Instead I grabbed some items for show and tell, but I was once again delayed trying to find a parking space and by walking in the wrong floor, to resume: I was not able to setup at all.

I was only able to keep my travel carrying case, handcrafted by Donald Dodson and designed by Nefertiti San Miguel, my handy AMOR umbrella and myself .

 

Then, my turn to speak came up too soon and I had to explain what I do (oh my…) and what was my ask that night.

Totally unprepared, I took the mike and I spoke from my heart and from my passion. From what I really do in a nutshell.

What do I do?

I bring people together to spark creativity, to create opportunities and to provide visibility to our veteran community.

How I do it?

Events, media shows and educational programs

There were a lot more words…a video somewhere floating around..

What happened as a result?

I could see in every face in that room that my words and message got to them as intended. And I was able to connect with several people afterwards…

One of them was a JP Morgan rep that specializes in helping small businesses, and wants to connect.

A veteran invited me to be part of his business group.

Another veteran that has been wanting to launch his idea for the last 2 years but had not because he had let his self doubts and fears get on the way of his ideas, of his dreams.. He offered to helped me carry my bags and share his story with me . I took the time to listen and to talk to him. ) I am very happy to say that he is ready to after our conversation.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Most of the times that is actually the case, as attested by my own personal experience and then the plan goes out the window ,

And that is completely okay…

It is all about how you react to the situation and how you make the most of it.

Do you freeze?

Do you get stuck or sink?

or

Do you see it as another opportunity to shine?

I do, I see it as way to connect and to think outside the box every single time.