The name Frank Abagnale may not ring a bell immediately but perhaps the 2002 movie “Catch Me if You Can” which starred Leonardo DiCaprio will. In the movie, DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale who, in his youth, forged cheques and impersonated an airline pilot, doctor and even a lawyer.
The real Frank Abagnale, born in 1948, mentioned that he did many things (he shouldn’t have in order) to survive and the shameful acts would be something he would live with for the rest of his life.
He was caught when he was 21 years old. After being caught, he eventually made his redemption when he was 26 years old by accepting the offer to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Today, Abagnale is a respected authority on security and fraud. He currently has his own security consultancy company, Abagnale & Associates. He has worked for the FBI for more than four decades.
In a world filled with fake news and fakers, there is the need to be even more discerning and alert. We therefore thought it would be good to highlight Abagnale, not just for the fantastic speech he gave at Google in 2017 (in the video above), but his views on parents. This is because today, 12 May, is Mother’s Day. We highly recommend making time to watch the entire video (which is 1 hour and 3 minutes) as it is worth the while.
When Abagnale was 16 years old, he had to make a choice between his father and mother. Abagnale never made that choice but instead ran away. His father never saw him nor spoke to him again.
“All children need their mother and their father. All children are entitled to their mother and father,” Abagnale states (23.16 in the video). Best of all, do listen and heed his advice (26.50 in the video) while you still can.