People are, by nature, herd animals, and as life unfolds most of us will meet thousands. The vast majority will bounce off and wash away like beach sand, but some will stick like Band-Aids. A far smaller number have lasting impact. Only a few will enter your personal Hall of Fame.
Who are those people? If you took the time to think through and list the non-relatives who have unforgettably shaped your life, who are your Hall of Famers?
More than 19,000 men have played Major League baseball. Just over one percent—only 235 men—have been honored as the very best by the sport’s Hall of Fame since its inaugural class in 1939. Simply getting paid to play baseball at any level is extraordinarily difficult. Just one in 200 high school ballplayers (0.5%) get drafted into professional baseball.
Hall of Famers are special. These are the men and women who have impacted our lives in truly significant ways. HOFers are hopefully more positive than negative. Emotional trust and vulnerability leads to evolving stories of love and heartbreak, happiness and scars, memories and candle burning struggles to forget. Relationships tend to travel staircase levels, with some transcending others in head, heart, and visceral reaction.
I pondered this concept the other day while walking my dogs, thinking back through the women, friends, doctors, and influence makers who have escorted me from aspiring teen to wrinkles and memories. Sifting through selective recall is a journey through wistful recollection and eternal gratitude.
A retired octogenarian doctor came out of retirement to restore my hearing when inner ear disease reduced me to functional deafness at age 26. A petite legend at the small college I attended kept tabs on me through the years, cheering me on as life pivoted from chasing corporate numbers to helping others help themselves. A legendary boxing trainer calmed me down, defused my anger, taught me to be nice, and stayed in touch for decades. These people, in the life I’ve led, are in my Hall of Fame.
No Hall is complete without recognizing those whose roots tangled around the heart. One woman taught me what love is, another how to give more than take, and a third crushed my soul like a cold assassin. Part of living is dying, and I think that love is one of the few things in life that provides a dry run. All three belong in the Hall.
These are difficult times that provide time to think. Think about who belongs in your Hall of Fame. Smile when you honor their enshrinement. Thanks to those very special people, life is truly wonderful.