People are asleep

He said, "Burning Man changed my life. It changed my business. It fired up my imagination. It refueled my creativity. It made my life better." He would come back from Burning Man pumped, and want to tell everybody he met about his experience. He'd tell his story and people would glaze over, then move on. Then a friend said "Most people are asleep. It doesn't matter what you say to them. They're asleep. Then there are those who are dozing. If you can peak their interest, you may wake them up. Then there are those who are wide-awake. He said, go for those people and tell them all about it, because they are the people open to a new idea, they are curious, are actually listening and hearing, they want to explore a new idea. But most people are asleep." Since that conversation I have thought about most meetings, conferences, social gatherings, board meetings....and most people are asleep. Distracted, not listening, not asking questions, not probing, not taking notes... asleep. There's always one in the group who is wide-awake, asking questions, taking notes, asking a question, then a follow-up question, truly attentive, in the room, not distracted....there's always one person who is wide-awake. Most are asleep.  
Thanks Christopher Kuzman for the shot from BM.