MAKE MOMENTS MATTER

Arriving at the beach, a distraught woman ran up cautioning him of a “dead man in the tide pools". He faced a choice. What to do?

Karl did not hesitate. He switched from tour guide to hero. He ran to the spot where the body was last seen. Risking his own life, he called out. On his second call, he received a response. He set in motion a series of events that led to a miraculous rescue of me, not a dead man.

Karl was faced with a Moment: Do his job or try to recover a body. He did not hesitate. His action saved a life. He sacrificed his own health for a person he did not know and might never see again.

She told me she was a “wreck this week”. It turns out this was the day, four years ago, that her son had tragically died (I knew the story, not the day). She told me how hard this day was, compounded by the holiday season. She had just gotten off the phone with her daughter, who relayed her story of being asked, “Are you an only child?” Innocent question with a lot of heartache. I just listened and gave her a big hug.

My moment was to decide to engage with her. I also chose to be intentional about how I asked how she was doing, allowing her the opportunity to choose a reaction. I am confident that providing the grace to allow her to tell her story that day to someone she knew, but not well, was cathartic to her. My Moment made the difference in someone else’s really bad day.

Doug responded that same night. He wrote in part: “Dean, first and foremost, thank God you are alive. How often do we all see random messages from strangers and ignore them? I am so happy that I did not do that tonight. I have read your rescue blog and found myself holding my breath and cannot imagine the experience and emotions that you, your family and the rescuers went through.”

Thus began the wheels of connection. Doug was presented with a Moment: a LinkedIn message from someone in Ohio that he had no connection to. He could have ignored it. But he didn’t. He took the time to think about the Moment and act on it. The immediate result was the opportunity to meet the healthcare professionals. It also started a connection that has led to us working to find donors to help support Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center.

Should she engage friends who had event planning experience or try it on her own?

She spent some time reflecting on her options before making a decision. Rose realized that she had more limited ambitious goals than most of the people she might get to help her. She also realized that she sporadic thinking about the Release Party.

Knowing that most of the time she is very action oriented, was her inaction a sign? The two of us talked over the pros and cons. She came to the conclusion that a Release Party felt like something we “should do” rather than “want to do”.

With that insight, it was clear that it was best to say No.