![What Kind of Fish Are You?
You know those moments when you’re in the middle on a conversation and something big,
something important, suddenly hits you? That happened to me earlier this year. We’re all
different, we know that. The world would be boring if we were all the same, right? But think of
it like this: we’re all swimming in water… happily swimming along and life seems completely
normal and ordinary. You’re getting by. Your next-door neighbor is getting by. But what you
don’t notice is the water (aka your life) is, in fact, extraordinary and that YOU are a rare and
exotic fish.
Let me explain.
I did know that I have an extraordinary life, but it wasn’t until I started taking action on my
New Year’s Resolution in early January that I started to realize how rare and exotic of a fish I
am.
My New Year’s Resolution was to reach out to people who had made a difference to Wasabi
Publicity in the 10 years Michelle and I have been in business. These people are near and
dear to my heart. It’s not as if we hadn’t been in communication at all, but I hadn’t really
connected with them on a personal level. You know how life gets in the way?
Wow! What an eye-opening experience that was. When I called each of them, the first thing
they all wanted to know was what’s up with me (which makes sense because I sent everyone
a New Year’s greeting from Dubrovnik, Croatia). Most of my conversations started like this:
“So, you were in Croatia for New Year’s Eve?”
“Well, actually, I am still in Croatia…”
[Pause]
“Oh, did I just call your cell phone?”
“No, that’s my Skype number.” (Isn’t technology amazing?)
“What are you doing in Croatia?”
I proceeded to tell them the short version. Will and I were in Budapest, Hungary, in July 2012
and we found an apartment we loved so much, we bought it. We flew back to the U.S.,
packed up our house, and put it on the vacation rental market. We loaded up our dogs,
Bailey and Brodee, and we were back in Budapest within a month.
An interesting twist to the story is we’re doing a reality show about our move. Before we left
the States, the production company came to our house and shot us packing up and getting
ready to move. More about that later…
Fast forward. We were renting a friend’s apartment in Budapest while ours was being
renovated and we had another friend’s daughter staying with us. One evening she was
talking about how she needed to be out of the Schengen Area within 90 days.
I’ll spare the alien details, but it was in that moment we realized that when we flew back to
the States our tourist visa wouldn’t reset (like we somehow thought it would) – you can only
be in the region for 90 days within a 6-month period – and we were about to overstay our
welcome.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/whatkindoffishareyougood-130819110659-phpapp02/85/what-kind-of-fish-are-you-1-320.jpg)
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (17)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (13)
Similar to What Kind of Fish Are You?
Similar to What Kind of Fish Are You? (9)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
What Kind of Fish Are You?
- 1. What Kind of Fish Are You? You know those moments when you’re in the middle on a conversation and something big, something important, suddenly hits you? That happened to me earlier this year. We’re all different, we know that. The world would be boring if we were all the same, right? But think of it like this: we’re all swimming in water… happily swimming along and life seems completely normal and ordinary. You’re getting by. Your next-door neighbor is getting by. But what you don’t notice is the water (aka your life) is, in fact, extraordinary and that YOU are a rare and exotic fish. Let me explain. I did know that I have an extraordinary life, but it wasn’t until I started taking action on my New Year’s Resolution in early January that I started to realize how rare and exotic of a fish I am. My New Year’s Resolution was to reach out to people who had made a difference to Wasabi Publicity in the 10 years Michelle and I have been in business. These people are near and dear to my heart. It’s not as if we hadn’t been in communication at all, but I hadn’t really connected with them on a personal level. You know how life gets in the way? Wow! What an eye-opening experience that was. When I called each of them, the first thing they all wanted to know was what’s up with me (which makes sense because I sent everyone a New Year’s greeting from Dubrovnik, Croatia). Most of my conversations started like this: “So, you were in Croatia for New Year’s Eve?” “Well, actually, I am still in Croatia…” [Pause] “Oh, did I just call your cell phone?” “No, that’s my Skype number.” (Isn’t technology amazing?) “What are you doing in Croatia?” I proceeded to tell them the short version. Will and I were in Budapest, Hungary, in July 2012 and we found an apartment we loved so much, we bought it. We flew back to the U.S., packed up our house, and put it on the vacation rental market. We loaded up our dogs, Bailey and Brodee, and we were back in Budapest within a month. An interesting twist to the story is we’re doing a reality show about our move. Before we left the States, the production company came to our house and shot us packing up and getting ready to move. More about that later… Fast forward. We were renting a friend’s apartment in Budapest while ours was being renovated and we had another friend’s daughter staying with us. One evening she was talking about how she needed to be out of the Schengen Area within 90 days. I’ll spare the alien details, but it was in that moment we realized that when we flew back to the States our tourist visa wouldn’t reset (like we somehow thought it would) – you can only be in the region for 90 days within a 6-month period – and we were about to overstay our welcome.
- 2. %$&@!! We called the U.S. Embassy in Hungary. They couldn’t help us. We consulted with attorneys. The only solution was to leave the region ASAP. So, we postponed the TV show shooting of the apartment reveal, loaded up the dogs, and headed to Croatia. And there we were in Dubrovnik. And as George Bernard Shaw said, “Those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik and see Dubrovnik.” Absolutely! We were not planning to travel to Dubrovnik, but I’m so glad we did. Here’s my point. Having a conversation with those people around me gave me the opportunity to get really clear about the water I was swimming in and how extraordinary and unique my life truly was. Too often, we forget what an amazing job we have done in creating extraordinary lives! I invite and encourage you to start having the same kind of conversations with the people around you. Open your mouth to see the water around you. Share what you see! — About the Author: For 30 years, L. Drew Gerber has been inspiring those who want to change the world. As the CEO of Wasabi Publicity, lauded by the likes of PR Week and Good Morning America, he sparks “aha” conversations that lead to personal and business success. His PR firm is known for landing clients on Dr. Phil, Oprah, Anderson Cooper, the Wall Street Journal, Inc., Entrepreneur, and other top media outlets. Wasabi Publicity lives to launch conversations that make a difference and change the world. Contact Drew at AskDrew@PublicityResults.com or visit his blog at www.DestinationAha.com.