The next three weeks, I'll be giving a shout out to three individuals who have impacted my life in tremendous ways with seemingly minor comments and/or actions toward me that changed my life from the moment they delivered them.
This week, I salute Paul Johnson, the man who in the summer of 1997 awoke my true womanly confidence by approaching me and declaring what he knew to be true about me.
Now, this is not your ordinary flirting pick-up line scenario.
Paul had observed me in action as I juggled two dates in one night while playing co-host to an awesome summer party in Atlanta. I did not know he was observing but he was. And he noticed a few things about me that I'd not quite noticed about myself at the time.
My smile is magnetic. Lights up a room and hearts of many with little effort. I am very generous with my smile - always have been. Paul simply asked me to share my smile with him up close. He wanted to know the source of my joy and he knew it was not either of the dates I'd attended to that night, nor was it my job at the time.
We spoke for I-don't-know-how-many-minutes that night on that porch in Atlanta but what I do know is when we stopped speaking - I was changed. He finished our talk with telling me what a beautiful and confident woman I was and how any man is blessed to have time with me.
Until that point, no one had ever called me beautiful based on spending time with me. There were the hecklers who wanted to bed me down who commented on my "physical beauty" and "sexiness" but never before Paul had anyone taken time to appreciate the richness that is me. My full personality.
Of course, I ended up dating him for a short time before we both left Atlanta that fall - he for LA and I for Chicago. But nothing compares to that initial meeting on the porch where he awakened a solid confidence in me that has never slept again. That led directly to my next thank you which goes out to a billionaire who gave me a different kind of gift that propelled me in my career.
Tune in next week for Part Two!
In the meantime - who do you need to thank? Reflect on people/situations that have changed the course of your life. Write about them. Leave me a comment. Open up and recognize goodness in your past.
