Have you ever had a conversation that changed your life?
I had one of those today.
It starts with extraordinary coincidence, timing, and an eagerness to listen.
We met MaryLea in a small Jacuzzi at the Miracle Springs Inn in Joshua Tree National Park. As we entered this peculiar jacuzzi (it was a circular jacuzzi where the depth was 1ft wtf), MaryLea was already sitting there looking at the sky. As Ken and I were joking around about the bubbles of the jacuzzi, a comment that one of us made about the palm trees growing around the area made her attention shift to us.
“This jacuzzi looks like a paella. And also, no!! Those trees aren't from Africa!” recited this woman.
Funny enough, that one comment sparked a rabbit-hole conversation that revealed the grand life, lessons, and wisdom of a 71-year-old MaryLea.
MaryLea's stories were fantastical and better than anything you would read in a book or watch in a movie. She's traveled to 51 different countries, started 7 businesses, was one of the first Venture Capitalists of Silicon Valley, escaped gravediggers in Peru, became a whistleblower to a corrupt San Jose congressmen, a professional speaker, a university professor, a survivor of a brain injury, a huge history buff, and many (so many manys) more. Her larger-than-life stories were supported by her charisma and knowledge of all the places she's been to. You can clearly tell she was extremely sharp, knowledgable, open-minded, kind, and genuine.
We talked for 4 hours, sharing stories, discussing the world, and introducing new perspectives. MaryLea completely flipped my perception of the world. How does a person like her exist in the world? Although generations apart, we really connected with all she had to say. I won't (I also can't since there was so much in this conversation) go into detail, but I'll try to recount the things I learned from this conversation.
- The world is HUGE!! Rainforests, Safaris, different cultures, inventions, and history. There's so much to explore.
- There's also so much to explore on a smaller level. Take the time to notice things and events around you.
- Curiosity drives everything. You don't need to be fixated on one thing, be curious about everything, and good things and opportunities will follow.
- Stand your ground on your morals. There's a lot of corruption and you can only fight it if you speak up.
- Speaking is a powerful tool. Perfect speaking so you can convey your thoughts and emotions to others in a powerful and lasting way.
- No one knows what they are doing; that's perfectly fine. No one has a perfectly planned life.
- There will always be people who you will be lifelong friends with.
- Parenting comes from example. Be the person you want your kids to be.
- Talk to everyone. Every person has something interesting that you can learn from. (There are some evil people in the world, avoid those people)
- Go out and do things!!
I wish that every person in the world has a chance to talk to someone like her. It puts into perspective that the stable and traditional life we are accustomed to is not everything. This conversation made it clear that everyone's definition of stability and risk is different. Some of these experiences are only a couple decisions away. It is extraordinary people who do extraordinary things.
What a wild trip.
Thank you for the great time MaryLea.
Thanks to Ken, Evans, Jacques, and Wesley for the awesome trip.
