Ben Malcolmson. Kunal Gupta. Mystery Person. Me. Countless Others.
What do we all have in common? Read and you’ll soon find out…
Ben’s Story.
A journalist with the school newspaper, Ben decided to try out for the USC football team. To his surprise, he ended up making the team. But an injury got him sidelined. Through the pain, he fought back and eventually returned earlier than expected. During this time, he believed he was there for more than just football. As a follower of Jesus, he decided to organize a bible study for his team. He booked the room, past out flyers, etc. When the day came, he was so excited. But apparently he was the only one because on the day of the bible study, no one showed up. Feeling a little discouraged but not willing to give up, he decided to organize a prayer meeting a few weeks later. Again he booked the room, past out flyers, etc. With great expectation of those who would come to know Christ, he excitedly entered the room. And once again he found himself the only man in the room. No. One. Showed. To the outsider, this attempt by Ben looked utterly foolish, a waste of time.
But this is not the end of the story. If mere humans were writing it, perhaps this is where they would conclude that following Jesus=foolish. Not Ben.
With conviction in his heart, he decided that for Christmas, he would leave a Bible with a note in the locker of every one of his teammates. When he returned following Christmas break, he entered the locker room in anticipation of all the lives that would be changed. Instead, as he entered the room, his heart fell to the ground. Bibles were thrown on the floor, pages were ripped out, and many found a spot in the garbage. The only Bible still in tact, was his.
Let that sink in for a moment. A guy attempts to share the love of Jesus with others and three times out of three, he seems to have come up completely empty handed. At this point, what would you do?
Instead of telling you the rest of the story, I will let Ben…
Kunal’s Story.
Kunal comes from a family of brilliant minds and entrepreneurial spirits. His younger sister Kanika founded SOJO (Social Journal), which helps entrepreneurs navigate their way from idea to launch. Kunal is a brilliant mind himself. Eight months before graduating from The University of Waterloo (where he was completing his degree in software engineering), Kunal and his friend Mike (Russo) started Polar Mobile-a company that marries media with mobile devices and allows companies such as Time, Rogers, Sports Illustrated and more to connect with their users via direct apps. I remember hearing Kunal share the story of Polar’s early days in which they were looking to create apps for companies during a time when apps were relatively unknown.
Here is the shortened version of how Polar landed their first major U.S. customer:
-just after graduation, Kunal emailed the presidents of major organizations including Time Warner, Bloomberg, CNN.
-he received a response from Time Warner and was invited to NYC for a meeting.
-he had a great chat with the President and walked out thinking that he got the deal but… he didn’t.
-month after month, he would fly to NYC with great expectation and…nothing happened.
-9 months later, after umpteen flights, umpteen meetings, umpteen times coming home empty handed, Kunal and the Polar team landed Time Warner as a client!
Guess Who?
1816 His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
1818 His mother died.
1831 Failed in business.
1832 Ran for state legislature – lost.
l832 Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
1834 Ran for state legislature again – won.
1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
1840 Sought to become elector – defeated.
1843 Ran for Congress – lost.
1846 Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
1848 Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
1854 Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
1856 Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – get less than 100 votes.
1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
1860 Elected president of the United States.
Who was this person? Abraham Lincoln.
(info provided by Roger Knapp)
Me.
Over the past couple of years, I have had the privilege of teaching Life Classes on behalf of LOLE. Each class is designed to help people Live Out Loud Everyday. One of the challenges I face is up and down attendance at class. The real challenge had less to do about others and everything to do with my perspective. If lots of people showed up, what would I tell myself? If no one showed up, what would I tell myself? Was my self-confidence and self-worth based on who showed up? And then a truth bomb hit a few weeks ago. Living Out Loud Everyday begins when we show up.
Show up when it’s unpopular.
Show up when no one else shows up.
Show up regardless of who is there or not.
Show up when it is hard.
Show up when it is inconvenient.
Show up when it is illogical.
When we show up to life, life shows up for us. And just like Ben, Kunal, Abraham and many others, when we consistently show up, eventually it all make sense.
Life rewards the courageous.
All in. Wholehearted Living. Do You Dare?
- Ladies (and Gents) Who ________: What’s Your Legacy? - May 15, 2018
- A Letter For Every Mother - April 17, 2018
- Dear Beautiful Soul… - March 28, 2018
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