I wasn’t in Maui 2 minutes when the uke bug bit me. Waiting for our luggage, I heard a light, resonant strumming. Turning to find the sound I locked eyes with Rex, a local real estate agent, who invited me to sing along. Why not? His friend handed me the lyrics: “Tiny bubbles…” our little group warbled. When we got to the end, we started over. “It’s the only song I know,” Rex said with a grin.

When we stopped for a breather, Rex explained how much he loved Maui and wanted to make sure his high school friend, visiting for the first time in 45 years, felt welcome to the island. Rex was so full of aloha, he pulled us all right in. Another couple made eye contact with Rex and I handed them the lyric sheet. We all sang the only song Rex knew. Before we parted, I had his card and a great lunch recommendation and - best of all - I was part of a story.

All that from one guy being willing to sing his song and invite others to join him.

That got me thinking: What’s the story I invite people into? It’s the storyline I’m always telling no matter what I do, just like Rex with his ukulele. It’s the thing about me, about each of us, that affects people most. I don’t know about you, but people’s storylines captivate me.

More about this in my next post as this one is already late (!) and finding your storyline is a big topic. Not to mention ukuleles.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 3:07 pm and is filed under Leadership, authenticity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.