A speaker who has been coming to Frostburg State University annually for more than a decade spoke to a group of students on Wednesday evening, October 19, 2011. Bobby Petrocelli is a powerful and inspirational speaker on the ways you can make your life better by focusing on the present, and he got to speak to a full room of students in the Lane Center. Though he admits that “I spit when I talk,” Bobby was very interactive and energetic with his audience, while tuned in to their feelings and even spoke directly to a young girl. Students were genuinely interested in what this man had to say to them, especially when he was singing and dancing, and telling about his unique ability to “catch spit” with his hands when he talks.
Bobby began his story with a telling of his life now, and then started into his college life story. Here he met his wife, who he was happily married to for just a few years until her tragic death in a drunk driving accident. But this was no ordinary accident; Bobby told the heartbreaking story of losing his wife to a truck driver that crashed through their bedroom walls in the night. While anyone else could take this story and forget it or put it behind them, Bobby realized the potential to empower others with his journey to understanding. After telling the audience to close their eyes and think for a few seconds, he spoke to this group of students about the importance of time and the present, which only a third of the people were focused on during that time. Using the analogy of the Natasha Bedingfield song “Unwritten”, he encouraged everyone in the room to “open up the dirty window,” meaning it is unhealthy to go through life looking through clouded, unforgiving eyes.
Bobby continued his story to tell about a time when he was generous and giving of himself to another person who needed him. He picked up a young man on a hot December day and took him to work, but didn’t stop there. He was given the opportunity to help this man give his daughter a wonderful Christmas that he otherwise would not have been able to provide. When Bobby finished his story, the most important part was that he said not “Wow, look what I did,” but instead, “Wow, look what I almost didn’t do.” This phrase can be a powerful one to live by, as Bobby explained. When we are given opportunities to help other people, we always need to take them.
It takes empowering stories like these, from ruin to revelation, to truly empower others. But it is what people do with those stories that make them a leader, a powerful speaker, and a motivator for people around the world. Every decision people make in their day-to-day lives will have an effect on the rest of their lives and on those around them. In the words of Bobby Petrocelli, “10 seconds can change your life forever."
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