Open Your Mind To The Opinions And Perspectives Of Others

A short story

Photo by Mert Talay on Unsplash

Open Your Mind To The Opinions And Perspectives Of Others 

Henery X, 2024 ©

Oscar Wilson and two hundred and ninety-nine other people sat in a large conference room in Las Vegas, Nevada. The thirty-five-year-old African American from Detroit couldn’t believe that everyone in the room was successful because they were avid readers and had open minds, just like him. The guest speaker for today was also in the same category but, his success exceeded anything everyone else present had ever imagined possible. The speaker in question had started a group dedicated to avid readers who had achieved success primarily because of it. Oscar signed up shortly after learning of the group in question. This meeting marked the first in-person gathering of the group, and everyone present was eager and excited to hear what would be said. Many of the men and women present were engaged in various conversations.

A sudden hush overtook the once verbally active space. The man of the hour had just officially made his presence known.

“Welcome everyone,” Calvin Paterson said cheerfully. Calvin Paterson, a well-groomed African American man, was dressed sharply. He didn’t look a day over thirty, though he was sixty years old.

Everyone offered some form of acknowledgement to their host.

“It’s an absolute pleasure to see you all. One reason I called for our first of many meetings is so you all could see and hear the power of being an avid reader and possessing an open mind. All of us here are successful primarily because of the two aforementioned truths. Isn’t that amazing?”

Everyone offered some form of verbal agreement.

“I want each one of you to stand and tell us your name, where you’re from, and to share briefly what success you have experienced, thanks to being an avid reader and possessing an open mind. We’ll begin in the back and work our way forward.”

A woman standing near the back handed a man sitting nearest to her a cordless microphone. The man, after receiving the microphone, did as requested, and held everyone’s attention.

Each story was so motivating. Many of the people were taking notes, with one of them being Oscar. He was totally in awe of every person who spoke.

After an hour and a half, the time had come for Oscar to speak his truth, and he was both nervous and excited.

“Hello everyone. My name is Oscar Wilson, and I’m from Detroit, Michigan. Because of being an avid reader and having an open mind, I’ve spoken at schools throughout the state of Michigan.”

Like it had been with everyone that came before him, the group and the host applauded Oscar’s success.

“Thank you everyone. My primary focus is enlightening the youth on the importance of reading and possessing an open mind. The opinions and perspectives of others can literally change our lives for the best, as all of us here can attest to. Thank you for listening.”

Everyone applauded again as Oscar sat down.

“Absolutely incredible testimonies,” Calvin said. Now, it’s time for me to share mine. But before I do, I want to share my definitions of the words’ opinion and perspective. An opinion is our personal feeling about something, while a perspective is our personal experience pertaining to something. Both have the power to confirm or change our views, which makes them equally valuable."

Everyone applauded.

“Thanks to possessing an open mind, the opinions and perspectives of others allowed me to see how important my own were. This revelation would lead me to becoming a motivational speaker. And to date, I have spoken before hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world. Each one of you here today paid two hundred dollars to come hear what I had to say. That’s sixty thousand dollars being an avid reader and possessing an open mind helped me to secure. And this is literally the smallest group of people I have ever spoken to. So, you can just imagine the revenue I’ve generated doing what I love.”

Everyone applauded.

“And just think, I never even graduated from high school. The bulk of my knowledge came from being an avid reader and possessing an open mind. Thanks to the two aforementioned realities, I would not only secure my GED, but I would eventually graduate from Ohio State University with a degree in public speaking as well.”

Calvin’s last share left the diverse group of men and women speechless.

“Yes, that’s the power of being an avid reader and possessing an open mind. We can literally change our lives for the best. Our shared stories will help others to realize the greatness that dwells within them. This is why events like this are very vital. All of us here today will be leaving with something we didn’t come with—new insight. I saw a number of you were taking notes, which is a great thing. And for those of you who weren’t, no worries. This entire moment is being recorded, and each one of you will receive a copy before we part ways.”

Everyone applauded.

“Now is the time for us all to network. Exchange information so we can stay in touch with one another beyond our face-to-face group meetings. Yes, this will be an annual thing. Every year we’ll meet up somewhere new and share the evolved versions of our stories. And I know without doubt they’ll be way more people here next time. Right!”

Everyone offered a verbal agreement.

The End.

An opinion is our personal feeling about something, while a perspective is our personal experience pertaining to something. Both have the power to confirm or change our views, which makes them equally valuable.

Remember. I'm not here to convince you to believe. I'm here to offer you something else to consider.

May your success continue to exceed your highest expectations.