I noticed this morning that Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) posted a link on Twitter to his first-ever Wine Library TV episode (Feb. 2006). Since he announced his “retirement” earlier this week, I decided to take a quick trip down Memory Lane.

I admit, I got a kick out of it. But, it also struck a chord with me. More on that in a minute.

To be honest, as soon as the video started to play, it triggered something in my brain that recalled the old Highlights Magazine activities I used to do as a kid - which one of these things is not like the other?

Here are the things I noticed immediately:

Episode 1 - February 2006
 

• It’s dark - Hey, it was Episode 1 - no lights yet.
• “Cool camera” from Best Buy - It’s a far cry from the HD digital video we saw in later episodes. Has that VHS warble…
• No fancy intro - No music. No graphics. Just Gary and a little bit of text.
• The walls are bare - No Jets swag, no chalkboard, no nothing.
• Less intimate - Looks like (Chris) Mott was shooting from the back wall of the office. Later episodes were shot tighter on Gary and the wines, making it feel more personal.
• Both sleeves are down - Gary’s known for, among many things, rocking the one-sleeve-up, one-sleeve-down look.
• Lame spit bucket - Gary upgraded to metal in Episode 76, a Jets-themed pail in Episode 136, then alternated a couple others until finally settling in with his cherished Jets helmet.
• A whole lot less “thunder” - Gary is very conservative and almost “corporate” in Episode 1, even introducing himself as “Director of Operations” instead of the now famous “I am your host…”
• He uses “real” flavor descriptions - Gary ultimately moved to more colorful descriptions like “racquetball,” “Big League Chew,” “sweaty sock,” and “sheep butt,” which skyrocketed his “uniqueness quotient.”

Episode 1,000 - March 2011
 

However, the progression from Episode 1 to Episode 1000 serves to illustrate why Gary has been so successful. The way I see it, the five biggest drivers of his success have been:

• Vision - From the very beginning, Gary knew he wanted to “change the wine world.” Though time, technology, tactics, etc. have changed, his vision has not. 
• Tenacity - Also known as “hustle.” Gary works until his “eyes bleed.” He has a tireless work ethic. “It’s not enough. We always want to do more… We’re going to get better. We’re going to keep pushing it.” - Gary in Episode 1.
• Sincerity - Gary genuinely cares about what he does and the people he works with and serves, and it comes across in every interaction (including in person, to which I can personally attest).
• Chops - He knows his stuff… cold.
• Gratitude - At the end of the first episode, Gary ended with the words “Thanks so much.” Nine hundred ninety-nine episodes later, he still signed off with words of sincere gratitude and appreciation: “Thank you forever… I love you.” Heck, he even wrote a book about it - The Thank You Economy (affiliate link).

I firmly believe that the development of these five traits will help anyone who wants to be successful in business - and life - get there. Which ones do you have nailed? Which ones do you need to work on? Are there any I missed?

I think we all have (at least) one; that one teacher who had a significant impact on our life. Mine was my 7th grade history teacher, Neville Austin.

I grew up loving history - something passed down from my Grampy Shelton. He was born in 1918 and was a walking History Channel special - he lived through the Great Depression, he witnessed the Hindenburg explosion, he saw Albert Einstein on his walk to and from work in Princeton, NJ, he was one of the first people in the country to spread the word of the attack on Pearl Harbor while serving as a U.S. Army telegraph operator, he helped change the healthcare finance industry and was posthumously inducted into the Healthcare Hall of Fame at the University of Pennsylvania. He didn’t just love history, he lived history.

So, naturally, a history teacher would be a pretty obvious candidate to be “that teacher.” But, that’s not entirely why.

As a kid, I moved around quite a bit. The start of 7th grade - for me - meant entering my third school in four years and making the jump to Junior High.

Mr. Austin was a fun, passionate, enthusiastic guy who you could tell loved to teach and loved being around his students. I think every kid in the class - even notorious troublemakers - respected him. He taught us more than history. 

It was in his class that I met my life-long best friend. In fact, at the end of the school year, we bought Mr. Austin a Boston Celtics championship flag that listed all of their (up to that point) World Championships. He was a Celtics/Larry Bird fanatic and we saw it as a way to show our appreciation.

Over the past 23 years, I have often thought of Mr. Austin, remembering his enthusiasm, encouragement and life lessons, wondering what he was up to.

Then, a couple weeks ago, my wife Rachel was working on a post for SpreadLurve.com and it really got me thinking. I had also seen her writing (handwritten) notes of love, gratitude and encouragement to people every day for several days straight and it truly inspired me. I wanted to track down Mr. Austin. 

I managed to find his son’s email address (he’s now a teacher in my old junior high) and asked him to pass my information along to his dad. That was Tuesday. I had a message in my Inbox yesterday morning that included the following:

This is the original Neville Austin. I am starting my 35th year. That makes me 56 if your counting.

He still has a sense of humor. :-)

Finally, after all this time, I could share this with him:

Over the course of the past 20+ years (is that possible?!), I have thought of you often. Why? Quite simply, you were “that teacher” for me. I think we all have (at least) one; the teacher who had the single greatest impact on you during your educational journey.

So, for that, I want to say thank you.

Your passion for history, for students, and for life was clearly evident, even to a wide-eyed 7^th grader who was in his third school in four years. You made learning fun, but also took ‘education’ seriously – taking it beyond the textbook into ‘real life’. In fact, to this day, I use with my own kids - Samantha (9) and Sophia (3) – a maxim that you shared with us back then: “Can’t means won’t.”

Your legacy clearly reaches beyond the end of each passing school year and I thought you should know that. So, thank you so much for caring enough to teach, and for sharing yourself with your students.

While the banner Bryan (He was Best Man in my wedding, by the way. We met in your class.) and I gave you back in ’88 is now outdated due to another Celtics title, I certainly hope it hangs proudly somewhere and can now serve as a reminder of not only great basketball, but also of a student whose life you’ve touched forever.

That was it. After more than 20 years, I just wanted to say “thank you” and to tell him how much his presence in my life meant to me.

But, then, the real blessing. His response:

In these times when teachers seem to be the bad guys again………you have touched my very soul.  You never know whether your time has made an impact. I am truly blessed to know in some small way I have been a part of your life. Please give Bryan my best………and yes my banner hangs next to my picture of Larry Bird.  Good luck in all that you do and God Bless you and your family!

Neville

That response is the point of this post: You can touch someone’s SOUL by simply taking 10 minutes to tell them that they matter to you.

Who is it for you? What are you waiting for?