Why the Apple icon?

The auction industry lost a tremendous ambassador several days ago. I had the pleasure of meeting Scott King & starting a friendship at CAI this year. CAI stands for Certified Auctioneer Institute which is advanced auction training & education. This past year was my Year 2 in this 3 year program. Scott was a past grad and instructor.

Our introduction was totally sporadic, which probably surprises no one that knew him. We were at Nick's (which is where most of the auctioneers attending CAI go to after class/events).

I was a few drinks in & had found myself chatting it up with a couple first year people - that looked....overwhelmed/unsure/not ready for this phenomenon called CAI. I was BLESSED, my first year, to have someone ENCOURAGE me to go talk to people and had gone out of their way to have a CAI crash course 101 to help me understand the value of what I signed up for & helped me to embrace it and not be so overwhelmed by it. I knew the thoughts that could be running around in their head SO, I was paying it forward.....I was finishing up a CAI pep talk when Scott turned around and asked me something....random. I totally don't remember what it was. I just remember that it led to a conversation about being friends on Facebook and being friends in real life. He was saying how people should make an effort to meet the people in real life that they are friends with on Facebook & have a REAL conversation with them. I was like....wait....we aren't friends on Facebook. He was like yes we are! Nope. I'm friends with Christie (his awesome sister), but this is the first time I've actually met you.

I pulled out my phone & I found him on Facebook & we became Facebook friends. Then he asked me about my story. Where I saw myself in this industry, how I got into it, asked about my business name & then he asked a question that made me....shift....& he saw it and told me I didn't have to answer. It caught me off guard....because....truthfully....no one was ever curious enough to ask it, nor was the answer to the question essential in day to day operations in my business. It was something that wasn't really important to my peers or my colleagues......but it was the heart of my business. I shifted because the question made me feel....vulnerable &&&& it reminded me of where I started, why I started....and it made me ever aware that I was right in the middle of what I had set out for, but..... had been working SO hard on, that I hadn't REALLY soaked in the distance I had traveled.

He told me regularly: "You're so serious." Guilty.

The question was about why I felt like I had to Buck Up? What was the big deal. He was drawing out my WHY....my REASON.....stripping it all the way back. LOL! I don't think the answer was what he may have expected, but it didn't take me long to realize that he digs conversation that matters. He could care less about the fluff & any form of being timid or politically correct. Once I INSISTED I wanted to answer....he would not accept the fluff. The skirting around the actual question....any trace of it. It was such a fun conversation....such a good one.

This year I was awarded a scholarship to attend the National Auctioneer Association Conference and Show. We are less than a week away & the person that I wanted to sit down with the most was Scott. I didn't realize how much I was looking forward to it until a friend sent me a text & I saw the posts on Facebook that he died. I am HONORED to have met him. I am...annoyed with myself that I didn't ask him all the stuff I wanted to & that we had opened conversation about. So....although it really sucks that he's gone, if I learn anything from him - it's to get to it. Don't mess around. Don't fluff or dodge or wait. Jam out to that song. Drink the beer. Dance the dance & LIVE the life that I was blessed with....all the way....and maybe...don't be so serious. :)

His question is essential to my CAI II assignment, which is...building my Business Plan. That one question he asked....that no one else had, the way he asked it... is my WHY, which can sometimes get clouded in the work and the getting there. He brought me back to it, he made me think about it & is helping me connect the dots. 

I truly believe that, although he isn't walking this earth with us anymore, he is still present and essential. I can only imagine the projects he's planning with our Maker. 

If you are wondering...."Why the Apple icon?" It's because he loved all things Apple. He loved technology. You may notice that many of my Auctioneer friends across the country have changed their profile pic. This is why. In Scott's honor, in his memory. 

Value people. Value THEIR story. Help people. Embrace who you are and what makes you, you. It's important. Educate yourself. Just a few nuggets of encouragement & wisdom from Mr. Scott King.