Brian Kinney Encounter

It's quite amazing to have someone come up to you and say that years ago you did or said something that made a difference in their life. It happened to me today. He approached me. I could recognize the face, yet my memory failed me. After a handshake however, it all came back.

Brian Kinney is an Air Force Personnel Officer at AFIT (Wright-Patterson AFB). He and I spent some time in Alabama in 2003 at Air & Space Basic Course. It was sometime during those several weeks together that I gave a financial planning brief to my classmates. It turns out that those few hours spent explaining the different investment options manifested themselves in Brian taking charge of his financial future. To my pleasant surprise, five years later, Brian is about to graduate with a Masters degree in Financial Planning, and he thanked me for inspiring him.


Well, this is a feel-good message because the encounter helped me re-prioritize. You see, life isn't about how expensive your house is or how fast your car drives. Life isn't about having the biggest toys or slaving for the next promotion. Who cares if you live in a trailer or have a townhouse in NYC's Upper East Side? Caviar or grits, opera or Kid Rock? Life is truly about how people will remember you and how you may have influenced their lives. The latter holds true, especially so, for those that you most love. The encounter with Brian allowed me to refocus on the important things that I sometimes lose sight of: being a good friend, a good husband, a good father. Brian Kinney, good luck! And it is I who should be thanking you.