You read the title right. It is not click bait. I had four (4) seconds to walk by the Dalai Lama and wave. So many years later, I still remember this lesson.
It was nearly 100 degrees outside and I was avoiding it as long as possible standing in the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The hotel is beautiful with massive ceilings, exotic glass work, and a harp musician playing a rendition of "Till I See You Again" (great song from one of my all time favorite movies titled "Furious 7") as the soundtrack.
There were only 20 people total in the auditorium-like lobby, most waiting for a nightly event to kick-off. As I looked towards the heat-sheilding glass door, I noticed a few suited men with tactical faces walk in and take stances around the lobby. After looking up from my phone, one of these men pulled out a headphone from his ear and said, "sir, could you please step back behind the yellow line?"
I must have given him a confused look because he leaned in close and continued by saying, "not sure how you found out, but the Lama should be here soon."
Apparently at the top of my cognitive game, I said "the Lama?" He then said, "aren't you here to see the Dala Lami arrive?" The light bulb went off and those around me starting getting excited about the opportunity to get a glimpse of this influential world figure.
What was interesting to me is that most people ran to grab their cameras (yes, some people actually did not have their phones with them), complained about their outfit for the upcoming pictures or started to make calls to others telling them about the upcoming visit. The small group in the lobby was instantly in a frenzy and completely distracted.
The security guard then asked that we not take photos or post his location on social media out of respect for his privacy. That was honestly my favorite part of this whole story. It was like this group was told a giant secret, got super excited and then was told to never tell anyone, ever.
After the group recovered from the security guard request, we waited and waited. Like a practical joke in motion, we just waited for him to arrive to simply see him walk into the hotel. After what felt like hours had passed, the vast majority of the group lost focus, wandered in the lobby or just appeared to believe they had been pranked. Remember that it is 100 degrees outside and I'm an entrepreneur...I can out focus and maintain attention for longer than most.
Without warning, the side door to the hotel (as we faced the main lobby door) opened. A group of six large, suited guards fast-pace walked through the lobby with the Dalai Lama in the middle of them. By this time, the vast majority of the group was too far away in their unfocused drifting and had no time to recover their line of sight.
He stopped, smiled and waved to us. I was just to the right of the door but at the front in prime view of the moment. I was focused, made eye contact and waved back. He then turned into an elevator and was gone.
It was 45 minutes of anticipation culminating in 4 seconds of reward for the very few of us that were ready. If you blinked, if you wandered, if you were distracted, if you didn't keep your full focus until the absolute finish, you missed the opportunity.
Founders reap the reward of the effort when we stay focused until the finish. We actively recognize that it always takes longer than most will wait to realize the reward. I owe it to the Dalai Lama and appreciate the lesson he taught me in just four (4) seconds.
