I didn't publish a Living Locally ... Globally issue in August, and I blame it on The Max. The Max is a vision of mine slowly becoming a reality larger than I ever imagined. It is the reason I am now officially un-retired.
The Max will be a place where people gather for something important and meaningful, where memories are made with family, friends, customers, prospects, employees, local community and across the globe. The Max will deliver a first-class experience, has a stage that is a perfect place to deliver corporate or personal messages, performing arts and educational content and is connected to the world with high-speed fiber optic internet. It is equipped with the latest technology to support high end broadcast production and recording needs to set the stage for your next gathering by taking sound, lighting, video, and global connectivity to the MAX. Our goal is for it to be the place where dreams turn into an experience of a lifetime.
But, there is more. The Max is a memorial to Max Henry who was a barber in Conway for 57 years. He spent his life having conversations at the barber chair, taking good care of his customers. Max was the man I waved to every morning as I walked by the big windows of the Country Gentleman Barber Shop on my way to Rock-Pond Solutions next door. Every day he and his loyal assistant Vicki would have lunch at the small table in the barber shop. It wasn't until a few month before he left us that I learned that Vicki was not his wife. When he passed, I went to his visitation and waited for over an hour to pay my last respects. As I left I noticed the line was longer than when I arrived. It has been so special to spend time with Vicki and Brenda to talk about Max, who he was and the impact he had on so many people. I can't wait to see what they come up with for the front area to share his legacy with those who remember him.
In October The Max will come to life and I can't wait to see what it will become. Right now it is somewhere between unlimited potential and opportunity frustration. The picture above is amazing, but honestly, it is still a construction zone and only a glimpse of what is coming. The final venue will be over the top. When I sold Rock-Pond Solutions three years ago I never dreamed this was in my future. I have a deeper understanding of what Steve Jobs meant when he said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards."
So, today, this is "How I see It", in spite of my disappointment that I missed a month delivering this newsletter. It is a great feeling to put every bit of passion you can muster into something and sit back and be amazed at what becomes of it.