As I began asking him questions, it came to light that he had an annual income of less than $10,000, he lived alone, and walked with a cane. I could also see that he was happy. I’m talking about that internal happiness that few achieve. He was completely at peace and content.

As we exchanged dialogue, one of the questions I had to ask him was how he planned to recover from his loss. He said, “I haven’t lost anything. You see, young lady, while it may look like all my possessions burned up in the fire, I haven’t lost anything of real value. As long as I am alive, I am grateful. And that gratitude can never burn up in a fire. That can never be taken away from me.”

I was speechless for a moment and then said, “That’s an amazing attitude, sir.”

He said, “I can see from your eyes that you are kind, and I can tell from your energy that you sincerely care about me, and I’m grateful. I carry gratitude in my heart. It’s the most valuable thing I own. I’ll carry it until the day I die. Every day on this earth is a blessing, and every moment I live is a pleasure.”

We continued on with the interview. He was the most positive, carefree, happy person I’ve sat in front of in a long time. Finally near the end of the interview I said, “I can tell you have this inner peace and you radiate joy and contentment. Have you always been this way?”

He said, “Oh no, young lady. I’ve been homeless, I’ve been addicted to drugs and alcohol. I’ve even served time in prison. But one day I was done living in the dark. I invited the light of love and gratitude into my soul and it has never left me and it has never let me down.”

I said, “How did you do it?”

He leaned in and said, “It was like flipping a switch. I just decided one day that going forward I was going to leave people alone, stop hurting myself, stop hurting others, and spread happiness and joy wherever God let me. And I’ll tell you one of the secrets to being happy.”

I couldn’t wait to hear it.

He said, “I stay away from people who are living in the dark. If they are negative, mean, nasty, lack compassion, or are trying to hurt or control me, I just say goodbye. You gotta be careful who you let into your energy. Darkness of the heart is a contagious poison that can make your soul sick. You stay away from toxic energy.”

I spent about 20 minutes talking to this man. All he owned was his cane and his attitude, and it was more than enough for him. Before I concluded the interview, I asked him if there was anything he needed.

He said, “Well, all I really want right now is a good cup of soup. Give me a good cup of soup and a heart full of gratitude and I’ll walk this world a happy man.”

When I left him, I felt so humbled and grateful myself. By all of society’s standards this man was poor, but in reality, he’s one of the richest men on the planet. To carry happiness in your heart, to be grateful when you have almost nothing, is wealth indeed.

You are here to shine your light, to be a beacon. You are not here to chase people down and force your light upon them.

Some will be attracted to your light, and some won’t. It is not your job nor your responsibility to seek followers.

Just be a beacon, and those who want to step into the glow of your light will.

There is nothing for you to do. Your job is to be. Be who you are at your core. Remember who you really are, and be that person.

All of your actions will stem from your inner light.

When you are in alignment with all that you are, then all your actions will be so aligned. And those who are attracted to your light will receive benefit.

As you struggle to define yourself, to figure out what you’re supposed to do, try to remember that much of this world was crafted by those who have forgotten their higher selves. What you see in the world today is in many ways a contrast to what it could be.

The more you can remember who you really are, and the more you can align yourself with that person, the more change you will see in the world, because it will be a reflection of your higher self.

The world today is a reflection of the light we are casting. Is your light casting fear or is it casting love?

As you beacon, so shall the world be. So be a beacon. But be a beacon of your highest self.

Awaken to your light. Remember who you really are. And love.

And he ran off and started running through the grass in the most lovely and abandoned way that children do. When he came back he had two sticks in his hand and handed me one and said, “This is your wand. We’re going to grant people wishes when they walk past us.”

I said, “How will we know what they want? Are we going to ask them?”

He said, “No, we don’t need to ask them. We’re just going to grant them happiness, because that’s what everyone is really wishing for deep down.”

I gave that some thought and realized he was right. All the things we wish for are really an attempt to bring us happiness aren’t they? Think about what you’re wishing for right now.

Are you wishing for money? Is that because you equate financial abundance with happiness?

Are you wishing for love? Is that because you believe that being loved will make you happy?

Are you wishing for solutions to your problems? Or for your goals to be achieved?

We want to be happy.

And we chase happiness all over the place, don’t we? We try to create it. We try to mold our environment to support it. We try to force things to happen to make us happy. We put conditions on happiness, “I’ll be happy when ….” Or “I’ll only be happy if ….”

But the reality is that happiness is ours to claim anytime we wish it. Happiness is a feeling. And feelings can be generated from inside us, even when there are no “real” reasons to feel happy.

How many times have you heard or read a story of a person who maintained their happiness in the face of what others would easily consider a horrible tragedy or adversity? That’s because no matter what is happening to us, we can choose to be happy. It may not always be easy. It may not always feel justified. But it’s always our choice.

So you can grant yourself the wish of being happy any time you want to. Be happy for no reason. Spend some part of each day in a state of total happiness, even if just for a minute. If you’re having trouble finding your happiness, look for it under the blanket of gratitude. Think of 10 things you’re grateful for. Happiness will follow. Or use one of my methods for raising your vibration in less than ten minutes. Happiness is in there too.

As I concluded my walk with Kyle he said, “I wish we could grant this wish for everyone on the planet.”

I replied, “I do too, kiddo.”

Get out your magic wand and make the wish for yourself right now. You have the power to be happy if you choose it. You choose your perspective, you choose your emotions. If you’re not used to exercising that choice, then start now. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Many of you feel alone. This could not be further from the truth. You are part of a collective whole that consists of pure, unconditional love. You have simply forgotten who you are and where you came from.

There is inside of you right now the memory of your true identity, your true place in the cosmos. Your essence, your consciousness, is in every particle of matter and energy in the universe. You are simply choosing to focus on the piece that is the human identity you see in the mirror.

You cannot be separate from the universal whole. You can only forget your connection, but you cannot sever it.

If you sit in silence, you will hear the tone of Oneness. If you look inside your heart you will remember the connection you have with all. You must push away the vibrations that disrupt your memory. These are fear, anxiety, shame, guilt, anger, and sadness. These vibrations pull you away from your memories.

Lift yourself to joy, compassion, and gratitude and the memories of your connection to Love will resurface.

When you feel alone, sit in silence. Forget all that you struggle with, and remember only where you come from. From Love. Let this memory refill your soul. When your cup is empty, you have but to refill it in the ocean of Love. This ocean is always present, is always now, and cannot be depleted.

There is nothing in the world that is not part of you. Where you see struggle, darkness, and fear, you are seeing spots where someone is blocking themselves from receiving and remembering love. Change your vibration to change theirs, for you cannot change theirs without first adjusting yours.

You cannot see it with your eyes, but every single one of you is holding hands with everyone else. Walk together. Share the joy of the journey. Share the memory of love with those who are forgetting. Hold them tenderly. Do not judge, do not reject. In every person is your essence too.

When you have forgotten… when you feel alone… go back to the memory of unconditional love. It is in your heart. Feel the energy of love coming into your being, and remember that it is impossible to lose this connection.

You walk with many. And you are never truly alone.

We knew from the invitation that there would be certain celebrities on the red carpet that night. One of them was Neil Patrick Harris (NPH to many). I was excited. I love NPH. Dude is legen-wait-for-it-dary!!

So when we parked our car at the event I said to Steve, “All I really want to do tonight is rub elbows with Neil Patrick Harris.” Steve laughed. He knew how much I liked NPH and I’m sure he was rooting for me when he said, “Good luck. I doubt we’ll even see him let alone run into him.” I said, “A girl can dream can’t she?” He shrugged.

We went inside the venue. There was the red carpet line where all the celebs were being carefully staged to walk in front of cameras and do interviews, and there was the riff raff area, which is where we got shuttled. Clearly they didn’t realize who we were! An oversight I have yet to get over.

There were two theatres. We picked one randomly. After we got seated, I noticed a bunch of people sporting popcorn, drinks, and candy. I said, “Where did you get all of that?” to a fellow sitting next to us. He said, “They’re giving it away for free in the lobby.” I was gone in a flash. I yelled over my shoulder to Steve, “Do you want anything, Steve?” He said, “Yeah, sure, get us some popcorn and drinks.”

The theatre was beyond crowded. Not only was every seat taken, people were milling around the aisle and staircase, in tuxedos, suits, ball gowns, and cocktail dresses. I had to really push and maneuver my way through the crowd, but I was on a mission.

I got to the concession stand where they had all this loot just lined up for the taking. I grabbed two sodas, a big bucket of popcorn, and some licorice, and started to make my way back through the theatre carrying way more than I could easily handle.

I was at the bottom of the staircase, looked up to where Steve was sitting, and wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the thick crowd coming down. It was like a herd of cattle was coming down towards me. I looked down at the stairs and started carefully climbing, wending my way through the hoard, worried I was going to slip in my heels or trip on my dress and fall down the stairs covered in salt and soda.

I was jostled. I was bumped. I was nearly shoved, but I kept on going. At some point I ran into someone’s arm and almost fell. He steadied me. I never saw his face. I was just determined to get to my seat intact.

The moment I plopped down into my theatre seat and handed Steve the stuff he looked at me very excitedly. I thought, “Wow, dude must have really been wanting this soda.” But he said, “Oh my God. Don’t you realize what just happened to you?” I said, “Um, no?”

He said, “You just bumped into Neil Patrick Harris. He was coming down the stairs while you were going up. Not only did you literally rub elbows with him, he’s the one that steadied you when you almost tripped.”

“WHAT?!?!?” I yelled!

Steve said, “Look… he’s right over there. He was going down the stairs when you were going up. You didn’t see him because you were looking down. But you ran right into him. I literally saw your elbows touch.”

“WHAT?!?!” I yelled!

Steve grabbed me by the shoulders. “Listen to me woman. You just ran into Neil. Patrick. Harris. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I started shaking my head slowly as the reality of my situation descended upon me. “No. No. It can’t be. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t see. He has to come back. He has to talk to me. I need to talk to him.”

Steve laughed. I started fanning my face so I wouldn’t faint.

I looked down and sure enough, there he was, wearing the most beautiful tuxedo, standing in a halo of pure awesomeness.

Steve said, “Go down there and talk to him right now. You’re this close. Go do it.”

“I can’t go talk to him,” I said. “Um, can I?”

Steve said, “Why not? He’s just standing there. When are you going to be this close to him again?”

He was right. I had a divine opportunity, nay a divine imperative to go talk to Neil Patrick Harris. God practically dropped him in my lap (hey don’t ruin my fantasy with details). I needed to go to him. At once!!

I stood up. Fixed my hair. And started pushing through the crowd. What would I say to Neil? As I was figuring out my opening line, something horrible happened. He got on the phone. Took his cell phone right out of his pocket, answered it, put a finger in his ear so he could hear the person on the other end of the call, and started to push his way out of the theatre.

NO! Where are you going NPH? I’m coming to talk to you. Don’t leave!

But he was gone. I turned back to look at Steve. He made a sad face. He saw what had happened. I lost NPH. He was gone.

I made my way back to my seat. Steve said, “aww, you were so close. I’m sorry. But hey, do you realize what happened here tonight? You told me in the car that you wanted to rub elbows with Neil Patrick Harris, and guess what? You did! It was like a law of attraction miracle! You should be happy!”

I nodded my head. “Oh I’m happy. I just wish I had been there when it happened.”

Steve laughed. After I got done pouting, I realized I got my wish. And I said to Steve, “You know, next time when I make my wish I’m going to be more clear and specific. I’m going to be like, ‘All I wanna do is sit and chat with Neil Patrick Harris, and have a great conversation with him.’”

Wishes do come true. Sometimes. So be careful what you wish for, or at least be clear about what you want. You just might get it.

I was 14, playing basketball in a summer league. This was a mixed gender league so my sister and I were playing with the big boys. My dad signed us up for the league every summer because he knew if we could play with the boys then it would toughen us up for the Fall when we were playing against only girls.

And so it was that we found ourselves in a heated situation. The other team gave us no quarter; we had no rest. We had to fight and claw for every point. But we had a strong offense and gave as good as we got.

Our star player, Seth, led our team. He was the best shooter we had, a great center, and an amazing defender. His little brother Sandy was short and scrappy and our point guard. My sister and I were in the forward positions, and our other guard was a kid named Joey. Together we were fighting a team of very big guys. They killed us on height and girth, so we kept our game fast and didn’t give them time to set up. They were definitely slower than us.

It was the final quarter. We were tired, but we wanted to win very badly. Coaches were out of their seats shouting orders to our team. People in the stands were cheering and booing with great verve. Parents in the stands were biting their nails and shouting advice.

We were nearing the end of the game. And we were one point behind. With just 2 seconds left on the clock, we called a time out.

We knew we only had one shot. We huddled. Our coach had a plan. We had possession of the ball under our own basket. All we had to do was have Sandy pass the ball to Seth so he could make the final shot at the buzzer. It was a solid plan. Our best shooter, 2 seconds left, let’s get it done!

We took up our positions on the court. I stood on one side of the key under the basket, while my sister stood on the other. Seth positioned himself at the top of the key where he was planning to take his shot. Joey was near the half court line because he wanted to take at least one defender out of the mix. And Sandy stood out of bounds with the ball, ready to get it to Seth.

But wait, what’s this? Where’s my defender? And where is Sandy’s defender? Both on Seth, along with Seth’s own man. Three out of 5 of their players went to guard Seth. Duh. They knew with only two seconds on the clock that we’d try to get the ball to our best shooter, and they meant to keep him away from that ball no matter what.

I stood there hoping Seth could find a way to get free from 3 defenders.

The referee handed Sandy the ball. Seth started running around trying to shake the boys guarding him. Agonizing seconds passed as I watched Sandy try to find a way to get Seth the ball. But it wasn’t going to happen. Seth simply could not get free. He was surrounded on all sides. In fact, the only person open was…me.

And that’s when something horrible happened. Sandy had no choice. I might have done the same thing if I were him. He threw the ball to ME!

Nooooooooo! Nooooooo! Don’t give this ball to ME!! I do NOT want to be holding this ball. Why? Why did you give the ball to me? I’m not supposed to have the ball!

I thought all of this in a nanosecond. As you’ll recall there were only two seconds left on the clock. It was up to me. I had to shoot the ball. There was nothing else to be done. If I missed the shot, we’d lose the game by one point, but if I made it… victory in the final seconds!

I took the shot.

Now everything was in slow motion. The stands held their breath. I could practically hear the ball whooshing through the air. The shot I took carried with it the desperate hope of my team. It was the final shot of the game, and for good or ill, our fate rested on my aim and accuracy.

I realized that if I missed the shot, I would carry not only my own disappointment, but that of my team. Sure, I could make an excuse. “The ball was supposed to go to Seth. I wasn’t ready.” But it wouldn’t assuage my guilt.

I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. I didn’t want to be the reason we failed. But I did the best I could. I had shot the ball. It was out of my hands.

The ball banked off the backboard and went right into the basket just as the buzzer sounded.

Oh. My. God! I did it!

My team erupted into cheers. Our coaches flew off the bench and before I knew it I was encircled in a team bear hug that threatened to crush the breath out of my body. But I didn’t care. I did it. I took the shot and I made it. Me!

My teammates were thrilled. People clapped me on the back. People hugged me. People said, “I knew you could do it!”

Suddenly I knew what it felt like to be a hero. When the chips were down, I came through. It was an experience that boosted my self-esteem immensely.

And I learned in that moment that you don’t know what you’re made of until you’re put to the test.

So now I ask you. Where in your own life are you holding the ball? Are you standing there with a clear shot at the basket, but you’re too afraid to take the shot? Are you surrounded by defenders who don’t want you to succeed? Are they holding you back, blocking you from taking your shot? Or is the block in your own mind?

I could have just as easily missed that shot. I would have felt bad, sure. But I would have gotten over it. That was one game in a string of hundreds that I played. In basketball, you take a shot every few seconds. You don’t make them all. You don’t expect to. But you miss all the shots you never take. And every time you miss a shot, you learn, and you get better at taking the next one.

Look at the ball you’re holding. How long have you been holding it? When will you take your shot?

Oh he didn’t just yell at us, he went on a tirade. “You rotten kids. You don’t know how to respect someone’s property. Don’t you ever trespass on my property again or I’ll shoot you dead. I have every right to, ya know! I’m an American!”

Todd, my dear pacifistic friend, apologized to him profusely. “We’re sorry sir. We didn’t mean to. The street is so narrow, we had to go onto the apron of your driveway to get the truck backed up. It won’t happen again.”

Crabface waved his arm down at us and said, “Bah. Stupid kids. I better not hear any loud music coming from your house!” Then he went into his house, slamming his screen door as best he could.

Day after day Crabface had some kind of altercation with someone. I remember when the city workers came by to dig up the street and replace a pipe or something. He came outside yelling at them. “Stay off my property. You don’t have any right to be here. Get out of here now!” The worker said, “Look sir, we’re not on your property. This is city property, and we’re just here doing maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Then Crabface told the man to go back where he came from, that this was America! And the American Indian city worker replied, “Sir, I’m a Native American. Why don’t YOU go back to where YOU came from.” Crabface gave him the “bah” wave and stormed off back into his fortress.

Crabface always knew what was going on in front of his house because he liked to sit on his porch with his shotgun in his hands. Kids would ride past his house on their bikes and he would lean forward like he was getting ready to shoot them. It was bizarre.

Every time Crabface drove up into his driveway he would yell out very loudly, “Martha, I’m home!” I thought it was weird that I never saw his wife myself.

Finally one day I spoke to one of the neighbors who told me that Crabface was a veteran. An old and crotchety veteran I decided. Apparently he still thought there was a war going on because he acted like he was ready to do battle on a daily basis. I asked my neighbor why we never saw his wife. He replied, “She’s been dead for 10 years, but every single day when he comes home from running errands he let’s her know he’s home. It’s sad really.”

Okay this guy was off his rocker. I just hoped he wouldn’t shoot me one day. We gave this guy a wide berth.

Nine months later, everything changed.

On January 17, at precisely 4:31 in the morning, the Northridge Earthquake hit. Did I mention I was living 1.5 miles from Northridge at the time? No? Well I was. When the earthquake happened it literally felt like a giant walked down the street, picked up our house, and shook us like mice in a jar.

In the pitch blackness I didn’t even see my bed move all the way across the room with me still in it. I heard glass breaking, lamps crashing to the ground, and wood creaking. The worst was the sound of the roof cracking. I literally thought I was going to die and be buried in the rubble. I decided that if I was going to die, I wanted to die screaming. I opened my mouth to scream and no sound came out. I tried as hard as I could to scream but my throat was closed up tight. Oh well, I decided I’d have to die in silence.

When the shaking stopped I couldn’t believe I was still alive. Todd came running in from his bedroom to find out if I was alright. This was the big one. The one you grow up preparing for but are never actually prepared for.

There was no light anywhere. The power was completely out in the city. As soon as I could muster it, I got out of bed and Todd and I started walking through the house to gauge the damage. The contents of the kitchen were all on the floor. Even the refrigerator and freezer doors were open and now empty. Every glass, dish, and bowl was shattered on the floor. There were significant cracks in the beams of the house. A painting on the wall in the living room had landed 30 feet away in the dining room.

Incredibly, two very important things survived. A lemon cake I’d made the night before was still sitting on the counter right where I’d left it. I don’t think it moved an inch. A miracle! And my computer. My little Macintosh computer was still sitting on my desk, undamaged and unmoved. Praise God!

We had a problem though. We were trapped in the house. A heavy bookcase had fallen in front of the door and was blocking our exit. The back door was stuck, it wouldn’t open. There was so much glass on the ground and we couldn’t find shoes in the dark so our bare feet were getting cut up by glass as we moved around. It was horrible.

Everything was in shambles. Stress was very high. All of a sudden we saw a flashlight from outside coming our way. And then we heard a man’s deep voice. “Are you kids okay?” We looked out the tiny bedroom window. The man behind the flashlight was Crabface!

We responded, “Yeah, we’re okay but we can’t get the door open. It’s blocked.” He yelled back to us, “Don’t worry. I’m coming! I’ll get you out.” And all of a sudden he was there. He jimmied the door open with some kind of tool and then hacked away at the bookcase until he had cleared a path for us. As far as I was concerned, Superman had just appeared at the door. He led us out onto the street. Then he said, “Stay here, I’m going to turn off your gas and come back to check you out.”

We stood there freezing in our pajamas, bare bleeding feet, huddled in the dark, while this miracle of a man took complete charge of the situation. He came back from around our house and said, “Had to turn the gas off. There’s a huge gas leak in the neighborhood. See there?” He pointed to a spot behind our house. A few blocks away we could see a huge spire of fire in the air. What on earth was THAT!? It rose about a hundred feet into the air.

He checked us out very quickly, saw we were in state of emotional shock, but not significantly injured. He said, “Sit down on the driveway and wait for me. I need to check on everyone else.” And then he was gone. He went to every single house on the block and helped and liberated everyone who needed help, turning off the gas at every house he went to. He moved like lightning. We could see his flashlight bobbing around in the dark.

People were coming out onto the street. Everyone was moving slowly, clearly numb. No one on our block seemed to be significantly injured, but we had a lot of elderly people on the street and some of them were having chest pains.

Then Crabface gathered us all together and started barking orders at us. “Don’t go in your house until I’ve checked the structure. Once I’ve cleared your structure, go inside and find some clothing, put on some shoes, and get as much food as you can and bring it out here. Do not use the water in your pipes, it’s probably tainted. If you have camping supplies, bring them.”

Phone lines were dead. We couldn’t call our families to tell them what happened. That was frustrating. I had family scattered all around the valley and at this point we didn’t know how close to the epicenter we were and we didn’t know if our families were still alive.

As dawn approached we began to see the devastation with our own eyes. If you stood in the backyard of your house, you could see down the entire street of backyards because every single wall was rubble on the ground. We were united in that moment. We were a family. And Crabface was our leader.

He was the one with the emergency supplies, the radio, the food, the flashlights, the heavy tools, the hard hat, the camping equipment. He passed out water purification tablets which was great because we eventually found out that all our water was tainted with giardia.

Todd’s dad was the first to reach us. Once he saw that we were okay, he had to take off to find the rest of his family. I sent him with a message to find mine. There were no cell phones at this time. Trees and power poles were down and driving was super dangerous. Sinkholes had even opened up in some locations.

My family was okay, but an entire wall of my parents’ house came down, along with the chimney. Todd’s family gave us food and water. The structure of our house was surprisingly intact. Apparently when you are super close to the epicenter the shaking is very tight, whereas the outlying areas get the rolling wave which takes down structures. So we didn’t have to go to a shelter.

We spent three days just picking up the pieces (and living on lemon cake!). The entire time Crabface was on hand to help everyone. He became the defacto leader on our block. And you know what? He changed. He was happy as a clam. He was in his element. And we were all extremely grateful to him for helping us and for taking charge.

After the earthquake, he didn’t sit on his porch with his gun anymore. Instead he took walks up and down the block asking people if they needed help with anything. He waved to the children on the block and gathered them around to tell them stories of the war. He stopped to have long chats with people tending their lawns outside. He came over and taught us how to turn off the gas in an emergency, and started fixing some things around our house. He was a changed man. He even stopped telling Martha he was home.

The day the walls came down was the day all of our walls came down. We embraced him and he embraced us. It’s sad that it took an earthquake to shake the judgment out of us. But I’m glad it did. The earthquake brought us together. And it introduced us to a fascinating hero of a man. His name was Bill.

First I sat in the waiting room like everyone else. Shielded. Sitting two inches from another person but valiantly trying to maintain my space. I had a newspaper; the classic sign for “leave me alone.” I didn’t feel like engaging with anyone. I was only supposed to be there for 20 minutes after all. No time to make someone’s acquaintance.

But the universe threw a wrench at my car, and my mechanic said, “you’re due for the 120,000 mile service. We can do most of it here so you don’t have to go to the dealer. But it will take a good 45 minutes. Maybe longer.” Robble. But I acquiesced because I was already there. In for a penny, in for a pound, and the universe was surreptitiously tying my feet to my chair so I couldn’t leave anyway.

I decided, with a grand sigh, to put my newspaper down and engage with the other hapless victims of the mechanic’s shop. The kid next to me was reading a sci-fi novel. He was my first victim. All I did was say, “Man it always takes longer than you think it will.” He looked up, smiled, and started sharing his life story, as people are wont to do around me. I didn’t mind. I knew I was going to be there for a while. Universal tendrils snaked their way up my leg, tethering me further to my chair. Something was coming. Something important.

There was an old man with a cane and two hearing aids sitting near us. He looked like he was trying to nap. You see, because my car was being worked on so heavily, it backed up the entire line and the waiting room was filling up with people. I continued talking to sci-fi guy and gave him some advice to help him make a really important life-changing decision. I looked to the universe and said, “There, I helped this young man. Was that what you wanted? Can you untie me now? And can I get my car back?” The universe slowly shook its head.

A few minutes later the mechanic came in with an update, “Due to the position of your transmission this is going to take a little longer than we thought. Probably 2 hours.” Sheesh! I have things to do and was running out of people to talk to.

The universe cinched a belt around my waist and I saw new tendrils snaking their way around my arms, pinning me to the seat. Wow, whatever’s coming must be good! My poor car.

And then I saw him. The kid in the hoodie. He was coming our way. Was he going to enter the waiting room? I didn’t even see him leave a car anywhere. As soon as he walked in, everyone got shifty and the energy changed. What was jovial was now guarded. People clutched their belongings closer. Merely the presence of this hoodie was enough for people to start judging.

He was a kid, early twenties. Beautiful bleach blonde hair, gorgeous piercing green eyes, tan skin, super skinny, and he was deeply hidden by the cowl of his hoodie, his hands in his pocket. There was a light around this kid. Target acquired. The universe whispered in my ear, “Watch him. Carefully. You’ll know what to do when the time is right.” I was firmly pinned to my seat now with the gravitational force of an object launching into space. What was going to happen? Who was this kid? What was he going to do? What was his story?

We all sat there in silence. Then hoodie-kid got a phone call. He answered and we could hear at least one side of the call. Wasn’t hard to figure out what was happening. “No, Dad, I’m not going to make my fiancé take a bus to work. I gave her my truck.” “Look, Dad, it’s not a big deal. Nothing is going to happen.” “Well I don’t care if you don’t like it. It’s my truck and my decision.” “Because I love her, that’s why.” And the last thing he said was, “Tough shit.” And he hung up the phone. He was upset and sat down.

Now? I asked the universe. The universe said, “Not yet. Hang on a click.” I waited.

In a minute, hoodie-boy said to one in particular, “Parents!”

Old guy with the cane rolled his eyes. Sci-fi kid gave a polite snort of agreement but shook his head at the kid as if to say, “You should respect your parents.”

The universe said, “Now. Move in. Go.”

I leaned out a little, looked right at him and said, “Is your dad mad at you?” That was the key that opened the floodgate. “He’s not my real father. But yeah, he’s mad.” He then launched into his story, right there in front of everyone. The story went roughly like this:

“I grew up a rich kid in a great neighborhood in Los Angeles. My parents were both in the movie industry and I had it made. But when I was 14 my parents were both killed and I found myself suddenly alone. I was taken in by my aunt and uncle, but only until the inheritance money was firmly in their hands, then they kicked me out, knowing I had nowhere else to go. I didn’t care. I decided to stay on my own and be homeless.”

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and perked their ears. He continued.

“I slept behind the gym at my school, outside, sometimes inside the dumpster if it was clean. I was terrified that someone was going to find me and I figured if I was in the dumpster nobody would see me sleeping on school property. I took gym class first period so I could shower and wash my clothes. I lived on school breakfast and lunches, and sometimes I begged for money or food from others.”

I asked him why he didn’t go into foster care so at least he’d have a roof over his head and food in his belly. He said, “I didn’t want to be a burden on anyone, and I didn’t want to ever risk losing family again.”

He continued, “Sometimes at night I had to go to a gas station and beg them to give me some food because I’m a diabetic and sometimes I just couldn’t wait until morning to eat again. It was tough. But I did okay, and graduated high school. Then one day I was sitting out on the beach and I ran into one of my dad’s old friends. When he found out I was homeless he took me in. And I let him because honestly I was tired of living on the street.”

The room was deathly quiet. People were rapt with attention.

“Now I’m 22 years old. I have a full time job and also go to college part time. My girlfriend has been with me since 7th grade and we’re getting married this year. She also works and goes to school. I don’t drink, and I don’t do drugs. I pay all my bills myself.”

At this time the old guy’s car was ready and he stood up to pay his bill. The moment he did, his cane dropped to the ground. Without hesitation, hoodie-kid rushed to pick up the man’s cane, and held it out to him saying, “Here you go, sir.” The old man looked at him strangely and said, “Uh, thanks.” He replied, “No problem, sir.”

As the old man left, he said to the kid in the hoodie, “You’re a good kid, son. I respect what you’ve been through and what you’re doing with your life.” Hoodie-guy said, “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. You have a great day!”

His story was fascinating. I had so many questions about how he survived for 4 years on his own. Sci-fi kid got involved too, asking questions, and before long the room was simply full of respect for this young kid.

I said to the universe, “Wow, what an interesting kid. So, he pulled himself together and is living a good honest life. What do you want me to do with him now?” The universe replied, “Tell him to write a book about his life.” Awesome idea!

So I said, “Hey, you should share your story with others. Write a book about how you survived on your own.” He laughed and said, “It’s sort of funny you say that because you’re the 4th person this week to tell me that. I don’t know if you believe in signs but it sure seems like something or someone wants me to write a book. I would love to but doesn’t it cost like thousands of dollars to get something like that published?”

Ah, that was it. Now I knew what I was doing there and why the universe made my car so difficult to repair. I took the next 15 minutes to explain to him how to self-publish his book, how to find an agent, and divesting him of the beliefs he had about the trials and tribulations of getting a book published.

He was rapt with attention. He thanked me profusely. “Oh my god, you have no idea what you just did for me today. I had no idea I could do this or that it was possible to self-publish. I will totally get onto this website you gave me and get going on a book.” He hugged me twice. I told him he might even interest a publisher in his story and could potentially make some money. He said, “Oh I don’t care if it makes money. I just want to help other kids who are runaways or homeless. I have a warm bed to sleep in every night. That’s all I need in the world to be happy. People take their beds for granted, but I’ll tell you that after sleeping on concrete for 4 years, a bed is the biggest luxury there is.”

Sci-fi guy said, “Dude, you’re awesome. I’m never complaining about my life again.” I asked hoodie his name. He said, “Brandon.” I told him my name. He said, “I can’t believe I met you today. You totally changed my life. Do you believe in spirits? I think my parents are still looking out for me from beyond. And I think they sent you into my life to help me.”

I winked at him and said, “Could be.” I hugged him. Twice. His energy was amazing.

At that moment my mechanic walked in and said, “Your car is done. Let me show you what’s under the hood.” I smiled and thought to myself, “I know what’s under the hood. A really special kid who is going to change people’s lives for the better.”

Sometimes you are the change in someone’s life. Look for the light, listen for the whispers, and see the opportunities to help others. You never know what’s under the hood.

Hear me now. You do not have to have your life together in order to help someone get theirs together. You don’t.

Knowing how to help someone else has nothing to do with how perfect your life is. If you had to be perfect in order to help someone else, there would be no people at all in the self-help industry.

Seriously, what do you see among the “gurus” out there? Divorce, addiction, bankruptcy, jail time, melt-downs, even suicides. Doesn’t make a whit of difference, they’re still helping others. How is this possible?

Your ability to help someone has to do with your ability to find out what’s blocking a person from achieving success and then helping them get over that block. Helping someone is about seeing where they are stuck, and helping them get over the hurdle. It’s about seeing where they have fallen out of vibrational harmony, then helping them find it again. And that has NOTHING whatsoever to do with your personal life, how you handle your own problems, and how perfect your life is. Nothing.

I don’t want to hear you use this excuse: “I’ll help other people once I’ve figured out how to make my own life perfect.” No. You will never get there then.

Take Beverly DeAngelis. She’s a famous relationship expert. She used to be married to John Gray, another famous relationship expert. With a divorce under their belts they continue to give good solid relationship advice to others.

Many financial experts have experienced bankruptcy. They still give great advice to others.

I had a therapist when I was a teenager who was a raging alcoholic, but he healed me of my anxiety, and I’ll be forever grateful to him.

Am I saying you can go out tomorrow and be a guru on a whim? No. You need to build up your tools and tactics. You need to practice your skills and techniques. You need to refine your approach. You need to train yourself or get training from experts. But you absolutely do not need to wait until your life is perfect to begin learning the tools and techniques to assist others.

I was at a Tony Robbins seminar back in the 90′s. He shared with the audience that he used to have a belief that he wasn’t educated enough to help anyone. So many other people in his field had degrees. He didn’t have a single one. But he changed this belief to “I have a PhD in results.” And he did. He found a way to help others, and began helping others. Then, even while he was divorcing his first wife, he still helped other people with their relationships. What a concept!

Do you want to help other people? Do you have a burning desire to give to others, help them with their lives, and assist them in overcoming life’s challenges? Then let nothing stop you. No excuses. Get started. You already have it within you to succeed, now get out of your own way.

Should I join a gym? That would take a huge chunk out of my precious work day.

Should I buy a piece of equipment for the home? We all know those end up as clothes horses.

Should I get a buddy? Would they be reliable?

Should I go hiking? That was an hour of driving round trip plus the hike time itself.

Should I just take a walk each day? How would that ever lead to weight loss?

And what about the kids? Between working and taking care of the kids, there just wasn’t any time!

So my friend looks at me and says, “Those are all just excuses. If you wanted to exercise, you’d exercise.”

Maybe, I sulked, but they seemed like good excuses to me. We stopped talking about exercise because he didn’t seem to understand my difficulties. He wasn’t empathizing very well.

The next morning I woke up at 6am refreshed and feeling fantastic. I remembered what my friend had said the night before. If I really wanted to exercise, I’d exercise. I’d find a way.

So I decided to just do it. In a flash I put on my sweat pants, a tank top, and my hiking shoes. I found a holder for my keys, some Kleenex, and my iPhone. Stuck my headphones in there and made sure I could hear my music. I woke Kyle up and told him I was going jogging and not to be scared if he woke up later and didn’t see me in the house. He said in a groggy voice, “Fine fine, Mama, you go do that.”

I walked out of the house and within 30 seconds I was jogging. Me. Jogging. I haven’t jogged in about 12 years. I didn’t care whether it was a good idea or not. I just wanted to do it.

The little ego imp on my shoulder said, “You’re going to hurt yourself. You’ll twist an ankle. You’ll have a heart attack.” I said, “I don’t care. Still doing it.”

He said, “You’ll never be able to sustain this pace. You’re going to be done in 2 minutes.” I said, “Then I’ll walk until I catch my breath and start jogging again.”

He said, “You’re going to be sore tomorrow. Do you really want to deal with soreness for 2 days? Is it worth it for this little jog that isn’t going to do anything for you anyway?” I told him to shut his pie hole.

He shut it.

I kept jogging. After a couple of minutes I was breathless so I walked. When I caught my breath I started jogging again. I didn’t want to stop. I was having a blast. The music mysteriously kept pace with me. I was listening to Within Temptation and when there was a fast song, I was jogging, and when there was a ballad I was walking. I was totally in sync.

My left ankle and knee weren’t feeling too spiffy but I kept going. I was super cold, so I put my hands in my jacket pockets and kept going. The garbage men were keeping pace with me at one point. I was so self-conscious, but me and my jiggly butt kept going. I ran around the block twice. I don’t know what the distance was but I was out there for a good 20 minutes. I was thrilled with my success.

I ran inside the house, made breakfast for the kids and packed their lunches, then took a hot shower.
I emailed my friend and told him I had gone jogging. He was shocked. I told him I had thought about what he said the night before. No excuses. If you want to do it, you do it.

I was super sore the next couple of days. My friend said, “That just means it’s working and you did a good job. Embrace the soreness.” So I did. Ouch. Definitely going to stretch before jogging and stretch afterwards.

Now before I go to bed I put my workout clothes in the bathroom so that as soon as I’m done brushing my teeth in the morning I can put the clothes on and get out of the house within minutes. No excuses.

What I learned from this was that if you want to do something, you find a way to do it. Nothing will stop you.

Ask yourself right now what one thing would you like to do, be, or have, and see what excuses you come up with as to why you don’t have it. If you really want it, squash the excuses and get it done. Just decide that nothing is going to prevent you from getting what you want.

Nothing feels as good as stomping on the excuses and showing them who’s boss. It’s your life. Just do it!