I was kidnapped when I was a teenager.
It was during the two days that I was held captive that this blog was written. It has taken 30 years to write the words, but make no mistake about it; these words were written in that car, on those two horrible days.
I learned at age 18, what most people will learn at age 88. When facing certain death, questions come to mind. Most people ask those questions on their deathbeds, and research shows that everyone asks the same questions. It makes no difference how old or young the person is. It makes no difference how rich or poor. These questions are the most important ones you ever ask. The purpose of this blog is to help each of us be prepared for this most final exam.
Taking exams has always been a challenge for me. In my speeches, I joke about how difficult academics has always been for me. I mention that I had friends in college who graduated Magna Cum Laude, and Summa Cum Laude, but I graduated “thank the good Laude.”
Though it’s been over 30 years, I still remember those pop quizzes. I remember the professors walking into the classroom and asking us to take out paper for a quiz. I would protest, “Sir, I don’t think there is a test scheduled for today.” The teacher would respond that this was a pop quiz, and I had no reason to be concerned if I had read the reading assignment over the weekend. Of course this left me quite concerned. I rarely did well on pop quizzes. But I did graduate from college, and here is my secret:
Occasionally I had professors who actually gave out the questions to the exams ahead of time. I always “aced” those exams. I realized the pop quizzes are difficult to be prepared for, but I had no excuse to fail an exam for which I had the questions. In fact, I had no excuse to get less than an A if I had the questions.
So…
Would you like to take a sneak peek at the final exam?
Would you be willing to guess what those last questions are?
Through this blog I will share my perspective of the questions to this most important exam.
I wish for you the courage to prepare, so that your last test offers you peace and comfort.
