Have you ever had the experience of wisdom coming right after you? You’re in a meeting, having a conversation, and suddenly—something hits you like a thunderbolt. It’s a moment of clarity, a shift in perspective, a realization that sticks with you long after.
That’s our job as MSLs: Providing our KOLs with that thunderbolt. They may not react in the moment, they may not even show it, but they will remember it. Just like you remember yours.
I had a moment like this years ago.
As an undergrad philosophy major at Loyola, I was fortunate to have Dr. Dick Westley for many of my courses. He was on fire with his content—passionate about Feuerbach, Marx, Thomas, and Plato. Every class was inspiring, fun, challenging, and gave a glimpse into not just the material, but the man behind it.
Fast forward 40 years later, and I found myself at a faculty meeting at Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus, sitting next to him. My favorite professor. But this time, he was close to retirement—his posture drooped, his fire dimmed. The energy I once saw in him wasn’t as vibrant.
I leaned over and said:
"Dick, I want to thank you for being my best teacher. I loved every class. You inspired me. I hope someday I will be for others as good a teacher for them as you were, and still are, for me.”
He paused, looked at me, and then—his fire reignited. His eyes lit up as he said:
"Well, Kev, when you've got it… you got it!"
And in that moment, he reminded me of something powerful.
Thunderbolts happen when we connect with meaning.
In part two, I’ll share how we can create those thunderbolt moments for our KOLs—because data without meaning? It’s just data hanging out there.
What’s a thunderbolt moment that’s stuck with you?