There I was, getting ready to drive away from the Pegasus Hotel parking lot. Suddenly I noticed two impeccably dressed young ladies in high heels, stepping stylishly toward the hotel front door. I paused and observed. They were followed by an elegantly dressed young man, then another lady, professionally decked out. I thought to myself, “Something is going on in there and I don’t even know anything about it. I should go and see…”

Let’s step back. This past Ezine about my encounter with Venus Williams has drawn the greatest number of responses from readers so far. Comments range from surprise to amazement, from admiration to shock and disbelief. One predominant sentiment was incredulity. People can’t believe I thought of it, dared to do it and actually succeeded despite the odds. One person read the entire account, thought I made it up and didn’t believe it until she called my wife, Grace and confirmed the details.

The story of Venus goes far beyond Venus. It’s the principles that I want you to see. Here are a few: You will ultimately enjoy great success in life if you get up every day with a passionate purpose to pursue, and have the courage to pursue it. Do the unusual, step outside the habits of the average people in the crowd, dare to believe you can have what you seek and ask for huge—no—massive things. Each effort is like a seed you sow into the ground. Several will die, but the few that grow produce a harvest that renders the loss insubstantial and irrelevant. The few that grow can take you to places of greatness where you “walk in the path of kings.”

With all that in mind, let’s get back to the finely dressed people streaming into the Pegasus hotel. I got out of my car and headed toward the lobby. Then a voice in my head asked: “Where are you going? Don’t you want to put your suit jacket on and straighten your tie?” I returned to the car and made sure I was properly dressed. Then I moved again toward the hotel. The voice returned: “Where are you going? Don’t you want to take a copy of your book with you?” I returned to the car and got a copy of “If Caterpillars Can Fly ~ So Can I,” straightened my shoulders and walked with poise and authority into the lobby as though I belonged there.

My chest was pounding out the same rhythm of daring and adventure that I felt when I approached Venus Williams several days ago. I found the registration desk, stepped up and asked: “Excuse me, who is the person in charge of this conference, please?” What happened next was curious. The attendant paused, scanned me slowly from head to toe, thought for a moment and then replied: “Oh, I’d love to help you sir, but she’s pretty busy right now as she goes onstage in a very short while…wait a minute, there she is!” With a quick handshake and a “thank you,” I was gone.

The next moment, I was standing in front of the woman in charge, the chief, the mover and shaker. Sensing how busy she was, I exchanged quick comments with her, and left. I said, “Hello, my name is Alvin Day; I’m a sales trainer and personal empowerment coach. My company helps organizations sell more and develop more passionate people. I can see you’re busy but I’d like to come and see you this week. What time would work best for you? Oh, here’s a copy of my book.” Wow! She’d already heard about my book.

Two days later, I was sitting in her office on the very day that her boss, the Regional Director happened to be there. As a result, six months later, with prepaid expenses and a fee, my wife and I were in Trinidad, training and inspiring hundreds of people at a large national trade association. Two days later, I spoke at a function for an insurance company in Port of Spain.

All this led, months later, to an assignment with a Caribbean trade association in Montego Bay…hundreds of people to train and inspire…fun in the tropics. A satisfied customer connected us to a large banking company in Kingston. As a result, a few months ago, the scenario was repeated in Ocho Rios. This led to another assignment with an insurance company in Kingston. As a result…(ready for this?)

As a result, I was engaged by a company to do customer service and personal empowerment work in Kingston. It was on that assignment that I met Venus Williams, embraced and escorted her to the ballroom. ‘Want to know something else? The ballroom to which I escorted Venus was the identical ballroom where the function was held when I barged in, after seeing finely dressed people entering the Pegasus Hotel—two years earlier. Everything had come full circle. And it’s not over yet. As a result of all this, three other opportunities are in the process of materializing.

Now don’t get me wrong. I fail more often than I succeed. I can give you a long list of potential clients where I planted the seed and the seed died. The president of a financial company verbally expressed interest, then proceeded to dodge me. Oh, then there’s the package delivery service where I misspelled the lady’s name and now, she won’t even answer my emails. A telecommunications company in Trinidad scoffed at me. One automobile supply company simply said NO and gave the business to a competitor. An insurance executive in Ohio used my services and ripped me off. The list goes on painfully.

Here’s my point. When you reach for the sky, one success outweighs many failures. Despite the failures, despite the times when you feel embarrassed for making a dumb move, do you dare to continue reaching for the spectacular? Or, have you receded to safer places—protected by conventional thoughts that box you into the “proper” way of doing things—how things OUGHT to work? That is a life of quiet desperation, according to Henry David Thoreau. Dare to walk the uncharted pathway where average members of the crowd will not go.

If you find yourself in the middle of the daily grind, mind-numbing routines that quietly produce desperation, then mix things up a little. Change your style. Step out of the crowd. Listen to new genres of music. Take a different path home once per week. Do something unpredictable now and again. Sow a few seeds in unusual places that have the promise to yield a magnificent harvest. “Anyone can see the seeds in an apple, but God sees the apples in a seed.” (“If Caterpillars Can Fly ~ So Can I”)

Take it from me; this attitude will give you altitude.

Alvin PS: To see a picture of Venus Williams and me in the ballroom, go to my website at: http://www.AlvinDay.com/venus.html