Our scheduled speaker had to cancel. However, program chair, Steve Leferrieire, came through with a terrific substitute, Chris McCormick, a world traveling lecturer.
Chris is a young man (thirty-three) who simply loves to travel. After university he wasn’t interested in a usual career tract, he wanted to see the world. That’s exactly what he did – working at rather humble jobs, saving every cent, then hitting the road. In 2014, at age 20, he took off to Australia. He survived. He loved the experience and wanted to continue exploring, connecting, and growing. He has now traveled to twenty-five countries and forged a business as a travel lecturer as well as offering bespoke guided tours for small groups.
He divided his presentation into four parts. He started with the assertion, ‘take the leap,’ i.e., you have to take the initial risk and simply do it. Then he noted that ‘one can’t do it on one’s own,’ i.e., we all need assistance in some form or another. Next, he remarked that ‘our goals inevitably turn out to be bigger than ourselves – by this he simply meant that our experiences often open new paths we never expected and offered a few personal examples. Finally, he summarized by arguing that alignment eventually pays off. In his case, his passion evolved into a business that allows him to do what he loves to do: travel, lecture about travel, organize tours, and ultimately grow.
We appreciate Chris sharing his story with us. For anyone interested in learning more, visit Chris’ website www.thechrismccormick.com .
P.S. In addition to our excellent speaker, we are in the process of experimenting with varying our menu. Today we cut back on sodas and added bottled water and fruit juices and only one coffee – decaf. We also had a large bowl of fruit vis-a-vis less cookies. Nobody complained and several appreciated the change. We’ll keep trying different variations and do some further surveying to determine people’s preferences. Our caterer, Zappia’s, has been very willing to vary the selections.