Greatness Is All Around Us — If We Notice

Greatness Is All Around Us — If We Notice

Imagine this: you’re rushing through a busy subway station in Washington, D.C., late for work, juggling coffee and phone calls. A violinist is playing just feet away, but you don’t stop — after all, it’s just background noise.

Except it wasn’t. That man in a baseball cap was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest living violinists. The night before, he’d performed at the Library of Congress to a sold-out crowd. That morning, in the subway, more than 1,000 people walked past him. In 45 minutes, only a handful stopped to listen. His tip jar? Thirty-two dollars.

Same music. Same virtuoso. Different audience awareness.

Key Connection for Meeting Planners

That’s not just a story about music — it’s a story about us. About how easily we miss beauty, opportunity, and even the people right in front of us because we’re rushing to the next thing.

In the work you do — leading associations, guiding teams, creating events that connect — awareness is the first step in making a difference.

Here’s how I frame it in my keynote, The ART of Making a Difference:

• Awareness: Recognizing the hidden opportunities, the overlooked talents, and the small moments that can change everything.

• Resourcefulness: Turning what you already have into something greater, often in creative and unexpected ways.

• Timing: Seizing the moment before it passes, because impact lives in the present.

Joshua Bell didn’t stop playing when no one noticed — the gift was still there. The question is whether people were tuned in enough to receive it.

In your organization, in your community, in your own life — what extraordinary gifts are waiting to be noticed?

That’s the message I bring to audiences: helping them pause long enough to see, to hear, and to act on the opportunities to make a difference.