Walking in to my first STi event in Salt Lake City roughly 17 years ago, I snuck in a little early before the event even started.
We had just drove 15 hrs to attend one of our first personal growth seminars. This event was the supporting training program for some nearly 20,000 members of Sti. I was encouraged to attend...or should I say it was a must-attend event.
As I walked in the room that day, little did I know the guy behind the AV table, helping to set up the entire event, was Brian Douglas. A guy that, nearly 18 years later, I would dare to say has been one of the most influential relationships of my life.
Jaclyn and I have had the privilege to get to know Jennifer and Brian over these years and I’ll just say, I pray you have a Douglas in your life.
From the examples of friendship, the steadfast following of Christ, their deliberate pursuance of raising their children to be Godly kids, to fishing, staying up late at their home, traveling thousands of miles to stay connected and somehow balancing all of the important things in life with a business partnership that has stood the test of time.
As I look at this picture above and think back to our trip to Lake Powell, it just brings back so many memories of fun, laughs, pains, support and thanksgiving.
The best part of these two, is I know for a fact that 1000’s of other couples from around the world would probably have a similar experience as we do.
After working with Brian for all these years, seeing the sheer size of their global business, having now run several years of events like that first STi with Brian, I have gotten a personal glimpse into the lives of people that have worked with them.
Trust me when I say, 1000’s of people would say the same.
This isn’t a lesson that can be learned over a weekend, by listening to podcast or reading a book. It’s a lesson I have learned over these 18years. This lesson matters.
So what’s the lesson?
I have learned, no matter how busy you think you are, how wealthy you are, how many lives you have impacted, the size of the stage you have spoken on or the number of fancy cars you have in the garage...in the end, it’s how you treat people.
These two are busy people, but they take the time. They work hard to raise their kids, spend quality time investing in them. They work hard at their business, traveling and serving teams all over the world. They prioritize family, traveling and living life.
But when someONE is in front of them, they pay attention. When someONE in their life is in need, they make it a point to reach out. When someONE wants to grow, they teach. When their church needs help, they serve. When their kids need attention, they’re present. Bottom line, they make it a point to be present in the moments of life. It’s the moments that matter most.
I know many of you that will read this will have a memory or two or three or twenty, when you think about the Douglas’.
This a huge thank you to the Douglas’. Thank you for being people that have shown me how to spend the moments of my life with more value and focus.
Love you guys.
The Bohlke’s.