Arrivederci Roma

Did you ever thing about something for so long and so hard that it actually manifested itself? Up until now I would have referred to it as a wish or a longing. I used to watch planes fly overhead and wish that I, too, could fly. Not in a superman way, I mean the mechanical way. For years "I wished" it. And then one birthday, my then girlfriend, now wife, actually bought me flying lessons. Out of the blue and without conscious prompt from me.

So it was with little surprise that I found myself in Rome in April with Liberty League. To say "I expected it" is not to mean that I took it for granted. Myself and my wife had arrived 2 days before the Summit and on both nights we toasted "our Liberty League Life".
It being my first Liberty League event, what we couldn't have anticipated was incredible and indelible the event would be on our lives.

Having checked in and registered at the Sheraton Roma, we went to the loby bar to grab some lunch. There in shorts and T-Shirt chatting casually was my adviser, John Lavinia. John has been in this business since its inception, or close to. He is a self-made millionaire with the heart of a lion. He is an amazing public speaker too but I digress. He came over to us delighted by the fact that we made it, Ireland's first Summit and Conference advisers with no small help from him.He flipped over his phone and says, in his New Jersey accent, "Let me grab my partner in crime.... Hello Shane..?" Pretty soon we were having lunch in a very relaxed fashion with Shane Krider, his lovely wife Michelle and John. Just shooting the breeze talking about dogs, odd photos and moving house and a small bit about the business, the reason that 900 of us have gathered there in Rome!

So how does an Irishman, an islander, and his wife sit down to lunch with two self-made millionaires imparting to him the benefit of their wisdom in a casual fashion? Because I wanted it to happen! Subconsciously, I had orchestrated this meeting. As an amusing aside, my wife had no idea who Shane and Michelle were at the time. The look on her face was priceless when the light came on inside her head.

I think it's important to note at this point that I'm not in awe of these people or feel inferior to these people but I do have the utmost respect for what they have accomplished. Their lives are truly their own. They made a decision to a) become wealthy and b) be their own boss. And it's something they have passed on to countless. Unfortunately some don't see it for the opportunity that it is.

So that was day 1! I won't go through everything in detail but I would like to share the "pearls" that I came away with at another time.