This week I was teaching a 2 day course on Personal and Organisational Leadership. Stefan flew in on Monday to organise the logistics for the course. I met him at the Hilton Diagonal Mar hotel to take him for dinner at my favourite tapas restaurant in Barcelona: Cerveceria Catalana.
We jumped in my car and headed into town. As we sat in the traffic, I asked Stefan about his plan for the week. He told me that he was staying until Friday as he had another course to look after on Thursday.
He then said that he was thinking about trying to get tickets to the Champions League football game on Wednesday night. He said that he had never had the chance to go to a Champions League game and hoped it might be possible to get in.
I looked at him and said: “Great, you are coming with me”
He said “What?”
I said “I have 2 tickets – you are going with me.”
Wednesday night we watched FC Barcelona win 3-1 over AC Milan. It was an exciting game and a wonderful atmosphere. Stefan took lots of pictures.
If Stefan had not asked, it would not have happened.
As I sat next to Stefan at the game on Wednesday night, I thought about the simple statement that he had made to me about his dream – and how you have to ask.
You have to ask
If I want something, I have to let the world know that I want it.
If I do, the world can find ways of helping.
If I don’t the world gets on with sorting out other people’s dreams.
How do I let the world know what I want?
What are some of my dreams?
- I want to finish and publish a book
- I want to meet the worlds top experts in story telling
- I want to give a speech to an audience of 5,000 people
- I want to travel the world teaching leadership, persuasion and communication
- I want to run the New York marathon in under 3:30
- I want to spend a week teaching in India
- I want to spend a week teaching in China
- I want to teach a method of interpersonal communication that allows people to get their resentment, anger, frustration out in the form of words and not to build up into violence
- I want to publish an article in the Intelligent Life and New Yorker and Atlantic magazines