The First Thirty by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson (and expanded version, The Silhouette Man) tell the story of a person's efforts to make a difference and the lessons learned from the people he meets along the way.  Greg is the real-life person upon whom the books are based. In March 2008, he spoke at an event for staff from General Mills. This part of the site has photos, details and links regarding his trip (and some links to past trips along the way).

Italicized notes are personal notes from Greg.

GREG-GENERAL MILLS HISTORY

[The tour of the plant was one of the coolest things I've had the chance to do in a long time.  It literally felt like I'd entered Willy Wonka's factory!]

Greg serves on the Board of Directors of The 11-10-02 Foundation. Mike Lynn, who also serves on the Board, happened to be in Naperville. So, that night, the two went to dinner.

For more on The 11-10-02 Foundation, visit www.ShakingUpAmerica.org  They would love to have you or your company support their efforts to help young people with their education!

After dinner, Greg visited a local coffee shop where he spent some time working on a new portrait and having an impromptu talk about art and civil rights with the (INCREDIBLY NICE!) staff.

The next morning, Greg met with General Mills staff for breakfast (had Cheerios, of course!). The day-long event then began -- with General Mills representatives recognizing some great nonprofit organizations they had selected to give financial support as part of the company's ongoing commitment to the community.

Later on, Greg was brought up to the stage to speak with those in attendance for about an hour. 

He reflected on a variety of issues that are central to success in the workplace including:  taking an interest in the people who impact the lives of those who work with you and for you, and treating all colleagues with respect regardless of their position.

(One of the funny, ironic moments: It turned out one of the people in attendance happened to be wearing a Rocky t-shirt under his General Mills shirt, and came up to show me after we discussed Rocky during the speech)

In advance of the event, General Mills ordered some copies of The First Thirty for staff members who won a raffle.

To order copies of the books, workbooks, or posters for your Board, donors, volunteers or students, email Books@IdeaListEnterprises.com  

Following the event, Greg joined thirty of the attendees for a fun, social lunch.  

It has become a fun tradition for Greg to eat with new friends in different cities where he speaks.

"I read The First Thirty and having it come to life through Greg's presence was awesome...Great message that really hit home with our folks. It isn't rocket science, [just] real-world practical advice about living. Obviously our group really enjoyed it and they are still talking about it. I appreciate Greg coming early and staying with us through lunch - he visibly demonstrated how one individual can make a difference in people's lives. Very impactful. He exceeded my expectations." - - Mike Noble, Plant Manager, General Mills West Chicago

One of the people Greg met at the coffee shop told someone about meeting him -- who, in turn, told another person -- who, in turn, retained Greg to serve as Scholar-in-Residence for a program in Africa just a couple months later!

 During this trip to Naperville, Greg gave away two special copies of The First Thirty as part of the ongoing "The First Thirty Elevator Project." On this trip, one recipient was a woman who worked at the coffee shop.  Another was the hostess at the hotel restaurant.  In the latter case, she qualified for the Project when she took the initiative to teach Greg a sentence in her native language

As always, Greg's trip was filled with unexpected meetings and adventures. Here are pictures of some more of the memorable people and places who crossed his path during the trip...

To get the book or companion workbook or posters right here online, go to www.TheFirstThirty.com , click Shopping Cart

Special thanks to all the great people at General Mills, as well as Dennis and the staff at Holiday Inn Select, and all the really nice people I met during the trip!