The People You Never Met

Over a few beers at my favorite bar in Dallas, a good friend posed an interesting question that I have never received before. He asked all of us at the table what one book we would write. I thought about it for a while before coming up with my answer.

Whether out of sheer coincidence or through some special deep relationships, I have had the good fortune to get to know various people at a deeper level than most knew them. Some are fabulous friends that I just know that well, and others are just people that I happened to be in the right place at the right time to see an unusual side of them. But regardless, I truly believe that most people are far deeper than what you would find out about them in a few meetings or even in a few years.

I don't want to divulge anyone's identity or anything, but I could tell you stories of hearing the raw realities that come out of people's mouths when you're talking one on one after the other person has had a half dozen beers. The ever-so-slight change in a person's demeanor that happens when a certain song comes on that makes you ask a relatively innocuous question that leads to a heartfelt discussion. The strikingly different personality that you observe when you see a person in a radically different environment. It's a beautiful thing. The people you might think were strong and tough may in reality be surprisingly close to tears when a certain topic of conversation comes up. The people you thought were drunken womanizers might have a remarkable quality of love and deep respect for one single female. The people you thought were simple, surface deep normal people might have a heartwrenching tale of emotional turmoil in their family.

And then you might have me.