In Conversation with Willie Jolley

I met Willie Jolly about 30 years ago at a meeting of the National Speakers Association. We were both new to the organization and he was a great “force” with a gorgeous singing voice, as well. We kept in touch over the years and he and Dee and Maria and I became good friends. What impressed me most about Willie was, and is, his insatiable positive attitude, and his commitment to helping youth. We talk here about the challenges to the human spirit brought about by Covid, feelings of powerlessness, distrust in traditional institutions, and the onslaught of internet misinformation and conspiracy thinking. We chat about thinking beyond current family to generations of family. It’s not always easy to arise in the morning and be motivated. Billy Joel sang about always having to “get up with ourselves.” And we look at the origins, future, and composition of wealth. Our discussion embraces Willie’s findings of five “levels” of wealth and non/wealth and what they mean. We include the value of time. Both Willie and I have both been fired (he being replaced by a karaoke machine). Yet it improved both of us enormously. Willie admonishes not to forget people who have hurt us. He’s not talking about revenge but about incentive for wanting to be better and better to prove them wrong. We had this discussion just before Christmas, 2022, and we reflected on the spirit of the times and the spirit of the land. I think you’ll find this a wonderful experience with someone who truly believes in traditional values and isn’t afraid to exemplify them daily.