I am convinced that some people have a knack for memorizing people’s names, and that I am not one of them. As a result of this belief, I used to be terrible at remembering people’s names. Then, several years ago I commented as much to a good friend who told me about the $15,000 question:

“It is not that you can’t memorize people’s names, it is that you don’t think peoples names are worth memorizing. If I introduced you to someone and offered you $15,000 if you could remember their name a week from now you would not only remember their name, but also their mothers name, middle name, correct spelling, and several interesting facts about the person.”

I was quickly put in my place… he was right! I am still not the best at memorizing names, but I have been shocked over the past several years at how I have improved. I just needed to realize that memorizing a name is not just important to the people I meet, it is also important to me.