On a recent business trip to New York, I sat next to young man who talked to me about his recent success in his business. He had just started a new company that specializes in sports medicine and talked in great detail about how he had overcome many challenges to get to where he was today. He talked about everything from his childhood to having to get a merchant funding with an investor friend to get started. He then proceeded to tell me about how his life had evolved from him working as a personal trainer making a measly $15 an hour to now owning a multimillion dollar company. I normally don’t really take the time to talk to people on flights too often, but for some reason I found myself listening in great detail and with great interest.

HIs story amazed me, not because he was a millionaire or a successful business owner, but because he demonstrated something to me that I believe lacks in many individuals in today’s society. Perseverance and belief. I started to think back at many students that I had, and friends that I spoke to in the past that complained about their current circumstances. It seemed like they were never happy, or that they had never achieved enough to make them happy. It’s like they were chasing something that didn’t exist.

What this particular lad had that many others didn’t have was that he portrayed a genuine attitude of gratitude. By looking at him you would not discern that he was a young millionaire (other than the fact that he was in first class) he was sincerely humble and less than flaunting. The only reason he even mentioned any of his successes, was due to my prodding and questioning. : S Being that I have a way of making people talk about themselves.

I was just amazed by his resilience. He was able to find success out of many failures, and no matter what obstacles he faced, he believed with all his might that he would achieve his goals no matter what stood in his way. After our short flight ended, I left feeling hopeful and inspired and ready to take on a new challenge. The point of this story is, that many times in life we avoid talking to strangers, we were always told not to talk to strangers growing up, so we tend to put up a wall when new people approach us. After my experience, I think I will be more open to allowing people to share in life with me. You never know, you might just learn something about yourself if you do.

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