Extraordinary Influence

9Motivating High PotentialsThe Four Transformations to Extraordinarily Influence the Best

My wife, Anne, and I call him Saint Ted. We are incredibly grateful that he stepped into our older son's life during a crucial developmental period. We believed Jim had tremendous potential to achieve a very high orbit in his life, and we did all that we could to help him fulfill that potential. However, there are some things that even the most well-intentioned parents cannot do for their children, and at those times, every parent prays that some important role model will step into the gap and help their child through a vital life transition. Saint Ted was the answer to our prayers.

Every year, Mr. Benning chose a couple of young guys to work for his highly regarded construction company. One night during Christmas break of Jim's first year of college, Mr. Benning called Jim and gave him the coveted invitation to work for him during the next summer after he completed his freshman year. Jim jumped at the chance and looked forward to the summer when he could don a hard hat and boots and work with the cool, big guys as they build impressive commercial structures.

Some vitally important life traits are better caught than taught. Emotional resilience is one of those. Understanding the dictionary definition does nothing to build those fibers of strength so vitally needed for a successful life. Anne and I were proud of all that Jim had accomplished to date and believed his trajectory was sound, ...