Saturday, August 1, 2015

Just Try... A Lesson From a Stranger

This Five Minute Friday shout out is to James
from Bella Gelateria in Vancouver
for his reminder to... "Just Try"

___________________________

We met him on vacation
and he captivated us right away

Ever met someone like that?

Someone with whom you feel completely

content
comfortable
familiar

And the irony is that although we had waited

in line
outside
for over 30 min

just for an opportunity

to experience
to taste

his internationally award winning gelato

he made us feel like celebrities

While...

gold medals
honors
news paper clippings on the wall

(proved that he was the best)

tasting his gelato and actually meeting him

(proved why)

Because just as we were leaving...

he pulled up right beside the crowd
and began manually unloading his own truck and

he saw us
he noticed
he stopped

to

thank us
talk with us
encourage us


And maybe he felt it too...

that we were

content
comfortable
familiar

because he invited us in
showed the kids how to make gelato

and told them

stories
secrets
successes

that reminded us to

"slow down"
"love what you do"
"embrace failure"

then "try again"

because as he simply put it...

Most people in life are afraid to fail, so they never try
which means... they have failed already

15 comments:

  1. What a GREAT story about a successful business man that touched your hearts. The sweetness abounds in your words! I'm your fmf neighbor today.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Christy! Yes, meeting James and speaking with him was one of the highlights of our trip. His success, his philosophy, and his message were just what we needed to hear. Talk about being in the right place, at the right time? He pulled up just as we were leaving, but after we started talking, we were there another 45 minutes!

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  2. What an amazing story! I always have to remind myself to slow down, love what I do, embrace failure, and try again, especially in the day to day moments when to-do lists threaten to take over. You have a beautiful way with words. Thanks for sharing and stopping by my blog, too!

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    Replies
    1. Yes Angela, those to-do lists can be joy stealers! One of the things that I started doing when my children were very little was putting my chores on a timer. Whatever I don't complete in the amount of time allotted, has to wait until next time because I've found... that work will always be there! My children, on the other hand, have only about 5-7 more summers until they're off to college! That puts the chores in perspective for me...

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  3. Love love love your word grab style of writing. Goes straight to the heart. Beautiful post, beautiful person you share about.

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  4. I love your story! Makes me want to meet this amazing person. More than that, though, is that you allowed his life to deepen yours. How often do we experience life without allowing it to change us--for the better. Sounds like his contagious personality make it impossible not to be affected.
    Failure to try is a fail. So true, but I can easily convince myself otherwise.
    Thanks for a cool story and for visiting me.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Cheryl! I think that I should perhaps send Maestro James a link to this post... I'm not sure he realized how much of an impression he made with us. He was the highlight of our trip!

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  5. great writing and story. never tried the stuff I guess that could be a challenge right?

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  6. Wow, Tondra.
    Which flavor was your favorite? This is such a great experience for you and your children!
    Thanks for coming by my blog as well. :)
    Your fmf friend,
    Tammy (#4 in the linkup)
    (tammysincerity)

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    Replies
    1. Salted caramel! I should have known because when I asked to sample it... the young girl behind the counter handed it to me, and stood right there to watch me taste it. She smiled and silently nodded before I even reacted to the flavor and said "you want that one, right?"

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    2. Maestro James said that it is their most popular flavor

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    3. (...and he told us the secret why)

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  7. Oh I love this so much! (And just because Gelato! Yum!) What a great testimony of why he is successful... and what a great encouragement to try and try again!

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    Replies
    1. And Karrilee let me tell you that it was soooo ridiculously delicious. He told the kids that, "the reason the line is wrapped around the corner is because I didn't give up". What he didn't know was that I had just had a conversation with my kids the day before about being passionate, determined, and pursuing what they love! (Isn't it amazing when God has your back and confirms something?) My kids looked at me and smiled and I gave them a little wink like... "see? your momma knows".

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