Are you willing to do something different?

It may seem that this story has nothing to do with your business, but I assure you that it’s implications are pretty significant.

The entire point of the story, in advance, comes down to this: are you willing to do something different?

If you are, then you have the possibility of getting a different result and creating a different experience in your life.

If not, then, well, you’ll likely get more of the same.

So last week I was in Miami to attend a one day mastermind for my business and then some meetings on Friday.

As I’m checking into my hotel on Miami Beach, the woman at the front desk asks for my name.

“Wilder.” I say, as I hand her my driver’s license and credit card.

She immediately looks up at me with this inquisitive expression on her face.

Based on this specific look, which I’ve seen hundreds of times before, I know EXACTLY what’s going to happen next.

“Wilder?”

I nod.

Now, most likely she’ll say “Are you related to Laura Ingalls Wilder?”

Possibly she’d say Gene Wilder, if she’s an old school Willy Wonka fan, or Van Wilder, if she’s into the National Lampoon/American Pie movie genre.

There is an extremely rare outside shot that she’d say Thornton Wilder, if she’s a literary type. I’m guessing no.

Wait for it.

“Like, Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prarie?”

BOOM!

“Are you related to her?”

I smile. “Maybe, somehow way back. Who knows?”

“Cool.” She nods, as if she just sighted a legit celebrity.

So I say, “You know, I’ve been getting that question my entire life.”

“Seriously? Oh I’m so sorry — I’m one of THOSE people.”

“No worries.” She is typing my info into the computer now.

Then she says something that blows my mind.

“I actually get that too. My last name is Summerall. People always ask if I’m related to..

And I find myself finishing her sentence…

“Pat Summerall.” (Pat Summerall was an NFL player and TV announcer for many years before his death in 2013).

“Yup.”

Now she’s looking at me with this crazy grin — who’s guilty now?

So I say: “How about this … next time someone asks you if you are related to Pat Summerall, say no, but I AM related to Laura Ingalls Wilder …

And next time someone asks me if I’m related to Laura Ingalls Wilder, I’ll say, no, but I am related to Pat Summerall.”

Now we are both laughing hysterically, each of us free of a triviality that has actually been attached to us for a lifetime.

The key lesson of the story is this. Don’t just keep doing something and reacting to it because it’s been happening your entire life. Do something completely different.

As Rumi says, “Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious. I have tried prudent planning long enough. From now on I’ll be mad.”

Or as Steve Chandler says, “Sometimes you just have to mess with people.”

 

This work, “Summerall-Wilder”, is a derivative of “PatSummerallDec08” and “Laura_Ingalls_Wilder” used under CC BY.