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8	<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https://yoast.com/product/yoast-seo-wordpress/ -->
9	<title>My Story - Patrick Combs</title>
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13	<meta property="og:title" content="My Story - Patrick Combs" />
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15	<meta property="og:site_name" content="Patrick Combs" />
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17	<meta property="article:modified_time" content="2026-05-22T01:37:16+00:00" />
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192    list-style-type: none;
193    margin: .5rem;
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195/* === Section 6 === */
196#section6 .testimonials-slider {
197    max-width: 105rem;
198    margin: 0 auto;
199}
200#section6 .testimonial-item {
201    max-width: 32.5rem;
202    margin: 0 auto;
203    text-align: center;
204    border: solid .2rem #5e6f8c;
205    padding: 0 3rem 3rem;
206    color: #ffffff;
207    min-height: 300px;
208}
209#section6 .testimonial-item p {
210    text-align: left;
211    font-size: 1.3rem;
212    line-height: 1.7em;
213    font-weight: 300;
214}
215#section6 .testimonial-item h3 {
216    font-size: 1.6rem;
217    color: #6f83a6;
218    font-weight: bold;
219    margin-top: 2rem;
220    margin-bottom: 0;
221}
222#section6 .testimonial-item span.subinfo {
223    text-align: center;
224    display: block;
225    font-weight: 400 !important;
226    font-size: 1.1rem;
227    margin-bottom: 3rem;
228}
229#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-nav,
230#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-dots{
231    display: block;
232}
233#section6 .testimonial-item img {
234    width: auto;
235    margin: -6rem auto 0;
236}
237#section6 .testimonials-slider .owl-item {
238    padding-top: 7rem;
239}
240#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-nav > div {
241    position: absolute;
242    top: 22rem;
243    width: 1.4rem;
244    height: 2.6rem;
245    padding: 0;
246    font-size: 0;
247    margin: 0;
248    border-radius: 0;
249    background-color: transparent !important;
250    background-repeat: no-repeat;
251    background-position: center;
252    background-size: contain;
253}
254#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-nav > div.owl-prev {
255    background-image: url(/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/slide-left.png);
256    left: -3rem;
257}
258#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-nav > div.owl-next {
259    background-image: url(/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/slide-prev.png);
260    right: -3rem;
261}
262#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-dots {
263    margin-top: 3rem;
264}
265#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-dots .owl-dot.active span {
266    background-color: #96999f !important;
267}
268#section6 .testimonials-slider.owl-carousel .owl-dots .owl-dot span {
269    border: solid .1rem #96999f;
270    background-color: transparent !important;
271}</style><link rel="icon" href="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-fav
271icon-32x32.png" sizes="32x32" />
272<link rel="icon" href="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-favicon-192x192.png" sizes="192x192" />
273<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-favicon-180x180.png" />
274<meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/cropped-favicon-270x270.png" />
275<style id="wp-custom-css">
276.blog .entry-content > p {
277    height: auto;
278}/* Hide site title only on home page — the Elementor hero's letterspaced name serves as the brand identifier there */
279/* .home .site-title,
280.home .site-branding,
281.home .custom-logo-link,
282.home .header-logo,
283.home .site-header .logo,
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285    display: none !important;
286}
287 */
288.btn-home,
289.btn-home .vc_btn3-title {
290    white-space: nowrap;
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292
293.btn-home {
294    width: auto;
295}.btn-teaser .vc_btn3 {
296    border: 2px solid #b08938 !important;
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301/* Hide the mobile-only image and its column on desktop screens.
302   On desktop, the row's background image does the visual job instead. */
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323.missives-grid .vc_grid-item {
324  margin-bottom: 2rem;
325}
326
327.missives-grid .vc_grid-item-mini {
328  background: #ffffff;
329  padding: 1.25rem;
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331  box-shadow: 0 2px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.08);
332  transition: box-shadow 0.2s ease, transform 0.2s ease;
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334
335.missives-grid .vc_grid-item-mini:hover {
336  box-shadow: 0 6px 20px rgba(0,0,0,0.14);
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339
340/* Force image to top, full width of card */
341.missives-grid .vc_gitem-zone-img,
342.missives-grid .vc_single_image-wrapper {
343  width: 100% !important;
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345  overflow: hidden;
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348
349.missives-grid .vc_gitem-zone-img img,
350.missives-grid .vc_single_image-wrapper img {
351  width: 100% !important;
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356
357/* Title styling */
358.missives-grid h2,
359.missives-grid h3,
360.missives-grid h4 {
361  font-size: 19px !important;
362  font-weight: 700 !important;
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368/* Excerpt — truncate to 3 lines */
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380
381/* Hide Filed Under / Tagged With metadata */
382.missives-grid .vc_gitem-post-meta-field-categories,
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384.missives-grid .filed-under,
385.missives-grid .tagged-with,
386.missives-grid .post-categories,
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388  display: none !important;
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391/* Read More button — match site palette */
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393.missives-grid a.vc_gitem-link,
394.missives-grid .vc_general.vc_btn3 {
395  display: inline-block !important;
396  background: transparent !important;
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398  color: #b08938 !important;
399  padding: 0.5rem 1.25rem !important;
400  font-size: 12px !important;
401  font-weight: 600 !important;
402  text-transform: uppercase !important;
403  letter-spacing: 0.08em !important;
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405}
406
407.missives-grid .vc_btn3:hover,
408.missives-grid a.vc_gitem-link:hover {
409  background: #b08938 !important;
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413/* Responsive — collapse to 2 cols, then 1 col */
414@media (max-width: 1024px) {
415  .missives-grid .vc_grid-item {
416    width: 50% !important;
417  }
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419
420@media (max-width: 640px) {
421  .missives-grid .vc_grid-item {
422    width: 100% !important;
423  }
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432body.page-id-2690 .content {
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439body.page-id-2690 .site-inner {
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446body.page-id-2690 .content-sidebar-wrap {
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461body.page-id-2690 .wpb_text_column,
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467body.page-id-2690 .vc_row .vc_column_container > .vc_column-inner {
468    padding-top: 0 !important;
469    padding-bottom: 0 !important;
470}/* Footer background: purple -> dark navy gradient to match /corporate/ */
471footer .footer-widgets,
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473footer#footer {
474    background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #0e1a2b 0%, #24364d 100%) !important;
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477/* Center & size the photo, kill any stray spacing */
478.footer-image {
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481.footer-image img {
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487
488/* Make the phone blurb stop wrapping under the button awkwardly */
489.btn-home {
490    margin-bottom: 20px;
491}@media (min-width: 992px) {
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495        position: static !important;
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513.footer-widgets-3 .vc_btn3-container.btn-home + p {
514    clear: both !important;
515}
516</style>
517<style type="text/css" data-type="vc_shortcodes-default-css">.vc_do_custom_heading{margin-bottom:0.625rem;margin-top:0;}</style><style type="text/css" data-type="vc_shortcodes-custom-css">.vc_custom_about_hero{padding-top: 12rem !important;padding-bottom: 6rem !important;background-color: #0D1929 !important;}.vc_custom_about_act1{padding-top: 4rem !important;padding-bottom: 4rem !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}.vc_custom_about_act2{padding-top: 4rem !important;padding-bottom: 4rem !important;background-color: #faf8f4 !important;}.vc_custom_about_act3{padding-top: 4rem !important;padding-bottom: 4rem !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}.vc_custom_about_act4{padding-top: 4rem !important;padding-bottom: 4rem !important;background-color: #faf8f4 !important;}.vc_custom_about_act5{padding-top: 4rem !important;padding-bottom: 4rem !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}.vc_custom_about_hero_text{padding-left: 3rem !important;padding-top: 2rem !important;}.vc_custom_act1_photo{padding-top: 5rem !important;}.vc_custom_act2_photo{padding-top: 5rem !important;}.vc_custom_act3_photo{padding-top: 5rem !important;}.vc_custom_act4_photo{padding-top: 5rem !important;}.vc_custom_act5_photo{padding-top: 5rem !important;}</style><noscript><style> .wpb_animate_when_almost_visible { opacity: 1; }</style></noscript></head>
518<body class="wp-singular page-template-default page page-id-49 wp-theme-genesis wp-child-theme-patrick-combs header-image full-width-content wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.9 vc_responsive elementor-default elementor-kit-2160" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/WebPage"><div class="site-container"><header class="site-header" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/WPHeader"><div class="wrap"><div class="title-area"><p class="site-title" itemprop="headline"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com/">Patrick Combs</a></p><p class="site-description" itemprop="description">San Diego Motivational Speaker</p></div><div class="widget-area header-widget-area"><nav class="nav-primary" aria-label="Main" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/SiteNavigationElement"><div class="wrap"><ul id="menu-corporate-menu" class="menu genesis-nav-menu menu-primary"><li id="menu-item-2506" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-home menu-item-2506"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">Home</span></a></li>
519<li id="menu-item-2217" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page current-menu-item page_item page-item-49 current_page_item menu-item-2217"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com/about/" aria-current="page" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">My Story</span></a></li>
520<li id="menu-item-2261" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2261"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com/corporate/" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">
520Speaker</span></a></li>
521<li id="menu-item-2221" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2221"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com/coaching/" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">Coaching</span></a></li>
522<li id="menu-item-2692" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2692"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com/origin-stories/" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">Origin Stories</span></a></li>
523<li id="menu-item-2220" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2220"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com/theater/" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">Theater</span></a></li>
524<li id="menu-item-2225" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-2225"><a href="https://patrickcombs.com/blog/" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">Blog</span></a></li>
525<li id="menu-item-2224" class="book-btn menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-2224"><a target="_blank" href="https://calendly.com/patrick-combs/15min" itemprop="url"><span itemprop="name">Schedule A Call</span></a></li>
526</ul></div></nav></div></div></header><div class="site-inner"><div class="content-sidebar-wrap"><main class="content"><article class="post-49 page type-page status-publish entry" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/CreativeWork"><header class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline">My Story</h1>
527</header><div class="entry-content" itemprop="text"><div class="wpb-content-wrapper"><div data-vc-full-width="true" data-vc-full-width-init="false" class="vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_about_hero vc_row-has-fill"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-12"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"><div class="vc_row wpb_row vc_inner vc_row-fluid"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-6"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
528	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
529		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
530			<p><img decoding="async" style="width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; border-radius: 4px;" src="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/53443294539_60416820a4_c.jpg" alt="Patrick Combs seated beside a vintage typewriter" /></p>
531
532		</div>
533	</div>
534</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-6"><div class="vc_column-inner vc_custom_about_hero_text"><div class="wpb_wrapper"><h1 style="font-size: 46px;color: #ffffff;line-height: 1.15;text-align: left;font-family:Open Sans;font-weight:700;font-style:normal" class="vc_custom_heading vc_do_custom_heading" >I stopped to help a stranger.</h1>
535	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
536		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
537			<p style="font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.55; color: #cccccc; margin-top: 1.5rem;">It took three decades to finish.</p>
538
539		</div>
540	</div>
541</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="vc_row-full-width vc_clearfix"></div><br />
542<div data-vc-full-width="true" data-vc-full-width-init="false" class="vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_about_act1 vc_row-has-fill"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-12"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"><div class="vc_row wpb_row vc_inner vc_row-fluid"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-2"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-6"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
543	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
544		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
545			<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.2; color: #b08938; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0.4rem;">Act One — 1988</p>
546<h2 style="font-size: 34px; line-height: 1.2; color: #222; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 2rem; font-weight: bold;">The Sidewalk</h2>
547<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I&#8217;m twenty-two, walking to work down a San Francisco sidewalk, when I see a woman lying on the pavement. Pregnant. Alone. Begging strangers for help.</p>
548<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Nobody is stopping.</p>
549<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">She asks me to call an ambulance. I do. Before it arrives, I deliver her baby on the sidew
549alk. A girl.</p>
550<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">The story made national news. In 1988 it landed me on <em>The Late Show</em>. For a few weeks the papers called me &#8220;the student sidewalk doctor.&#8221; A TV host asked, &#8220;Have you ever considered a job in broadcasting?&#8221;</p>
551<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">He was telling me I could speak.</p>
552<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Four years later I quit my job and became a speaker. Not because I had a plan. Because that morning had taught me something I couldn&#8217;t unlearn: when you lead with your heart, you end up in rooms you never imagined, holding things you never expected to hold.</p>
553<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #222; font-weight: 600;"><strong>The baby was the first thing the sidewalk gave me. The thirty years that followed were the rest.</strong></p>
554
555		</div>
556	</div>
557</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-3"><div class="vc_column-inner vc_custom_act1_photo"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
558	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
559		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
560			<p><img decoding="async" style="width: 100% !important; max-width: 100% !important; height: auto !important; display: block !important; margin: 0 !important;" src="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/newspaper-img.png" alt="Newspaper coverage of the 1988 sidewalk baby delivery" /></p>
561<p style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; color: #777; margin-top: 0.75rem; line-height: 1.4;">Press coverage, 1988 — &#8220;the student sidewalk doctor.&#8221;</p>
562
563		</div>
564	</div>
565</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="vc_row-full-width vc_clearfix"></div>
566<div data-vc-full-width="true" data-vc-full-width-init="false" class="vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_about_act2 vc_row-has-fill"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-12"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"><div class="vc_row wpb_row vc_inner vc_row-fluid"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-3"><div class="vc_column-inner vc_custom_act2_photo"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
567	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
568		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
569			<p><img decoding="async" style="width: 100% !important; max-width: 100% !important; height: auto !important; display: block !important; margin: 0 !important;" src="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/100.png" alt="Tom Peters' handwritten reply with $100 bill attached" /></p>
570<p style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; color: #777; margin-top: 0.75rem; line-height: 1.4;">Tom Peters&#8217; reply, June 1995 — with the $100 returned.</p>
571
572		</div>
573	</div>
574</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-7"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
575	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
576		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
577			<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.2; color: #b08938; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0.4rem;">Act Two — $100</p>
578<h2 style="font-size: 34px; line-height: 1.2; color: #222; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 2rem; font-weight: bold;">The Book</h2>
579<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">At twenty-six, Ten Speed Press published my first book. They asked who I wanted for a jacket quote.</p>
580<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Tom Peters. The top business author in the world. The man whose books had made me want to speak.</p>
581<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I had no shot. No Ivy League network. No author network. My mother was a nurse. Harvey Mackay had already turned me down by form letter, while writing quotes for seemingly everyone else with a pulse.</p>
582<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">So I tried something.</p>
583<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I took a $100 bill — gulp — stapled it to my pitch letter, and wrote: <em>I bet you a hundred dollars you&#8217;ll love this book. If you don&#8217;t, keep the money. If you do, I get my $100 back.</em></p>
584<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Tom Peters wrote back: <em>You keep the $100! I greatly admire your chutzpah. Fabulous!</em></p>
585<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">And gave me an endorsement.</p>
586<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Five books followed. 150,000 copies. <strong>All about purpose, excellence, and having some fun while we&#8217;re here.</strong></p>
587
588		</div>
589	</div>
590</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="vc_row-full-width vc_clearfix"></div>
591<div data-vc-full-width="true" data-vc-full-width-init="false" class="vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_about_act3 vc_row-has-fill"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-12"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"><div class="vc_row wpb_row vc_inner vc_row-fluid"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-7"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
592	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
593		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
594			<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.2; color: #b08938; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0.4rem;">Act Three — One Million</p>
595<h2 style="font-size: 34px; line-height: 1.2; color: #222; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 2rem; font-weight: bold;">The Stage</h2>
596<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">The speaking grew alongside. Hilton, Boeing, Google, Shell, State Farm. Visa, Fannie Mae, Stanford. Fifteen hundred organizations over thirty years, every U.S. state, more than ten countries. A million people, give or take, heard me speak in person.</p>
597<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Ten years in, I was hired to keynote a dozen CEOs from the world&#8217;s largest payment processors in Cabo. The night before, I sat in my hotel room surrounded by wadded-up paper, wondering if I could catch a midnight flight home. What was I going to tell men who ran billions of dollars?</p>
598<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">What got me out: a rule I&#8217;ve used ever since — only speak on what you do as well as or better than eighty percent of your audience.</p>
599<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">The next morning, I spoke to them about speaking. They loved it.</p>
600<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Ten years after Cabo, I keynoted Hilton&#8217;s leadership conference — 500 GMs and directors of sales, on adding real heart to customer service. The kind of topic that turns woo-woo if you don&#8217;
600t nail it. Afterward, the President walked up.</p>
601<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">&#8220;You gave us a full day in a single hour,&#8221; he said. I asked what he meant. &#8220;You made us think, laugh, and cry.&#8221;</p>
602<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #222; font-weight: 600;"><strong>I&#8217;d been working toward those seven words for twenty years.</strong></p>
603
604		</div>
605	</div>
606</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-3"><div class="vc_column-inner vc_custom_act3_photo"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
607	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
608		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
609			<p><img decoding="async" style="width: 100%; height: auto; display: block;" src="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/33662055796_77251b036a_c.jpg" alt="Patrick Combs on stage at Hilton's leadership conference, audience visible" /></p>
610<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; color: #777; font-style: italic; margin-top: 0.8rem;">Keynoting Hilton&#8217;s &#8220;Leading the Way&#8221; conference.</p>
611
612		</div>
613	</div>
614</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="vc_row-full-width vc_clearfix"></div>
615<div data-vc-full-width="true" data-vc-full-width-init="false" class="vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_about_act4 vc_row-has-fill"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-12"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"><div class="vc_row wpb_row vc_inner vc_row-fluid"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-3"><div class="vc_column-inner vc_custom_act4_photo"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
616	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
617		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
618			<p><img decoding="async" style="width: 100%; height: auto; display: block;" src="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_3074-scaled.jpeg" alt="Financial Times Life and Arts cover featuring Patrick Combs, August 2012" /></p>
619<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; color: #777; font-style: italic; margin-top: 0.8rem;">Financial Times, Life &amp; Arts cover, August 2012.</p>
620
621		</div>
622	</div>
623</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-7"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
624	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
625		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
626			<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.2; color: #b08938; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0.4rem;">Act Four — $95,093.35</p>
627<h2 style="font-size: 34px; line-height: 1.2; color: #222; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 2rem; font-weight: bold;">The Joke</h2>
628<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Of those thirty years, the strangest one started with a check.</p>
629<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">A junk-mail check — designed to look real so you&#8217;ll think you&#8217;ve won something. This one was made out to me for $95,093.35. Across the front, plain as day: NON-NEGOTIABLE.</p>
630<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I thought it was hilarious. <strong style="color: #222;">I deposited it in the ATM. A joke.</strong> I wanted to make the bank laugh.</p>
631<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">The bank didn&#8217;t laugh. Three days later the deposit cleared. The bank&#8217;s mistake.</p>
632<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I didn&#8217;t touch it. I waited.</p>
633<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Much circus followed — the Senior Security Officer who kept calling me &#8220;son,&#8221; threats of prison for fraud, never mind they&#8217;d cashed a check stamped NON-NEGOTIABLE. I gave the money back. I never wanted it. I held out for a letter confirming they&#8217;d cashed a fake check. They wouldn&#8217;t. For six months they wouldn&#8217;t.</p>
634<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">The bank&#8217;s instinct to protect itself was stronger than its instinct to be honest.</p>
635<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">
635When it was all said and done, I started telling the story on stage.</p>
636<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">Friends told me it couldn&#8217;t be done. &#8220;Stay in your lane. You&#8217;re no actor.&#8221;</p>
637<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I started anyway.</p>
638<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">At thirty-six I opened a one-man show called <em>Man 1, Bank 0.</em> Off-Broadway for a month. The Olympia in Dublin. The Soho Grand in London. HBO&#8217;s Aspen Comedy Festival, named the funniest new one-man show in America that year. Edinburgh in 2012. A hundred more mainstages in between.</p>
639<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;"><em>Variety</em> said I had star power. The <em>London Standard</em> and the <em>Irish Times</em> called me a master storyteller. <em>BroadwayWorld</em> called it &#8220;the fastest, funniest show to hit New York in many a season.&#8221; The American Banking Association brought me in as a keynote speaker.</p>
640<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #222; font-weight: 600;"><strong>Fifteen years on the road. Four hundred performances. One junk-mail check.</strong></p>
641
642		</div>
643	</div>
644</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="vc_row-full-width vc_clearfix"></div>
645<div data-vc-full-width="true" data-vc-full-width-init="false" class="vc_row wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_custom_about_act5 vc_row-has-fill"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-12"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"><div class="vc_row wpb_row vc_inner vc_row-fluid"><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-7"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
646	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
647		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
648			<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.2; color: #b08938; letter-spacing: 0.18em; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0.4rem;">Act Five — 2019</p>
649<h2 style="font-size: 34px; line-height: 1.2; color: #222; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 2rem; font-weight: bold;">The Reunion</h2>
650<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I&#8217;d been a speaker for nearly thirty years when a Facebook message landed in my inbox.</p>
651<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">A thirty-one-year-old woman named Searcy. <em>I was born on June 29, 1988, in San Francisco. I was also adopted in December of that same year. You are the man who caught me as I was born.</em></p>
652<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I didn&#8217;t cry when I read it. I just had something in my eye.</p>
653<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">I typed back, <em>I&#8217;ve waited forever for this moment. You look so much like your mother. You have her eyes.</em></p>
654<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">She asked if I knew her mother&#8217;s name. I did. With it, she finally found her aunts, cousins, brother — a family waiting thirty-one years.</p>
655<p style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.75; color: #333;">We met. On the spot I delivered her. I told her the story. As I&#8217;ve told hundreds of audiences.</p>
656<p style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.5; color: #222; font-weight: 600; margin-top: 1.5rem;"><strong>But this was the best time — because it&#8217;s always about the audience.</strong></p>
657
658		</div>
659	</div>
660</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-3"><div class="vc_column-inner vc_custom_act5_photo"><div class="wpb_wrapper">
661	<div class="wpb_text_column wpb_content_element" >
662		<div class="wpb_wrapper">
663			<p><img decoding="async" style="width: 100%; height: auto; display: block;" src="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/52649345519_8515f0229c_c.jpg" alt="Woman's World magazine feature on the reunion between Patrick Combs and Searcy Hughes" /></p>
664<p style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; color: #777; font-style: italic; margin-top: 0.8rem;">Woman&#8217;s World feature, &#8220;One act of love changed my life.&#8221;</p>
665
666		</div>
667	</div>
668</div></div></div><div class="wpb_column vc_column_container vc_col-md-1"><div class="vc_column-inner"><div class="wpb_wrapper"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="vc_row-full-width vc_clearfix"></div>
669</div></div></article></main></div></div><div class="footer-widgets"><div class="wrap"><div class="widget-area footer-widgets-1 footer-widget-area">
669<section id="text-2" class="widget widget_text"><div class="widget-wrap"><h4 class="widget-title widgettitle">ABOUT PATRICK</h4>
670			<div class="textwidget"><p>Patrick Combs is a renowned inspirational speaker, a Best Selling author, and a highly acclaimed comedic entertainer. He has been the invited guest speaker of more than 1,500 organizations and he’s been the star comedic entertainer on more than 400 stages around the world. <a href="/about/">Read More...</a></p>
671<ul class="social-icon">
672	<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bemiracleminded/" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-instagram"></i></a></li>
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674	<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/speakerpatrickcombs" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i></a></li>
675</ul></div>
676		</div></section>
677<section id="custom_html-3" class="widget_text widget widget_custom_html"><div class="widget_text widget-wrap"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"></div></div></section>
678<section id="custom_html-4" class="widget_text widget widget_custom_html"><div class="widget_text widget-wrap"><div class="textwidget custom-html-widget"></div></div></section>
679</div><div class="widget-area footer-widgets-2 footer-widget-area"><section id="text-4" class="widget widget_text"><div class="widget-wrap">			<div class="textwidget"><div class="footer-image" style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://patrickcombs.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/footerpatrick.png" style="max-width:300px; width:100%; height:auto; display:inline-block;" /></div></div>
680		</div></section>
681</div><div class="widget-area footer-widgets-3 footer-widget-area"><section id="text-6" class="widget widget_text"><div class="widget-wrap"><h4 class="widget-title widgettitle">Schedule a call with Patrick</h4>
682			<div class="textwidget"><p>Check his availability, get answers to your questions about his speaking services, and tell him exactly what you're seeking from a speaker to help you have an incredible event. </p>
683<div class="vc_btn3-container row  btn-home vc_btn3-center vc_custom_1525256520489"><a style="color:#ffffff;" class="vc_general vc_btn3 vc_btn3-size-lg vc_btn3-shape-square vc_btn3-style-custom" href="https://calendly.com/patrick-combs/15min" title="" target="_blank">Schedule A Call</a></div>
684<p><em>*If you're in a hurry to book Patrick, or prefer not schedule your calls, call now and leave a message. He'll call you back ASAP or shortly after he finishes another successful keynote. (619) 368-5900.</em></p></div>
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