By David Lund
This pop culture expression was coined by Andy Warhol and a friend Nat Finkelstein in 1968. I’m taking some liberties here but in 1968 it was 15 minutes of fame and in today’s world – who’s got 15 whole minutes anymore – it’s 15 seconds!
This story is about my 15 seconds of so-called fame. Fame to me is a funny concept: Who would actually like to be famous and have people bothering you all the time? You lose your privacy and lord knows that could be just a little bit embarrassing from time to time with very little privacy. That’s not for me. I remember writing an answer to this question on a leadership program application. The question was, What’s the one thing you want us to know about you that you probably don’t normally tell anyone? I wrote, I want to be just a little famous.
My story starts and finishes in the same place. I only have 15 seconds so it’s hard to stretch that into more than just one place. Johanne and I had just started our most recent European vacation and this time it was Portugal. We had flown from LA to Zurich only to spend several hours waiting for our flight to Lisbon. If you ever must do a layover in Zurich, check out the three different Star Alliance lounges in that airport. They even have a whiskey bar in one that has over 175 different labels for you to sample. Yum.
We finally got to Lisbon and it was late, so we had a hotel at the airport and first thing the next day we got our rental car and headed south. Our destination was Armacao de Pera in the Algarve, about 300 km. Along the way we stopped for lunch in a little town called Alcacer do Sal, that just happened to be celebrating its 800th birthday.
On our way out of town we see the sign for the town’s castle. We were not in a big hurry so we exited and drove up the steep drive to the castle parking lot.
From the parking lot we saw signs that indicated it was actually a hotel. We made our way inside and we were in what we thought was the lobby but there was no one to greet us.
So, what did we do?
Like any good hotel snoops, we started exploring and looking around.
We gave ourselves quite a good tour and suddenly we saw a man coming our way. It was obvious by the way he was dressed and walking toward us that we were about to be asked to leave. You know the feeling you get when you’re in a place that you shouldn’t be….
“May I help you?” he asked.
I replied that we were just checking out the hotel and he was just about ready to show us the door when he said, “I think I know you. You’re the Hotel Financial Coach!”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m David Lund,” I replied. He smiled and he told us that he’s a regular reader of my weekly blog and a fan. Wow – I’m famous!
The next words out of his mouth, “Can I give you both a tour of the hotel?”
You don’t have to ask us twice. I replied, “Of course – that would be wonderful.”
For the next few minutes Carlos led us around and told us the history of the castle and its conversion to a hotel. We saw the gardens, the pool, and it is really a well-done conversion that makes you feel like you’re in a real castle and a luxurious hotel.
Carlos is actually the hotel’s General Manager and the company that manages the hotel is a big organization operating hotels throughout Portugal.
Being recognized was a novelty for sure and a great way to start our holiday. Back in the car a few minutes later we had a good laugh around our little adventure and someone literally halfway around the world recognizing me!
So, what’s your 15 seconds? Drop me a note and tell me!
