I woke up this morning with a poem by Emily Dickenson on my mind …
I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us — don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
This is so out-of-context with my goals of a few short years ago. When Trust God and Buy Broccoli came out in 2006, I envisioned huge book signings; throngs of people streaming out the door to meet me and purchase a signed copy. Oprah would be calling for an interview; after all, I’d not only lost over one hundred pounds, but was also maintaining a healthy body size since 1993! I’d be on the spiritual speaker’s circuit, like Joyce Meyer and Dr. Wayne Dyer. My profound words would be quoted all over the world!
None of that happened.
Instead, the economy tanked out. I wondered where the money would come to pay my cell phone bill. Clients were opting to buy groceries or hang onto their savings, rather than invest in coaching with me. Sobbing, I finally confessed to my husband. He assured me that I was neither a failure, nor would we be living under a bridge if my business did not contribute to our household budget. He told me that my job was to help people and paid my phone bill.
Something inside of me shifted that day. I saw my work in a different light, not necessarily creating a six figure income. That was the first and last time that I needed to depend on Dave to keep my coaching practice afloat. When my focus shifted to helping others, my business financial needs were also met, surely a God-thing.
This year’s vision board has no focus on public-spotlight grandeur – no pictures of Oprah, Joyce Meyer or Dr. Dyer. My goals now are strictly to help others to find the spirituality in their lives. The rewards are greater than I ever could have imagined. I’m happy and know that I’ve made a difference in the lives of others. As a nobody, I can make a difference. Maybe not on such a grand scale as the people I admire, but one person at a time, I am making a difference.
