Scott Ferron

Transcript

I'm in Charleston South Carolina taking a late night tour of the USS Yorktown the Yorktown is a World War II decommission aircraft carrier and as we're making our way through the different rooms and different levels there's this one gentleman that keeps asking all the questions his name is Chad how do you know that I ask he's got an embroidered right here on his jacket so as chat's asking these questions I noticed that people in the group are rolling their eyes Whispering under their breath but the second the guide starts to answer the question everyone's locked in focused listening to everything that he's saying so we

at the end of the tour we're on the main deck the guide says does anyone have any further questions Jet's hand flies up in the air oh yeah how do you get these planes on and off this thing so I'm standing towards the back of the group and as the guides answering the question the gentleman in front of me turns to his wife and says there's always one how many of you out there know a Chad how many of you are a Chad I had to become a Chad I received a phone call from my mom she said Scott I fell I'm in the hospital

and they're running some tests from that day forward the roles reversed I now became the parent so on the day she's discharged I make sure I go in I speak with the doctors and nurses find out what I need to to do going forward to get her back to health stop at the pharmacy pick up the prescriptions make sure I understand her medication get her back to her apartment and make sure she's safe I even start looking into independent living facilities my mom's only 71 years old maybe she wants to interact with more people her age she can come and go as she pleases and

God forbid if she fell again someone's there to help her I thought I had it all figured out but you know what there's one person I didn't consult my mom I'm about to completely transform the way she lives and I haven't even asked her how she feels or what she wants so I decide I'm going to go speak to her before you know it's the next day those days turn into a week those weeks turn into a month so I make my final decision on a Saturday morning I'm going to go over and have my conversation that Friday night I can't sleep I'm wondering what

she's going to say how she's going to react that Saturday morning as I'm driving over I get a phone call from my aunt Scott your mom's not answering the phone don't worry about it I'm on my way over I decide to call her she doesn't answer now I'm starting to get concerned my mom always answers when I call is I unlock the door open it up Mom Mom to the right in the family room she's not there to the left is the kitchen she's not there as I'm walking down the hallway out of the corner of my eye I see something that I never expected

to see and couldn't plan for my mom is peacefully lying in her bed she is now with her maker I still get chills not knowing the answers to the questions that I wanted to ask her I should have been bold and asked the uncomfortable question my mom always took the time to look her best I never got her the chance to say mom what's the outfit You' like to wear for eternity would it have been her black blazer with her white blouse or her Velvet Lounge outfit it was burgundy like the wine she liked to drink at the time I didn't have the courage to

understand her story CU I was too focused on mine when my parents got divorced my mom found a new partner I would later find out that he passed away several months before my mom there is no question my mom died of a broken heart I know that all of you have questions you're hesitant to ask I found over the years in both my professional and personal life that the answers to these questions are for the betterment of many I never again wanted to go through the consequences of not knowing the answer to a question I was hesitant to ask some would say that makes me

Brave so the next time all all of you are with a group of people and someone's asking a bunch of questions and you're rolling your eyes Whispering under your breath there's always one take a close look it very well could be me how will you know you ask I'll have my name embroidered right here on my jacket thank you one speech can change your life Unleash Your power embrace the stri Inspire the world let your story flow and speak slam let your spirit flow

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.

Transcript

my wife and I are visiting our daughter in California and as the both of them are upstairs getting ready I decide I'm going to head downstairs and next to the restaurant that we'll be attending tonight as I open the door I'm instantly hit with this Smoky Hickory smell I noticed that they just lit the pizza oven so I belly on up to the bar order myself a glass of Ky next to me there's an old man at the bar and he is locked into the 49ers game and I just get this deep down feeling I got to talk to this guy so it goes to

commercial I turn towards him I say hi my name is Scott you live in the area he turns towards me and goes hi my name's gust gust with the te yes I do so over the next 15 20 minutes I find out that gust had a family business that distributed bread up and down the coast of California sold it became a financial planner and he's now been retired for well over 30 years I said gust how is that possible how old are you I'm 9 I said gust you don't look at day over 75 so I noticed that my wife and daughter walk in and

I thank gust for his time but I said gust I've got one more question for you before I let you go what's a piece of advice you would give your younger self or someone younger like me and it's like he knew I was going to ask this question before I even did because the second it came out of my mouth he got excited big smile on his face he leaned towards me his eyes opened up and and he said don't wait live your life I know we have all heard that phrase before live your life when I graduated school I got my first job I

thought that's what you do you get a job you save for retirement and once you're retired that's when you live the life of your dreams this is also the time I met my best friend and Mentor John John was the type of guy that the second you met him you connected and became friends with him John also possessed the blueprints to retirement from time to time John and I would put on our investment hard hats we'd review them and I'd say John at my point in my life where I'm at am I on track he said Scott keep doing exactly what you're doing because you

are spoton but I have to tell you after meeting gust with a te I decided to modify my blueprints a little bit from something as simple as making a cup of coffee in the morning for my wife I feel like I'm Emerald I take the cup out I heat it up I put the cream in there Bam put a dash of cinnamon because I know she loves it I hand it to her with a smile she smiles back at me it's the perfect start to our day and there's no question it has strengthened our marriage I have always wanted to start my own business but

my voice or Reason would be barking in my ear hey stupid you're going to fail it's not going to work out I finally flicked him off and I started my coffee Adventure I get to travel to various different coffee producing regions of the world source the finest organic coffee and bring it to my customers am I successful really depends on what you think success is I can tell you this though I've planted that seed and The Roots have taken it has brought me here tonight in front of all of you in May I was sitting right there in the middle of the Luna Lounge my

heart was pumping a million miles a second because I've always wanted to public speak I threw that fear aside and I'm up here tonight in front of all you and I'm so happy I did it it is the day before John retires not only does John retire tomorrow it's his 68th birthday John is so excited he comes up to me Scott I just met with my financial planner today I am ahead of goal check my two boys grown up out of the house check that dream golf trip I've been telling you about for the last 10 years booked there's always been one thing about this

blueprint that's really bothered me though it never had that stamp that seal of approval on it that next day I was the one that woke up to a phone call and the words still haunt me terribly to this day Scott John passed away last night I was numb I was sad but most of all I was angry I was angry because my friend worked so hard to get to retirement to live the life of his dreams I am forever grateful for my friend John my mentor but I am extremely thankful for that old man at the bar he transformed my life moving forward yes I

am not waiting I am living my life and I hope all of you soon meet your old man at the bar and if it happens to be gust with a t tell him I said hello

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.