Happy Sunday Everyone:
This will be the third time I’ve introduced Chris Devin into Sunday Thoughts. He’s one of my primary hero’s. He’s the whole enchilada. He lives his life with a selfless, optimistic, faith driven, and a pay it forward mindset. He does this all while having a serious mono e mono battle with cancer. He’s battling hard right now but he’s still smiling, still encouraging all of us, still as purpose driven as he’s ever been. Still making me want to be better being a witness to him. He’s currently having 450 bracelets made for our division (and he’s not in our division) “WGT, we got this”, “LFG-lets Fing go”, “PVC-positive voice choice”, “WTD win the day”….that’s what he lives by, and he does. Full disclosure, I have the OG bracelet with LFG, he actually swapped it out with “WNM-why not me”, trying to be a little more politically correct, I guess.
I had the pleasure of spending a few days with him in Miami at our sales rally two weeks ago and then talking to him again this Friday/Saturday morning to get some updates. He was excited to tell me of a situation I had been involved in with him around the FBI.
I mentioned a couple of years ago one of my old coaching students forwarded one of these to his friend who ran the FBI for Arizona. I’ll call him AD, AD reached out and let me know he’d been forwarding these thoughts to his team, which blew my mind but also created an online friendship between us. After my first write up on Chris, AD who moved to take over LA FBI, had to be at a conference in Boston and had just read Sunday Thoughts on Chris, he asked if I could make an introduction so he could meet him while there. They did, which started a friendship immediately.
Fast forward a few months ago, I received an incredible email from the gentleman that heads up the New England FBI regarding his thoughts on Sunday Thoughts (thanks to AD). He also wanted to meet Chris, we can call him TD. It’s one thing to go to a conference to meet someone at the FBI (AD/Chris), it’s another thing to go to the Boston FBI HQ. Chris gets out of a treatment a few weeks ago, drives across town, rolls into a metal detector, has to leave his phone in a locker, as he describes it “very FBIish, everyone is in a suit with a gun strapped to them”. Chris sits down in front of a giant coffee table with a single book on it, only words “The Devil Never Sleeps”. He meets with TD, formal at first, then personal, both guys taking notes on each other. TD then wants Chris to meet some of the other team members. Primary topic is Chris’s diagnosis followed by his mindset, he never waivers. AD said it best, which I believe is how TD introduced Chris to everyone “everyone needs some Chris Devin in their lives”.
I talked to Chris yesterday morning again about writing this today. I asked him “what do you think the main point is?”. “Hunter-I just got out of cancer treatment, I had to drive an hour across town in traffic, TD is dealing with everything on his plate, including the government shut down, we both could have cancelled, we always need to connect the dots because you never know where it’s going to lead, the world can be a very small and amazing place if you allow it, that was one of the most meaningful meetings I’ve had and it could have just as easily been missed”. My favorite part of the story is Chris going in to give AD a hug, which is probably not the normal send off at the FBI, perhaps a firm handshake instead. As AD is shaking Chris’s hand, AD hands Chris an FBI coin and let him know it’s only given in very special circumstances to those who’ve earned it, a very special gesture from AD! Sidenote-Chris got the hug in too.
I’ll leave you with this, our divisional book club is wrapping up 7 Habits. I’m probably on my 10th read of it but I find myself highlighting new stuff each time including a quote from N. Eldon Tanner; “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth”. Talking to Chris the last couple of days and hearing him tell the story in his raspy Boston accent, with his cracked rib from coughing none the less, he lives out this quote. His service to all of us is his gratitude for everyday no matter what, and us standing witness to it and recalibrating our joy meter because of him. I agree with AD & TD; we all need Chris Devin in our lives.
As a side note-I sleep a little better knowing we’ve got AD and TD heading up divisions inside the FBI. They’re living out the “service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth” every day, although we might swap out “earth” and replace it with “US” for them. The fact that they’re interested in seeking out relationships with the Chris Devin’s of the world and exposing him to their teams says a lot about their beliefs. LFG FBI!!
If anyone is wondering who Chris Devin is below are the two other links if you missed them the first time around: