Right after I graduated from college, I was recruited by the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills. The story behind it has taught me to always be myself.

During my high school and college days, when I wasn’t going to school or playing football/track, I was a lifeguard. One summer at the country club where I worked, there was an elderly woman named Sally who alwasy found her spot in the shade each day. And each day, I would stop by and chat with her when it was quiet at the pool.

She was a very sweet woman, and I enjoyed our conversations. At the end of the summer, Sally asked me to sit down. She said she’d watched me working and tending to all the members — both children and adults. She then asked me if I knew who she was.

“Sally?” I responded.

Sally chuckled. She said, “That’s good!”

I asked her, “Why?”

She looked at me and said, “I think you would make a great agent. A “Hollywood Agent.” My husband is the President of the William Morris Agency. Do you know who they are?”

I answered honestly, “No.”

She smiled. “You will now. I would like you to contact me the day of your graduation from college in two years, and I will gain you an opportunity to interview in Beverly Hills for the training program.”

She went onto say that thousands applied, but only a few were selected or even looked at to interview. “You earned that golden ticket, Andrew.” I smiled wider then I thought my mouth would take me and thanked her, and gave her a big hug.

Needless to say, I called Sally the day of my graduation, and a few months later, I was on my way to Beverly Hills to interview and work in the William Morris Agent Training Program. I believed then and believe now that you need to always be yourself and always be kind, because you never know what opportunities life will provide.