We had a 50th surprise birthday party for my sister. One of her friends at work, arranged for a hummer limo to pick a group of 10 women up on Saturday in Levittown and we drove to the North Fork of Long Island to go wine tasting. The tour was arranged by Long Island Wine Tours and they drove us to three vineyards.
At the first, we tasted about four different wines both white and red. We went down to the cellar where they keep the wine in barrels for a certain amount of time to get that “woody” taste. Juan from Chile taught us how to actually taste the difference between a wine being sweet, salty, woody or bitter. There was one he had us taste that had all these tastes in one depending on where it sat on your tongue.
At the last vineyard, I noticed that there was a guitar player. He looked awfully familiar. I went over and got his card and noticed his name was Mike Munzer. Mike Munzer, that sounds familiar I thought. I went up to him. “I know you don’t I?”
“Hilary Topper, it’s me, Mike,” he said.
It was Mike Munzer from Sandler Institute! We represented them last year for a bit to help them increase their exposure and visibility via the press. It was so funny to see him out of context. It made me wonder what other people have double business lives. (BTW, he was amazing! What a fantastic voice!)
I remember when my sister-in-law worked for the Brooklyn DA during the day and was in a punk rock band at night. I’ve also heard from other clients who have told me they are too in a band. But, seeing this guy at the vineyard in the East End really made me think about people’s day jobs versus what they really have a passion for….
Because of the “double life” I lead – Sandler Sales trainer during the week working with hundreds of sales professionals and active performing musician on the weekend – there are so many times I have run into people who know me from my regular business life on the weekend at a gig. My group and I – The East End Trio – do a lot of performing at wineries and restaurants throughout Long Island.
I love seeing the reactions of people when they see me out of the context they are accustomed to seeing me in. The reactions are great fun. I get responses like “I didn’t know you did THIS!” or “What else do I not know about you?” or “Where did you learn to do this?” People are also surprised to learn that I’m schooled guitarist and vocalist – I graduated with a B.A. in Music Education (many years ago). So this is a real passion of mine.
And, there have been many situations where the opposite is true. Someone has seen me performing, they know me as a musician, not a sales trainer/speaker. When they attend a sales talk I was running the same reactions happen. I’ve even had situations where the two worlds “collide” in a great way. I’ve developed great relationships with two new sales training clients through my “double life”. Just goes to show you that – you just never know :o)
All in all, it’s been a wonderful way to make new friends and connections and to reignite existing relationships – big fun, indeed.
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After reading this post, I am not sure I understand what you are trying to relate. Please expand on your thoughts a little more. Thanks
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