It has been said that every 5 seconds someone gets into a car accident. I’m wondering what the statistic is for every car accident that you walk away from happier than you were before?
It was like any other day in my busy work life. I got up at 4 am, met up one of our fabulous instructors to help assist one of our Dale Carnegie Classes in Detroit, and if you know anything about our classes at Dale Carnegie, they are high energy, fast-paced experimental learning. So by the time I got back to the office, I was at peak energy for the day, loving life and filled with inspiration. When I had arrived at the office, pretty much every staff member was getting ready for one of our “kick off sessions” in our Novi office, and I had to quickly run home, eat, change and go back. (This is usually normal). I don’t live very far from the office so I knew I had time. I was driving, but I was not rushing… when all of a sudden I looked down for a split second and looked up to a car that had slammed on its breaks because a cop was sitting on the corner. I knew I wouldn’t have time to stop, although I did try my best.
Like any other typical car accident, I was shaken up and just kept thinking to myself, “I hope the other person is ok, and I REALLY don’t want to be late for tonight…” The police officer came to my window and said, “Are you okay? Would you like me to call someone?” I had politely said, “no thank you” because everything was really okay. So I pulled my car to the side of the curb to get out of everyone’s way. I quickly bowed my head, closed my eyes and said, “God please bless this situation.” I stepped out of my car and went over to the gentlemen I had hit and kept apologizing over and over again because I felt extremely bad. He courteously smiled and said it was okay. The police officer was also very nice and understanding as well. As routine, the officer asked for license and registration and said it would only take a few minutes.
It was a nice fall day out, so I decided to stay outside my car and talk to this young man and get to know him a little. We started to talk and during our discussion he had told me the company he worked for. I immediately recognized the name and told the gentleman that I think my company has done business with your company. So he then responded; “What is your company?” I replied excited and anxious to tell him (Because I just LOVE telling others what we do), “Dale Carnegie Training,” and I went on to tell him in detail what we teach and the value we possess. I also mentioned that I didn’t want to be late for our kick off session we were having in a half hour. Then with all animation and happiness I exclaimed, “YOU SHOULD COME TONIGHT!” He then asked me more questions about it and decided to come check it out.
I wish I could say the police officer came back and let me off the hook, HA-HA but I can’t. He nicely handed me my ticket and I gave the young man directions to our office and told him I would see him soon. Needless to say, he came, really enjoyed it, and is now enrolled and into Session 3 of our Dale Carnegie Program. And I can’t wait to see his experience and breakthroughs come graduation.
People are often puzzled by my optimism, but I do believe by God’s grace and our positive outlook on life we really can make the best out of every situation. And always remember the words of Dale Carnegie himself who said, “When fate hands you lemons, make lemonade!”
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