By CASEY NEILL
IMAGINATION plus association equals possibility.
It’s one of Max Walker’s favourite equations.
“It’s a fancy way to say ‘linking the dots’,” he said.
“In a room like this, the potential is absolutely explosive.”
The former Australian test cricketer, Melbourne footballer and Wide World of Sports host was the guest speaker at the 23rd Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce Premier Regional Business Awards gala dinner at Sandown Greyhound Racing Club on 12 March.
“We’re here to celebrate great achievements and great work,” he said.
Walker’s also a successful entrepreneur, a director of four companies and has written 14 books
“Average never wins,” he told the crowd.
“Why choose beige, boring and forgettable if you have the chance to stand out?”
Walker asked the crowd to remember what they dreamed of at age seven or eight.
“When we’re young, we’re totally uninhibited,” he said.
“We can dream about anything.
“That’s where it all starts.”
He recounted a knock on the door of his Hobart home on a cold August day that changed his life.
VFL/AFL legend Norm Smith was there to recruit him and said “young Max, I reckon you’ll make it in VFL footy”.
“No one had ever said that to me before,” Walker said.
“This is where my life changed forever.”
He was about to achieve one of three life dreams – being a footballer.
Playing professional cricket was another, and the third was becoming an architect in homage to his master builder father ‘Big Max’.
Walker took a ferry to “the mainland” despite heckling from his mates doubting his grand aspirations.
“I wasn’t old enough or smart enough to believe them,” he said.
“We’ve got to get out of our comfort zone and have a go.
“Fear is the dark room where negatives develop.
“Outside is fun, success, growth and education… ”
Walker is among only 437 people since 1877 to pull on the baggy green and play test cricket for Australia.
“What a privilege,” he said, as he removed it from the brown paper bag that keeps it safe.
He recounted showing the cap to his dad for the first time, and letting him put it on.
“Those pale blue eyes, they welled up,” he said.
A tear trickled down Big Max’s cheek.
“I was not just pursuing my dream,” Walker said.
He felt the spirit of collaboration.
“It’s like that in business,” he said.
Walker took his first commentary job after retiring, with no experience under his belt.
The advice he received?
“Max, you’ve got to imagine you’re speaking to a whole bunch of blind people.”
He told the audience that success in life and business was about painting pictures with words.
“Our ability to communicate is so important,” he said.
