Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to the last Monday morning moments of motivation for 2020.

A year, you can use any word you want to describe this one, but a year certainly that none of us

will ever forget. My name is John O'Leary, and the quote that I'd like to begin this episode with

is this, the grass is always greener. On the side you water. The grass is always greener on the side

you water. So here we go. My favorite aspect of speaking is actually not the time on the stage.

It's not the bright lights or the buzz of a packed arena.

It's actually the authentic connection and interactions with individuals afterwards.

What I miss most in the 300 days or so since my last normal live presentation is hugging new

friends.

It's signing their books.

It's hearing their stories.

In a profoundly disruptive year, packed with losses for all of us, direct human connection

with others is another simple joy that we've lost.

And yet, yet I have been reminded and shown again and again the many advantages to virtual

meetings too.

One of my favorite aspects of virtual meetings is the ability to connect and correspond with

participants, all the audience members,

in real time. It's like a one-to-one conversation with a lot of people. It's really awesome.

Technology has afforded the opportunity to both speak with audiences around the world during the

pandemic and to have these real-time conversations with the individuals in the audience

like never before.

As long as they have access to a keyboard, they can answer my questions, they can ask me theirs,

...