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INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.

Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, welcomed Lori Keesey to provide another commentary in a series.

The Lori Keesey Commentaries

I didn’t come up with the headline. A salesman I met at a car dealership did, and I told him then that I would likely borrow it and his story in a commentary for the Price of Business Digital Network.

Brice is an older guy. Successful…a former company owner, who pulled up stakes in North Carolina several years ago to pursue a business opportunity in Tennessee. I got the impression that Brice didn’t need his job selling cars but did it for the simple fact that he enjoyed meeting new people.

After some conversation about my plans for the car, Brice started sharing stories about his past and the people who had influenced him long before he enlisted in the Navy and learned to fly small aircraft, not as a Naval aviator, but for his own personal enjoyment.

“Do you create ripples?” Brice asked me.

“What do you mean?

“People create ripples, both good and bad,” he said. “We need to watch what we say.”

When Least Expected

My salesman friend had been at the dealership the day that point was driven home for him.

On that day, a man entered the showroom and asked to see Brice. Brice hadn’t seen his visitor in years…not since his Navy days living in Portsmouth, Virginia.

“I found you on Facebook,” the man said, taking a seat. “I didn’t want to call.” He wanted to see Brice face-to-face and had driven to Knoxville from Raleigh, North Carolina, to make sure he did.

“He wanted to thank me,” Brice said.

Many, many years before, Brice had encouraged the then-younger man to pursue a career in aviation, to follow his dreams. The young man took Brice’s words to heart to enjoy a long career as a pilot for a commercial airline. Brice had created a ripple—a swell—and had no idea of the power of his words…not until this man showed up, unannounced, to express his gratitude.

How I Wish I Could Thank Edwina

I wish my first-grade teacher, Edwina Mullinix, were still here so that I could thank her. I vividly remember the moment this imposing, unmarried woman—a “spinster” as described then—created a ripple for good in my life.

It happened on a parent-visitation day. Our work was neatly displayed on the board, including a little story I’d written and illustrated. In her no-nonsense way, Miss Mullinix escorted my mom to the board and pointed to my story. “Lori might have a gift,” my teacher said. “Her writing should be encouraged.”

I’m sure my mother doesn’t remember this interaction…but I do.

At the age of six or seven, my teacher’s words influenced me, planted a seed. I did grow up to become a newspaper reporter and then a communication consultant and now an author/blogger. Miss Mullinix made an impact on my life. She was an influencer.

And so was Brice.

What Type of Influencer Are You?

The term influencer has taken on a new meaning. Today, many students aspire to become social media influencers, according to teachers I know. Their life’s aspiration is to build a reputation for themselves, hoping to generate a huge following of enthusiastic and engaged people who like and share everything they post.

Brice’s story underscores the potential superficialness of that ambition.

At least for these kids, the focus is on self, on ego, becoming famous, even if only on social media. The thought that their words could influence or encourage someone for the better may not cross their minds. It’s more about building recognition for themselves.

I would hope they’d use their words, their influence to create ripples—the swells not the depressions—that others would remember as pivotal, the moment their lives changed for the better. What a legacy to leave.

Are you creating ripples?

Author/Blogger Lori Keesey discovered her passion for writing at age six, when she wrote and illustrated a very short story about three puppies lost in a hatbox. Her first-grade teacher loved it and encouraged her to continue writing.

Many years later, the study of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird rekindled her interest. So captivated by Harper’s young protagonist, Scout, Lori wanted to create characters just as engaging as this spunky little girl. Years passed—and hundreds, if not thousands, of novels were read—before Lori realized her goal. Her debut novel, The Difference He Made, is scheduled to release in late 2023.

Lori writes a weekly blog—“The Accidental Blogger”—that spotlights men and women who overcome adversity and has authored two short stories, “Robert’s Prayer” and “The Note.” Both stories and a host of other gifts are free to those who subscribe to her monthly letter.

To subscribe and learn more about Lori, go to www.lorikeesey.com.