I was invited to a breakfast function, which had absolutely nothing to do with window tinting this morning.
The estimated 400 people were seated at allocated tables, with name cards for each person. My table number was 4, so pretty close to the front. The invitations listed two celebrity speakers. One was Mahe Drysdale, a 3 times world and Olympic champion rower and Brendan O'Donovan, the Chief Economist of the NZ Westpac Bank.
So I made my way to the table, where I found a couple of people I knew from the organiser's business. I found my name printed on a card, right next to Mahe Drysdale and Brendan O'Donvan was 3 seats away!
They both made their presentations, one was funny, but on a more serious note, very sobering. The state of our economy is not good and not likely to improve in the next year or two. The other speech was about developing a passion, follow it and go through the pain, time and time again to come out at the other end as a champion.
Now I don't quite remember who made which remarks, but the message is loud and clear: We will experience considerable pain, but with the right attitude and actions, will come out as champions again!
I had a good chat with Mahe, he often goes to my old home town in Switzerland to represent New Zealand in rowing. One thing I found with Kiwi sports champions, they are so approachable, down to earth and humble.
Good on you! I'm proud to call myself a Kiwi (with a foreign accent).
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