Dear Batman,
I Really Miss You, My Dear Friend…
It’s been several months now since Lenny B. Robinson, a.k.a. Batman, tragically passed away at the age of 51. It’s taken me this long to write about him because of the sadness I still feel.
Lenny became famous nationally in April, 2012 [when dressed as Batman] he was pulled over in his Lamborghini by a police officer. The video of that event went viral. (See the video below along with my originally published blog on 4/8/2012)
Lenny was one of my oldest and dearest friends. We grew up together, went to high school together and when he started his first car cleaning business at the 16, I was his 1st and primary employee. Our families have known each other for 40+ years, shared many celebrations together and now our sorrows as well.
I just turned 50 on October 7, and up until now, I always received without fail, a birthday message from Lenny. His last birthday message on October 7th 2014 was as follows:
LUTES…LUTES!!! LUTES…LUTES!!!
Happy Birthday MLL…all the BEST!
B*A*T*M*A*N
Until his tragic passing, I never fully realized the extent of his popularity and the number of people he had touched around the world. I was amazed at the number of networks, including CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSN, BBC and countless others, which recognized his contributions, which were many.
Lenny’s purpose in life revolved around helping others; especially bringing attention to sick children. It was critical for Lenny to be in the public eye to do this successfully; dream big and reach for the stars. The more people saw him, the more stories about him, the more awareness to children …which was his ultimate goal. Getting out there is key.
There is no ‘down-side’ ever to paying it forward. Lenny knew this and was ‘all-in’ around everything he did.
Lenny would always ask himself this; “Self, what have you done to make this world a better place today?” Contribution is one major way to fill your life with purpose.
See yourself as Lenny did; a superhero and forget fear, it’s not real. Live everyday with courage and perseverance and you will leave a permanent mark, just like Lenny.
I really wish he was still here so I could call him and reminisce about all of our experiences, and laugh all over again.
I miss you Lenny……Thank you so much for the great memories and the incredible legacy you left behind.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Batman Gets Pulled Over in His Lamborghini (originally published on 4/8/2012)
Google Batman gets pulled over, Batman in his Lamborghini or Batman avoids ticket, and you’ll find one of the most shared viral stories and videos in the country. Maybe you’ve already heard or seen it.
If you haven’t, a man dressed as Batman was driving his Lamborghini down Route 29 in Silver Spring, Maryland on his way to visit sick children at Georgetown University Hospital when he was pulled over by the Montgomery County police for not having appropriate tags on the back of his car. Instead of a valid license plate, he had a Batman emblem.
See the video below.
So why I am bringing this story to your attention? It turns out that the man behind the mask, Lenny B. Robinson, is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I grew up with him, went to high school with him, worked for him when he started a car cleaning business at the age of 16 and still keep in touch with him.
Last weekend, I happened to see the story on the front of MSN.com and immediately called him. He knew that the local media was reporting the story but was unaware that it was on this highly visited site. We then surfed the internet and discovered that is was being covered by blogs, news stations and other highly trafficked websites. I then let him know, in no uncertain terms, that he had just created a huge viral video by sheer accident.
So here are two very important lessons from this incredible story:
A) Nature works in very mysterious ways. When you concentrate on helping others, giving more than receiving, being kind to people and forget about what’s in it for me and focus on what’s in it for the person you’re helping personally and in business (like your customer), you will be rewarded. In this situation, Lenny’s goal was to bring awareness to children who are sick and less fortunate. One innocent event will now make this happen. He has been featured on CNN with Anderson Cooper, been on “The Nightly News” with Diane Sawyer, featured on Jimmy Fallon’s monologue and on just about every highly visited website you can think of. Who knows, maybe you’ll create a viral video or story for yourself, but at a minimum you’re kindness will be well received and you’ll feel good about your actions.
B) Get out and be seen. It’s very rare that you can make a small business highly successful sitting behind a computer or sitting in your office waiting for the phone to ring. I am still a huge believer in face to face networking. The more people you see, the more likely it is that you’ll meet a prospect, meet someone that you can refer business with, or create an opportunity that wouldn’t otherwise exist. This is taking proactive action. His goal was to help children all around the world. That’s a very big undertaking. But he decided to get out and be seen. He took action and traveled to hospitals all around the state and in DC. My guess is that this latest P.R. will now make his goal of reaching children around the world much easier to accomplish.