Med League's first booth

I decided to try exhibiting at an attorney’s conference when Med League was 6 years old (in 1995). The first opportunity was an American Justice A (then ATLA) conference called Weekend with the Stars held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Having never exhibited before, I sought out a colleague who knew the ropes, and she gave me a large teddy bear to sit on my booth to attract attention. Teddy wore a patient gown and a cervical collar. Hanging above his head was an IV bag  with 500 cc of Dextrose and Water. An ace bandage was wrapped around his arm. A sign near him said, “This patient needs a nurse.” Reactions to Teddy were mixed. I noticed that children and women enjoyed him, whereas the male attorneys gave him a wide berth or ignored him.

The exhibit was a success. I met an attorney at the Weekend with the Stars who appreciated what I had to offer. When I called him to set up an appointment to go to his office, there was a lot of background noise. When I asked him if he could hear me, he requested that I speak louder. “I’m in my private helicopter”, he told me. I was so intimidated by that statement that I nearly hung up. All the negative self talk came flooding in, as in “Who do you think you are, Pat, to want to work with an attorney who has a private helicopter?”

But I persisted and met with him. When I looked at a case in his office that day, I saw something that everyone else had missed. It was a critical factor in the liability of the case. From then on, we worked closely together and still do.

See the dangers of giving into negative self-talk? Have you ever almost talked yourself out of an opportunity? Tell us about it.