Days One and Two of Vegas can be found here and here.
I woke on my day three in Vegas with one of my most look forward to adventures: Not slots, Not Cirque de Solei, Not Cher. I was going to go run with new folks. I met a doctor after my initial run, and he invited me to get some miles early Friday morning. I met him and his friend at the Casino, and we were off.
New runners talk about one thing: running. We talked about which races we’ve run, our PR’s, and our overall health. Eventually, families and faith come up, as did individual business. This wasn’t a fast run, nor a long one (10K), but running with new friends (which is what people you run with immediately become) is always a blessing.
As my body made the adjustment to the time zone, one thing was clear. I was starving. I found a way to get good coffee without waiting in line at Starbucks. The café near the casino was as good as Starbucks, the line was never more than 5 deep, and they offered free refills, but again I needed food.
Another discovery was that the Pan Asian place in the food court served omelets in the morning, and they were huge and good. As I waited in line, I met 3 other 10XGrowthCon attendees. They found out I was a pastor, they expressed their faith, and we were soon eating and enjoying a little fellowship. How did they find out I was a pastor? Well, when folks asked, “What do you,” this is what I say.
“I am a pastor, but I consult in the eye industry and write books because I have 3 daughters who I hope will get married and go to college one day.”
These men worked in the real estate and landscaping industry. Like me, they were hoping to, “chew the meat and spit out the bone” of the conference. The time with them was refreshing. We exchanged contact info and headed on in. I’ve since heard from one of them. I hope we keep up.
This day of the 10XGrowthCon was about Marketing. We heard Russel Brunson speak. He is the founder of Clickfunels and a master at selling. He offered a deal to the crowd to sign up for his platform that netted him $3 million dollars in 90 minutes. Those aren’t typos.
Kerri Kasem spoke. She is the daughter of Casey Kasem, famed radio host who was the voice of my childhood. Casey ended each show with, “Keep your feet on the ground and reaching for the stars.” Her story of perseverance was encouraging and inspirational, especially to young women.
Daymond John of Shark Tank spoke. Actually, he was interviewed by Grant Cardone. Daymond’s talk about incredibly practical. Less, “Go out there and work hard,” and more, “These are the nuts and bolts of starting something new.” I got to meet Daymond later on in that day, and we spoke of how we both have 3 daughters. Very nice guy with lots of security.
But the highlight speaker of the day was Roddy Chong. Roddy is, and has been, the violinist for Shania Twain, Celine Dion, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He began by making 9,000 people do calisthenics and stretching. He then launched into his story of fighting to get his gigs, culminating with working with Dion and Twain simultaneously. He played 2 songs for us, and by the end of the talk, everyone gave him a standing ovation with loud cheering. I spoke to him after the event and told him that when a speaker asks me to stand up or do some other motion, I rarely do, but when he did, I didn’t hesitate. He asked me why, and I told him that his style made me trust him. I had the chance to interview with his You Tube channel later on. It hasn’t popped up yet, but I’ll let you know if it does.
The day ended with a networking party that I was unable to attend because of so many strobe lights. Basically, I was left with no one and nothing to do. I stepped into the House of Blues restaurant and chose to eat at the bar because I didn’t want to take up a table for just one person. I struck up a conversation with a gentleman there and learned a few things.
In this conversation, I learned how things can go wrong in Vegas. Thankfully, they didn’t for me, but I saw how it all can happen. This gentleman was in Vegas “entertaining” clients which means paying for whatever they wanted, again which meant doing things that you can only do in Vegas. By 7:30pm, they were already passed out, and he was waiting for them to wake up to take them out to a concert, drinks, and an adult establishment. I was invited along. I saw a few minutes of the concert, but nothing else about that evening held any charm for me. I was not going to any adult establishments. Nope. Ain’t no way.
I walked to my room tired, knowing that the next day for me might very well be 36 hours long. I was full of thought. First, the speakers had me wondering if there were ways the church could “market” itself (make people aware of it), without being cheesy or crass. What are better ways to proclaim Jesus outside of Sunday morning? I also wondered about the gentlemen I left, and prayed they were safe and not doing anything they might regret.
Day 4 of Vegas plus travel lay ahead.
Gordon
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I recently read the, “25 Biblical Laws of Success” by William Douglas and Rubens Teixeira.
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