I’m sitting in a red velvet chair surrounded by books.
Shelves 14 feet high. The four walls around me.
Giant doorways on both sides opening up to … more books 11,500
Many original copies, Many signed by the author.
It’s not a library or a museum. It’s a personal collection. Not mine.
One entire wall dedicated to self development, going back to Samuel Smiles, the OG, 1859 Self Help.
A candy store for this kid who was reading Tony Robbins at 15
To my left, an entire corner dedicated to every book ever written on sales.
In life, we’re all in sales
Beneath my feet, one floor down, a tapestry of thinkers. A signed copy of Langston Hughes Poetry.
The work of Dorothy Parker and her friends from the Algonquin Round Table. A dozen others I forgot as fast as I discovered them.
I’m here for coaching. Mentorship. I’m here to sharpen my point of view. To help find my own voice. Write the book. Give the speech.
You may wonder why? Yeah, me too.
Clearly, every original human thought is already on the shelves.
Original thinking: complete.
These walls are proof. And yet, here we are…human beings wired to contribute anyway.
8 billion of us on the planet. No two of us the same.
Wake up with something to say. We press on.
Day 2.
Staying at a hotel right in the city centre. I like to run in new places. Take in the sights. Distract myself from the physical effort. But I’m always a little cautious. New cities can surprise you.
Cleveland. Atlanta. A mountainside in Nicaragua. I’ve had some moments.
My husband hates it too. Why not just run on the treadmill? Bo-ring!
It’s dark. Early. A Saturday morning when the business district should be empty.
Which is why I’m confused when I look out my window and see… people.
A lot of people. Dozens of bodies moving around beneath me.
What’s happening? I’ll tell you what’s happening.
It’s the city’s annual marathon.
11,000 runners. Trained. Carb-loaded. Ready for 42 kilometres.
Meanwhile, I’m lacing up for a casual 5K.
If that.
On Day 1: 11,500 books.
On Day 2: 11,000 runners.
It felt like that moment you jump in the ocean on a windy, wavy day. You realize just how very, very small you are in the world.
And yet, there you are. Showing up anyway. A point of view, a pair of running shoes, and a few steps to shuffle forward.
I did run in the opposite direction of all those running machines. Who needs that? The world is enormous. The numbers are staggering. The talent is everywhere.
And still, 8 billion of us wake up every day wired to add something. Because contribution is in our DNA.
No two of us see the world the same way. No two of us shuffle forward in quite the same direction.
And maybe that’s the point.
Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.”
The only real contribution any of us can make… is the one only we can make.
I want to read all the books, sit with fascinating minds, and soak up everything I can.
Is there a lesson here? I think so.
Don’t let what’s out there drown out what’s inside you.
Thank you to the most impressive personal library collection I’ve ever seen, my weekend hosts and mentors and to the runners who go further than I’ve ever gone.
You give me something to reach for.
If you’re curious about your own perspective, how you’re wired, what drives you, and what you bring to the world, you might enjoy our Inside Out Leader Assessment.
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Mary
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