Rick Warren, Bono and Bob Dylan

I met an interesting guy today who had some great stories. Phil is the
president of a company that does consulting and training work with
Xerox. During one of his presentations, he got on the subject of
authenticity and being other-centered. On this subject, he told a story
about having lunch with Rick Warren and what a great, authentic guy he
was. During a break, I asked him how he'd hooked up with Rick Warren,
and Phil shared with me that he heads up a National Prayer Breakfast for
Fortune 500 CEO's, and as a result of that, has gotten to meet some
pretty fascinating people, including Presidents, Bono and Bob Dylan, all
of whom were speakers at the breakfasts.

He shared with me the time he spent with Bono, and their conversation
about why Bono does what he does for the poor in Africa. It was
interesting hearing it in the context of a business discussion, that
Bono's goal is basically to re-brand the way people see Africa, and to
make it into something that's not just a problem too big to overcome,
but something that can be healed. He shared with me some great stories,
including going to Bono's house in Ireland and getting a tour of it. He
had about a half hour of time to hang out with Bob Dylan as well, and
after sharing what a tiny little fella Bob is, he told me some great
stories about hanging with Bob, listening to him talk in his famous
inflection and what a down-to-earth guy he is.

I think there's a part of me that's just fascinated by people like Bono
and Dylan because of their fame, but I also love hearing good stories,
and Phil related a number of great ones. Interesting guy. I could have
spent hours talking to him. He also looks just like B movie cult actor,
Bruce Cambell. Same chin and everything.