I’ve taken a good
number of trips in my life. In my teens I was fortunate enough to have ventured
to Europe and spent time in Germany, London, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain
and Belgium. Across the U.S. I have lived
in Los Angeles, Hawaii and New York. I’ve driven from coast to coast in the
U.S., and have seen majestic sunsets in mountain and plain settings. My wife
and I have together traveled to Florida, Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan,
Charlotte, Charleston and the Mexican Riviera. And between you and I, they all
paled in comparison to my recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee.
That’s right, yours
truly ventured South recently to pay a visit to the man, the myth, the legend
himself, Dave Ramsey, at Financial Peace Plaza.
Since our marriage has now been a debt free one for almost a year
(anniversary date on July 4th!) we decided to pay Mr. Ramsey a visit
to share our success with him, and take in a live recording of his radio show.
I should have known
from the second we pulled into the driveway that something great was going to
happen, even now it gives me chills just thinking about it. As we parked in a
spot, exited our vehicle and glared in awe at the house that Ramsey built, I
began to notice a man who was walking to his car, and glancing coyly at
me. After a minute or so of feeling his
eyes on me, I decided to say hello, fully expecting him to ask me about where I
was in the baby step process. I then
imagined in that moment we would both share that we were debt free and working
towards paying cash for a house, and then we would exchange hugs fit for bros
and give one another enthusiastic high-fives.
After I said hello, the man looked at me with a smile, and asked me
probably the funniest question I’ve ever been asked in my life, “Aren’t you Jon
Acuff?!?!” I would love to say that I rolled with it and asked him if I could
sign a copy of “start” for him but instead I happily said no, but it does beg
the question, is this the mug of a quitter?
As we walked through
the entrance doors of Financial Peace Plaza, my wife took my hand into hers,
looked into my eyes and said, “we made it.”
And she was right. We had worked our tails off for three years paying
off our $80,000 of debt and said we would venture to Ramsey’s studio when we
did. And we were exactly where we wanted to be in life; together, debt free, in
love and happy. So with misty eyes we
walked through the entrance doors and immediately froze in our tracks, because
the first person we saw as we walked in, was my personal hero himself, Dave Ramsey.
During commercial
breaks Dave leaves his studio to meet with the financial pilgrim debit-fighting
fans that make it to his headquarters. Yes I was as giddy as a child and yes I
will remember meeting Dave for the rest of my life. I gave Dave a handshake and
told him that his financial program saved my life, strengthened our marriage
and that I could not thank him enough. My wife by passed a handshake and
wrapped her arms around him in a big hug and I’m pretty sure she felt the same
way I did. We captured the moment with this photo-op.
It was a culmination
of things really that made this moment so momentous for me. For one I don’t have many heroes as an adult,
or figures that inspire me. And to get
to meet Dave and share my story, and for him to be so humble, to praise God int
eh midst of it all, well meeting Dave was everything I could have imaged and
then some. But I also crossed a
psychological barrier during this. I realized,
truly, how far I’ve come. I went form a clueless kid, and grew into a confident
and capable financial samurai. And getting a better grip on my finances helped
me learn to communicate and build my marriage into a great one, and it became
the catalyst for me to become a better man. Through it I prioritize saving,
live below my means, put plans in place and follow through on them, and most
importantly – dream!
But that was only just
the beginning of my trip to Nashville…stay tuned for part two…coming soon…
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