Given the title of this blog, and some of our past posts,
you may all assume that myself and the rest of the BDandLL crew had a few too
many daiquiri’s and are now battling a venereal disease…I assure you this is
not the case, we are not battling the clap…alcoholism is another story completely…
I can’t remember how old I was at the time, I think I was
probably around 15, but my parents decided to celebrate their 25th
wedding anniversary by going somewhere my mom had always wanted to go…Hawaii!
Even better was the fact that they decided that the whole family should go with
as well, so something my mom had waited her whole life to do was something I
was going to be able to check off of my list by a very young age, how awesome
are my parents?!
The trip was amazing, I had never seen such beautiful things
in all my life and getting to experience them with my whole family was a real
treat. Looking back at it now that my mom is gone makes it all that much more
special. But the memories we shared together here and everywhere as well as the
values she instilled in me, and really everything that I am, make it so I will
always have my parents with me, even if they can’t always physically be here.
My mom’s voice is always floating around in my head helping me to make
difficult decisions as well as knowing that it’s alright to let loose and truly
live my life. I think both my parents have taught me the great values it takes
to truly be a leader of men…and that’s where this blog is headed…
So, we’re in Hawaii…I’m 15, and having the time of my life.
Who gets to do this right?! There were two events that made the trip for me,
the first was an authentic Luau out in the jungle where they roasted a pig in
the ground with palm leaves, the way it’s supposed to be done! The food was
amazing, and after dinner there were all of these Polynesian dancers that came
onto the stage to perform for everyone. After a while of performing they asked
for volunteers from the audience to join them on stage, who actually volunteers
for something like that?! As no one volunteered, they sent the dancers into the
crowd to gather volunteers. It’s easy to turn this opportunity down when
someone is asking you to do it over a microphone, but when they send out all
these beautiful people to gather you up it becomes a little bit more difficult.
They came to our table to see if we would join them and
believe it or not, I was a bit more of an introvert at this time and my brother
really had to pretty much drag me onto the stage with him, saying that we might
not ever get a chance to do something like this again, but I still went very
reluctantly.
After a brief lesson on how to “hula,” they began a dance
competition amongst all of the volunteers, which I think was pretty much just
designed to get everyone out of their comfort zone and make them have fun.
There’s a line from “Almost Famous” that comes to mind here, the lead singer
tells the main character, a reporter, that he finds the one person in the crowd
that isn’t getting off and makes them get off!” Well, apparently I was that one
person. I was very nervous and obviously not really letting loose, so somehow
they determined that I was the winner of the dance contest. What did I win? An
opportunity to dance with a Polynesian princess…I shit you not. Fifteen years
old and I was already ruined. How can any experience I have from here on out
really compare to that?! Fifteen years later I still have the grass head dress
she gave me after she kissed me on the cheek after our dance. Maybe it wasn’t
that intimate being there were about 400 people there watching us, but more
than anything the experience got me out of my comfort zone and showed me that
life can be a real joy when you get out there and allow yourself to experience
everything it has to offer.
The next day we went to another Luau, I was now officially
on the circuit and decided I wasn’t leaving Hawaii without my own Polynesian
princess…
This Luau was in the middle of the city and wasn’t very
authentic, but the food was great and the entertainment was very good as well.
Once again they gathered volunteers from the audience to come participate in
the dance, but these guys were nowhere as good as the crew from the night
before…
As I was not a dancer this time, we watched as the other
people got their chance to get out of their comfort zones and really have a
great experience themselves. But something about the music just took a hold of
me, and that’s when the greatest moment of my entire life occurred…I began a
slow clap.
It started small, just me. Then a few of my family members
joined in, a little faster. Than the whole table took up with us, then the
next, and the next! Before you knew it, something like 500 to 1,000 people were
clapping in unison to the music, and I had started it all! The power
immediately went to my head. There were a few other attempts to get it going
again later by other individuals, but they never really took. It was an amazing
moment shared by the entire crowd where we really became one, and it could have
only been in that moment and it could only have been started by the true love
of that beautiful Polynesian princess…but alas, we were not meant to be. She
tried to get back with the world famous “slow clapper” but our moment, like the
moment for the slow clap had lapsed. We’ll always have that very special dance
together but we were both destined for other things…I sure hope she’s doing
alright.
I think that trip to Hawaii awakened something in me. I
started really putting myself out there a lot more after that. I think I
started to figure out that we all only have this one life that we’re given and
that it’s important to live it to the fullest. I struggle with the ups and
downs of life as everyone else does, but at the end of the day I think I can
safely say I leave it all out on the field. I make the most out of my
experiences and relationships and have very few regrets in my life. I believe
that people in general want to do good and I believe that for good reasons.
Each year we host a charity basketball tournament called “Hoops
for Hope,” which raises money for cancer research. This April will be our 9th
year hosting the tournament and each year we have been able to raise more money
than the previous year. We also get more participants and more and more people
are not only getting involved with our event but are getting more and more
involved with the organization we donate our money to, The V Foundation for
Cancer Research. Now I started this blog by talking about leadership and the
title of this blog is “The Slow Clap.” Can you see how such organizations as
ours are very similar to that event that happened to me back in Hawaii?! A few
of us got together and wanted to do something special to help find a cure for
cancer…then a few more joined us, then a few more. We have now raised over
$160,000 for cancer research through our event…clap.
I’ve really taken a liking to this Kid President kid as
well. If you found this blog post through my Facebook page, than I’m sure you’ve
seen me post several videos of this kid doing his thing. He is a true
inspiration and I wish we could all heed his words a little more. Right now he
has a “Socktober” campaign going where he is trying to get everyone to gather
up donations for homeless shelters across the nation, world, universe! Clap.
It truly is amazing when you think about it. Fifteen years
ago I got it in my head that I could get a group of people to come together to
do something pretty cool together, and we did it. The timing was right and let’s
face it, the motivation was there too. The confidence I got from the event the
night before told me I could do anything…but can’t we all do anything? Clap
The first step to starting a slow clap is knowing the timing
is right, I’m here to tell you that the timing is right. There is no day like
today! What’s your slow clap going to be? I’m more than willing to be here to
help you keep it going. Clap
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