Out of office experience

I spent the majority of the day at Fairview's Quality Leadership Conference -- a conference put on to rejuvenate workers, motivate them in life/work, etc. (Side note: mostly managers and those "chosen" workers are invited to the conference; I was not invited but volunteered to be a greeter/bell ringer so I could get out of the office and participate in the fun.) Some speakers were okay, but there were two that really stick out in my mind, and I feel lucky to have heard them present today.

1. Nando Parrado - one of the survivor's from the plane crash in the Andes mountains 35 years ago. Remember the movie "Alive"? Well, this guy's rugby team and their plane crash and amazing story of survival was what the movie was based on. It was just crazy to see some of the pictures from the crash site and hear this man's account of what he went through. He said that many researchers and professors and medical professionals have researched and researched about how they could have possibly survived for 2.5 months at 14,000 feet in -30 degree temps, and they have all said that it is impossible -- they shouldn't be here today. Now, this man is married, has two daughters and has led this great life motivating others to live their lives and really LOVE the people who are important in their lives. It was just so interesting to hear his perspective and hear him describe what is truly indescribable. When asked how he survived, he just said, as long as he had a reason to survive (his loved ones), then he knew he'd make it. It wasn't a matter of "how" will I survive, but rather "why" will I survive? His closing remarks just urged us to tell our friends and family how much we love them and to just live your life because you never know what will happen tomorrow.

2. The other speaker that I really enjoyed was Dan Clark. He was one of the contributing writers for "Chicken Soup for the Soul," he writes for the NY Times, he is a motivational speaker, musician, ex-college football player....the list goes on. Really, he was just a very entertaining speaker that made you think. He would start one story, go off on another tangent, throw out a few random philosophical ideas to ponder and then jump right back in to the original story to make his point and make you laugh or cry. And it all made sense, leaving no one behind to wonder what the heck he was talking about.

Anyway, there's my essay on "what I did at work today." It was very interesting -- not the typical day in the life of Heidi at Fairview, but I'll take it. I have another day of it tomorrow with different speakers. Perhaps if you're lucky, I'll fill you in on any noteworthy presenters.