In 2008 a coaching client passed along a copy of Every Day is Game Day to a man named Charlie “Tremendous” Jones. Within a few weeks, I was conversing via e-mail with Mr. Jones, discussing his thoughts about this little book I had written. The relationship grew into telephone conversations.
I was blown away by the wise counsel I received from such an influential person whom I had never met, but who gave his time away to me so freely.
The relationship developed to the point that he invited me and my son to spend time with him at his home in Mechanicsburg, PA.
My son had never heard of Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, but after hearing about the wisdom this man had shared with me, he became excited about the trip.
Getting there was a blur. The time we were with this wonderful man will be embedded in my heart forever.
It started with a hug.
When we arrived at his home, he came out on the porch to greet us. After a congenial welcome, he opened his arms and gave us an unforgettable hug. Now, I’m a hugger, and I’ve given and received thousands of hugs in my life… but a hug from Charlie "Tremendous" Jones was unique.
At this point, some readers might be wondering, who is this man?
At the time we went to Mechanicsburg, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones was one of the most influential people in the world. He had been recognized by the National Speakers Association as one of the top twenty speakers of the 20th century. His teaching, through seminars and books, had touched countless thousands of people around the world. His book Life is Tremendous had been translated into twelve languages with over 2,000,000 copies in print.
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones is frequently quoted, and you’ve probably heard his most famous quote: “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
As you may imagine, we were very excited to hang out with someone with as much to share as Mr. Jones. On into the late evening, he imparted nugget after nugget of wisdom. There were several times that my son and I glanced over at each other in amazement.
Nothing I have shared so far has indicated the state of Mr. Jones health at the time of our visit. You see, he was very weak, to the point where he could barely speak. He had to pause after almost every sentence to regain his breath. He was gallantly fighting a battle with cancer. Yet he wanted to devote every ounce of strength he had to benefit others - right up to the end of his life.
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones gave himself away, one breath at a time.
What are you giving away?
A NOTE FROM CHARLIE’S FAMILY…
At 4 pm, October 16, 2008, Charles Edward “Tremendous” Jones, with family at his side, triumphantly entered the gates of Heaven. We can only imagine the joy that he experienced!
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Tags: Challenges, Giving, Helping Others, Inspiration
Tremendous Tim! I shared your beautiful blog with the entire team here at Tremendous Life Books. We are busy carrying on the legacy of my father and our founder, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones. From the picture you posted to your sharing of your time with Dad, it just warmed my heart. Thank you for continuing to share his impact with others and for promoting a love of others, books and Christ. God bless you and all you do!
I think about that a lot but honestly mostly when I am not being the person I want people to remember. It never fails that after I have a little meltdown or bully someone into “seeing it my way” I then begin to worry. What if that 15 minutes is what that person remembers. It only takes a few seconds to undo all you have done over a lifetime.
Thanks for these posts Tim!
Tracey, I certainly hope this blog post reaches a lot of people. Your dad was certainly TREMENDOUS and impacted more people than even he knew. I hope this blog post leads people who knew him back to his material so they can share it with others, and I hope it introduces people who did not know him to his work which lives on through what you guys are doing at Tremendous Life Books. Your dad introduced me to Executive Books while we were there in PA with him and I am so happy you guys are keeping his legacy going with Tremendous Life Books. Your products and prices are amazing!
Todd, you are absolutely right. Seconds can undo a lifetime. You know, if we do the right thing during those seconds, they are just building blocks to a wonderful life.
Todd, thanks for sharing this story. I only became “aware” of this great man about one year ago, and his wisdom is both inspiring and encouraging to me as I develop my own speaking style. Thank God for the books and cd’s that he made — I’m enjoying them all.
Hey J, the more you know about Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, the more you will appreciate him. My original post was so long that we had to cut it back some for the blog. The day after we arrived, he was scheduled to meet with a senior executive with Fox. Only Mr. Charlie and his family knew how many well known and lesser known people came through there each week to get to hang out with him for a few minutes and receive some very wise counsel. After our visit, I called him a few times on his cell to check on him. After he passed, I kept his cell number in the contacts of my phone as a reminder of how he was always open to invest his time in other people.
Good one Tim! Kind of goes hand in hand with my recent quote posted. “Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.” ~ Ralph Marston. The simplest things can make a difference!! Good story!
You nailed it Darwin. You are so right on the simple things making a difference.