Truth is, It's Not About You

The truth is, it's not about you. Truth is, it's not about me either. It's about them. The people you and I interact with. Those we love. Those we hate. Your wife your daughter the boy in your yard. It's about your mom. It's about your dad. It's about the lonely old person living next door. It's about being needed. Fulfilling need gives you purpose. If you satisfy only your own needs you posses a very small purpose. Being needed by many creates a very powerful purpose.

I learned one night working a very physical very demanding job what my purpose is. I was a waiter at a really fancy place. After closing time I was asked to serve 12 people dinner after most of my help had already gone home. This man who asked was very tall and very famous. This was not why I agreed. I agreed to serve them because their need was great. They were very beautiful and very hungry. Just off a flight from NYC finding themselves cold, hungry, tired and dehydrated in a snowy mountain town. I welcomed them to Aspen and they all wanted wine! I served them water. Drink this water now, all of it and drink another at the end and you will enjoy your stay. The best tool to acclimating to 9,000 feet above sea level is water. Then I served fine wine paired well for a feast fit for a king. Understaffed and at the end of a very long day I was rewarded handsomely.

After paying the check the tall man who I had recognized called me over and asked me to sit with him. I became the focus of everyone's attention. He introduced himself as Anthony Robins and I told him mine and that I knew who he was. I said I had read one of his books and he was curious of what I had taken from the book. I said I liked the stuff about your State. That you can choose the State to be in. You can decide to be in a productive State of mind and that was what I had done when he asked if I would serve a 12 top an hour after close. I assessed the need and it was great. I used it to fulfill my purpose. The pleasure pain principle stuff was pretty cool, but I really like the idea of Nero-autonomic programing as I am a believer in muscle-memory and it wasn't a big jump to believe in neuron-memmory. He liked that and asked if he could use it. I laughed and said he wrote it. I just read it out of the borrowed book you wrote. He said not the relationship between muscle-memmory and neuron-memmory that's all you kid. I said is so then sure you can use it. I thanked him and tried to excuse myself saying lot's of work left to do before I can wake up and ski! I jumped up and started to head back toward the kitchen and Tony jumped up and followed me. In the service isle he said he only had one more thing to ask me. You said something earlier I wanted clarification. How did you use us to fulfill your purpose? What is your purpose? I said that was two questions, but explained a very wise famous man like him sat at that very table and changed my life. When I discovered my purpose was to serve.

At the time I was dying of Graves disease. He knew something was wrong with me. After the meal he asked me to sit with him. He said he wanted to share the moment he learned the most important lesson in life. And that it was right here, right now when he realized He had been doing it backwards his whole life and what I had just told him while serving the meal made me realize this. You said, "It's not about me. It's about fulfilling my purpose that matters!" He said I have to ask you what is your purpose? I said if you must ask then I haven't fulfilled it. He said that's freaking genius son.  I said thank you Mr Denver. He said call me John. "Let me ask you. If it's not about me who is it about? It's about them John. It's about those you sing to. By singing to us you are fulfilling your purpose. Nothing is more rewarding than fulfilling your purpose." He said amen brother then gave me a hug. He said I needed to take care of myself and wrote down the name of a doctor. He asked again what was my purpose? I said, "To Serve." He smiled, nodded then walked away.

Truth is it's not about me. It was about Tony Robins and John Denver, Goldie Han and Kurt Russel, Martin Short and Sally Field, Steven Hawkins and Nelson Mandela, Collin Powel and Margaret Thatcher, the dude from The Bee Gees and Joe Cocker, Martina and Chris Everet just some of the people I was to serve in my seven years at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen from 1993 to the year 2000.