Penny Power, founder of Ecademy was one of our Main Platform speakers at InspireScotland06 event.
She just sent me a message to say "thanks for being my parachute packer"
Packing Parachutes - Excerpt from Chapter 16 (full webpage here)
By Charlie Plumb
Recently, I was sitting in a restaurant in Kansas City. A man about two tables away kept looking at me. I didn't recognize him. A few minutes into our meal he stood up and walked over to my table, looked down at me, pointed his finger in my face and said, "You're Captain Plumb."
I looked up and I said, "Yes sir, I'm Captain Plumb."
He said, "You flew jet fighters in Vietnam. You were on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down. You parachuted into enemy hands and spent six years as a prisoner of war."
I said, "How in the world did you know all that?"
He replied, "Because, I packed your parachute."
I was speechless. I staggered to my feet and held out a very grateful hand of thanks. This guy came up with just the proper words. He grabbed my hand, he pumped my arm and said, "I guess it worked."
"Yes sir, indeed it did", I said, "and I must tell you I've said a lot of prayers of thanks for your nimble fingers, but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to express my gratitude in person."
He said, "Were all the panels there?"
"Well sir, I must shoot straight with you," I said, "of the eighteen panels that were supposed to be in that parachute, I had fifteen good ones. Three were torn, but it wasn't your fault, it was mine. I jumped out of that jet fighter at a high rate of speed, close to the ground. That's what tore the panels in the chute. It wasn't the way you packed it."
"Let me ask you a question," I said, "do you keep track of all the parachutes you pack?"
"No" he responded, "it's enough gratification for me just to know that I've served."
I didn't get much sleep that night. I kept thinking about that man. I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform - a Dixie cup hat, a bib in the back and bell bottom trousers. I wondered how many times I might have passed him on board the Kitty Hawk. I wondered how many times I might have seen him and not even said "good morning", "how are you", or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor. How many hours did he spend on that long wooden table in the bowels of that ship weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of those chutes? I could have cared less...until one day my parachute came along and he packed it for me.
So the philosophical question here is this: How's your parachute packing coming along? Who looks to you for strength in times of need? And perhaps, more importantly, who are the special people in your life who provide you the encouragement you need when the chips are down? Perhaps it's time right now to give those people a call and thank them for packing your chute.
I have now achieved my lifetime dream of inspiring hundreds of people.
I do find this amusing... This week I have received thanks from five people...
Funnily enough, it would appear that Gina, our MC from the last InspireScotland06 event has rec'd nearly 20 emails from attendees thanking her for her part in the fantastic day. She was saying that she was a little embarrassed as all she actually did was turn up on the day (fortunately she has an amazing personality and that shone through!)
This message came in today and I was very touched...
Dynamic Mike. Scotland needs him.
How did they decide to call him “Dynamic Mike?
My guess is it was picked out of a hat containing other adjectives, maybe like:-
“Visionary Mike”
“Inspirational Mike”
“Generous Mike”
“Motivating Mike”
“Consistent Mike”
“Infectious Mike”
“Supportive Mike”
“Positive Mike”
Any of the above would have been equally appropriate.
I rather like the sound of “Dynamic Mike for First Minister”!
Now, wouldn’t that be something for the best small country in the world!
With our grateful thanks, and blessings,
Michael and Mairi Ward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mairi possbily explains where most attendees are still at in her next message...
Dear Mike,
What an event!
From the very first speaker who, on a Sunday morning, spellbindingly made the room-full of people sit up and focus, right through the day to your last speaker in the evening, this was an unforgettable experience.
The full range of emotions were energised, complemented with full-on visual and auditory encouragement and enthusiasm.
We were transported into another dimension - and indeed are still there, a week later. Maybe this is what they call "being in the zone".
Quite apart from the highly inspiring speakers, we really enjoyed meeting the other people in the audience. How often does one get to engage with people of this calibre?
Heartfelt thanks to you and your willing crew.
We can't wait for the next event.
Best regards,
Mairi Ward.
Certificate of Appreciation
Firstly, let me apologise for the "Certificate of Appreciation"... it looked great when i tested it, but the software seems to have duplicated names within the certificate (i know it's the user, not the software, i'm just learning the new system)
Anyway, it got the message across didn't it.
For those not on Richard Wilkins' mailing list, i thought i'd share this email that came in from him today... at first i was shocked by the subject line which said "RICHARD WILKINS - Goes to Hospital!"
As it happens, Richard was there purely to inspire the terminally ill, and one of his lines really hit home...
"that there were more people smiling in the hospice than there were at the checkout in the supermarket, a sea of heads in the audience nodded back in approval."
That's why I started the Gratitude-Rocks website (see; www.gratitude-rocks.com)
Meanwhile, I received this reply from Laura...
"It's you who should get the certificate, it was a great weekend and it definitly done what it said on the tin!
Thanks Mike"
Laura Padden
David built me a wee virtual bar, and you can say thanks there. It's at; www.LifeWillNeverBeTheSameAgain.co.uk
Mike ;-)
Hi Mike, First I just want to thank you for putting together a fantastic weekend!
I can honestly say that for us it has been life changing!
We did not know what to expect on either of the days, but both days surpassed all of our expectations.
On Monday night Stephen and I came home thinking “WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH “ we stayed up really late just planning what steps we want to take to give ourselves the fantastic future that we deserve.
The idea of “lets quit our jobs” was not the most practical (although this was our first choice) so we had to go for option two which was to stay committed and focus 100% on creating a better life.
That night I went about purchasing some domain names for some project’s that we have in mind and just taking that bit of action made me feel really great!
On Tuesday morning we were both up and out to work, however the free time that we had while not working was spent at the computer with the plan to just go for it!
I had some info about crafting (an old hobby) saved in my computer already, so I thought “I wonder if someone would want this?”
I thought I would give it a go on ebay as I had nothing to lose and that was that. I went out to work again and when I got home I had a nice surprise in my inbox that my item had sold.
This just gave me the boost that I needed and the confirmation that we can do this. The two days provided us with the inspiration and the knowledge that we needed to take some action.
We realise that no one will do it for us-it is down to us.
Please pass on our gratitude to all the speakers over the two days and let them know how much of a positive affect they have had on our lives.
Thank You Mike- You're one in a million!
Natalie & Stephen P.S My brace is still hurting my mouth from smiling so much :0)
