How I became someone who could teach is not why I still do. The origin story is real. It just isn’t the ignition. I can still see sixth grade like it was this morning. Small town. Upsala, Minnesota. Grade of about thirty kids. I was not very good at math. I can see the room. The desk at the front. Me bending over it. My teacher telling me it’s okay. Some people are just not good at math, she said, and never will be. ...
The Observation I rolled off as Board Chair of the National Auction Association. The gavel moves. The calendar clears a little. Then the letters arrive. I expected thanks. I expected kindness. What I did not fully expect was the mirror. A few people quoted phrases I say without thinking. Most people did not quote me at all. They described the same few things: showing up when the path was muddled, teaching when the easier move was to protect my time, making room for people who were still figuring out whether they belonged, and caring more about getting a hard call right than about winning the room that day. ...
The Observation In January I stood in front of 100 auctioneers at a state convention and told them “AI assists. You decide.” Three hours of live demos, chaining tools together, a 7-day challenge. I showed them 200 hours of reclaimed marketing time. The room bought in. The closing line about the train leaving the station landed. In February I started one-on-one coaching with a colleague, walking her through the same tools at a slower pace. In March I did it again for 20 community leaders on a Zoom call. And now I’m building a 3.5-hour continuing education course that’s basically the same material refined a fourth time. ...