The Going On Faith Conference always presents interesting and encouraging speakers for delegates to enjoy. This year’s conference, scheduled for August 22-24 in the Amish region of Holmes County, Ohio, will offer an inspirational speaker with a remarkable story.
Professional speaker and award-winning author Rob Quillen from Omaha, Nebraska, will address the conference. His message, in a nutshell, is about how to change our lives by changing the lives of others. In a talk that follows the theme of his first book, “Why Wait?,” Quillen conveys the importance of making the dreams of others come true.
While aboard a commercial flight bound for Newark, New Jersey, the night before the tragic events of 9/11, Rob Quillen had a remarkable and coincidental encounter with a stranger in the seat next to him. That man profoundly changed Quillen’s life and the lives of countless others, forever.
“Every time I talk about this I get emotional,” Quillen told Going On Faith Magazine in a pre-conference interview. “I don’t usually talk to anyone on a plane, but during our flight together, for some reason, the man told me about a dream he had for his 15-year-old son.” Quillen explained further details about the chance encounter but asked that they not be shared yet with the Going On Faith Conference delegates until he addresses them in person in August.
Quillen says he was encouraged to write a book about his experience. “I was urged to talk about what I learned from the events of 9/11,” said Quillen. “So I wrote ‘Why Wait?’” All proceeds from the book go back to a foundation Quillen is part of. “In my speech, I challenge people to use the abilities they have to make others’ dreams come true today, and why we wait until it is too late,” Quillen said.
Quillen does not describe himself as a motivational speaker. He says some of those professionals are only out to make a buck and often preach messages about helping yourself to get better today. “That’s not the point of this. Instead, why don’t we take today and make somebody else better?”
Quillen says he speaks often to young audiences and asks them to think about the two most important days in their lives. One is the day they were born, he says. The other is the day they will figure out why they were born.
“For me, it took the tragic events of 9/11 to figure out why I am even here,” he said. “I am here to tell, teach and show everybody that life isn’t about us but about making a difference in somebody else’s life.”
Quillen has taken his message to audiences around the country and the globe and has been featured in many dozens of broadcast and print media stories.
For more information or to register for the conference go to www.gofconference.com.
