The Dreamer
佚名 / Anonymous
When I was nine years old living in a small town in North Carolina， I found on ad for selling greeting cards in the back of a children’s magazine. I thought to myself I can do this. I begged my mother to let me send for the kit. Two weeks later when the kit arrived， I ripped off the brown paper wrapper， grabbed the cards and dashed from the house. Three hours later. I returned home with no card and a pocket full of money proclaiming， “Mama， all the people couldn’t wait to buy my cards！” A salesperson was born.
When I was twelve years old， my father took me to see Zig Zigler. I remembered sitting in that dark auditorium listening to Mr. Zigler raise everyone’s spirits up to the ceiling. I left there feeling like I could do anything. When we got to the car， I turned to my father and said. “Dad， I want to make people feel like that.” My father asked me what I meant. “I want to be a motivational speaker just like Mr. Zigler，” I replied. A dream was born.
Recently， I began pursuing my dream of motivating others. After a 4-year relationship with a major fortune 100 company beginning as a sales trainer and ending as a regional sales manager， I left the company at the height of my career. Many people were astounded that I would leave after earning a six-figure income. And they asked why I would risk everything for a dream.
I made my decision to start my own company and leave my secure position after attending a regional sales meeting. The vice-president of our company delivered a speech that changed my life. He asked us， “If a genie would grant you three wishes what would they be？” After giving us a moment to write down the three wishes， then he asked us， “Why do you need a genie？” I would never forget the empowerment I felt at that moment.
I realized that everything I had accomplished—the graduate degree， the successful sales career， speaking engagements， training and managing for a fortune 100 company had prepared me for this moment. I was ready and did not need a genie’s help to become a motivational speaker.