I was at a networking event recently, standing around talking with a group of professionals. Nothing formal. Just people getting to know each other and catching up.
Among them was a gentleman who had asked me several months earlier if I would consider speaking to an organization he represented.
At the time, I told him no.
Not because I wasn’t interested, but because I wasn’t ready. I didn’t yet have a message that I felt would truly serve his group. I knew I wanted to say yes eventually, but I needed more time to develop the material and make sure it was something meaningful.
Over the following months, I kept working on it. Thinking. Writing. Refining.
And then, as our networking event was winding down and everyone was preparing to leave, I remembered.
I turned to him and said, “Oh, by the way, I’m ready.”
He looked confused.
“Ready for what?”
I said, “I’m ready to talk to your organization. I finally have something that I think will serve them well.”
What happened next completely caught me off guard.
He bent his knee, made a fist, and threw it into the air like someone had just scored the winning point of a championship game.
“Yes!”
Then he started clapping.
Not polite clapping.
Genuine excitement.
The kind of excitement that is impossible to fake.
He gave me a high five, looked genuinely thrilled, and kept talking about how excited he was.
Standing there, I found myself unexpectedly emotional.
Not because of the speaking opportunity.
Because of his enthusiasm.
It is a rare gift to encounter people who celebrate others with no agenda attached. People who are genuinely excited when something good happens for someone else. People who cheer before the outcome is known.
As I drove home, I kept thinking about community.
If you are fortunate enough to have people around you who encourage you, believe in you, and celebrate your growth, you are already richer than you realize.
Those people become part of your foundation.
They remind you who you are when you forget. They encourage you when you’re uncertain. They celebrate progress before anyone else notices it.
And perhaps the greater challenge is becoming that person for someone else.
To be the one who cheers.
To be the one who celebrates.
To be the one who sees possibility in another person and isn’t afraid to show it.
So to that gentleman, thank you.
And may I be as generous with my encouragement as you were with yours.