999. He had a 4.0 GPA and was on schedule to become the validictorian the following May. He was having a hard time climbing out the window because he had just been shot in the head twice and once in the foot. He survived but was paralized and would have to learn to walk again. He also had brain damage from the shootings. This young man was a fighter and he took a semeser off of school to go through rehabilitation. He was far enough ahead credit-wise that he was able to do this and still graduate on time with the class of 2000. He was validictorian. This boy went on to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins Colorado and graduated 4 years later with a bachelor's degree. He decided during his Senior year at CSU that he would need a job after graduation so he became an intern for Northwestern Mutual. He loved the company so much that after graduation, he decided to become a full time rep and this young man was in the audience that I was in today.
That day in April of 1999 touched me. Not only did I have a good friend who attended high school in the Denver area, but I was a high school student at that time. What happened at Columbine could very well have happened at Lawrence High School. In December of that year, there was a threat written on a bathroom wall at our school that promised the same thing. Many of us stayed home from school that day to avoid any possible problem that might happen. April 20, 1999 changed my perspective forever. I want to always expect the good in people but there are some people just don't have any good in them.
Anyway, my experiences here in Milwaukee are really making me reflect on how I want to live and how I want to shape my career. I would really like to keep taking continuing ed classes and see how far I can go in this company. Right now, I don't really have any desire to sell product, but that might change once I feel more comfortable with the sales possibilities. Without Tom, that will be much easier. I'm finally in a place that I can see myself being years from now and it feels really good.
~Amanda
For today: "Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love." ~David McCullough (US biographer & historian)
Things should be getting interesting in our office when we get back to Lawrence because one of the people who has worked for Joe for at least the last 5 years gave him his 2 week notice on Friday before we left for Milwaukee and Ashley and I will have to play a whole lot of catch up to be prepared to run the office by ourselves. I am so glad that this situation made itself present right now because we will need all of the ideas and motivation that we can get to reorganize the entire office and make it work a lot more efficiently.
The highlight of my morning was having the privlidge of being in the same room as a former President of the United States. George H. W. Bush was in attendance at our general session this morning as the keynote speaker. He spoke about life, and about the difference that we make in the lives of everyone we touch. One of the most touching stories I heard this morning was the story of one of the kids (and I say that lightly because he is the same age as me) who was injured in the Columbine Massacure.
The boy hanging out of the window in this picture was at the top of his junior class at Columbine High School in April of 1999. He had a 4.0 GPA and was on schedule to become the validictorian the following May. He was having a hard time climbing out the window because he had just been shot in the head twice and once in the foot. He survived but was paralized and would have to learn to walk again. He also had brain damage from the shootings. This young man was a fighter and he took a semeser off of school to go through rehabilitation. He was far enough ahead credit-wise that he was able to do this and still graduate on time with the class of 2000. He was validictorian. This boy went on to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins Colorado and graduated 4 years later with a bachelor's degree. He decided during his Senior year at CSU that he would need a job after graduation so he became an intern for Northwestern Mutual. He loved the company so much that after graduation, he decided to become a full time rep and this young man was in the audience that I was in today.
That day in April of 1999 touched me. Not only did I have a good friend who attended high school in the Denver area, but I was a high school student at that time. What happened at Columbine could very well have happened at Lawrence High School. In December of that year, there was a threat written on a bathroom wall at our school that promised the same thing. Many of us stayed home from school that day to avoid any possible problem that might happen. April 20, 1999 changed my perspective forever. I want to always expect the good in people but there are some people just don't have any good in them.
Anyway, my experiences here in Milwaukee are really making me reflect on how I want to live and how I want to shape my career. I would really like to keep taking continuing ed classes and see how far I can go in this company. Right now, I don't really have any desire to sell product, but that might change once I feel more comfortable with the sales possibilities. Without Tom, that will be much easier. I'm finally in a place that I can see myself being years from now and it feels really good.
~Amanda
For today: "Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love." ~David McCullough (US biographer & historian)
posted by Amanda @ 8:08 PM
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