If you listen to this podcast regularly or have read April’s bio, you understand that she came from a very humble background. She had a lot of things working against her. But there’s someone who worked for April, who believed in her and told her she was special. At the tender age of nine, April met this amazing woman who gave her hope that she could have a different and much better life than the one she was born into. In episode 28 of the Winning Mindset Mastery Podcast, you’ll hear more of this heartwarming story of Aunt Sue, the woman whose caring and kindness changed the trajectory of April’s life. Sue’s example will inspire you. It will challenge you. It just might change your life as well!
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Tired Of Feeling Insignificant? Here’s How To Be The Hero
Have you ever heard of the concept of a life-changing Tuesday? I’m going to tell you about it. In my book, Magic Blue Rocks: The Secret to Doing Anything, I talk about a woman who changed my life. I was nine years old and the head of human resources at the factory where my mother worked happened to be in my home when I came home from school one day.
Magic Blue Rocks: The Secret to Doing Anything
It was an incredible experience because what could have been terrifying was a much better experience because of the generosity and the way that she went out of her way to communicate to me that my mother was going to rehab. I will never forget. I walked into our home and it was dark and dank. It felt scary, cold, and terrible. Yet, there was this beautiful, tall, and regal woman who looked like a beacon of light.
It was so funny because, for a moment, I thought, “Someone who is dressed that nice does not come to your home for a good reason. What is going on?” Very quickly, she introduced herself as the head of human resources where my mother worked. She went about delivering what could be devastating news to a child in such an uplifting way where instead of focusing on the fact that I would be losing my parent for 30 days, she focused on the fact that my mom was making a brave choice that was going to change my life for the better.
Her gift that day was incredible and I didn’t stop there. She also went on to say that she thought I was special and she wanted to be my friend. If you know anything about my story from reading the show or reading my bio, you know that I came from a super humble background and there were a lot of factors that people would say worked against me.
I would say the number one factor that worked to my benefit was that woman, Sue Harper, who became my Aunt Sue, who not only said she wanted to be my friend, thought I was special, and gave me hope that I could have a different life than the one I’d grown up in. She followed through on it, became my friend, and helped me in many ways throughout my life.
Becoming The Hero: My Aunt Sue not only said she wanted to be my friend. She also thought I was special and gave me hope that I could have a different life than the one I’d grown up in.
What was so incredible is years and years later, and when I say years later, this happened to a nine-year-old April. It was a 42-year-old April who asked this question. I said, “What made you choose me? What made you offer that to me?” She said the most incredible thing. She said, “I offered that to everyone. You happened to take me up on it.”
To me, that was a life-changing experience. What she offered, what she did, and the role she played in my life changed everything about who I was able to become. Yet to her, it was just a Tuesday. That is how she operated in the world. It was such an incredible lesson. She not only became my mentor, role model, and such an impactful part of my life, she became the reason that I did so many things that I did.
She was the impetus for the generosity culture, which are the principles that I base changing companies on by teaching them to pour into their people, clients, and community. She started all of my nonprofit work because when I was younger, I wanted to be like Aunt Sue. One woman in her normal life doing her regular thing created this tremendous ripple effect that has spanned across the entire globe.
Think about the power of that for a moment. Think about the things that you do on a normal day or if you don’t feel like you do them now, but you want to. Think about the things you could do on a normal day that could be life-changing to someone else. We are in an interesting time in the world, and aren’t we always, where your smile, kind gesture, and kind or uplifting word could change not only somebody’s day but their entire life?
Your smile, kind gesture, and kind or uplifting word can change not only somebody's day but their entire life. Share on XWhy wouldn’t you be that beacon of light for someone? Why wouldn’t you be somebody’s Aunt Sue? My challenge and it’s the challenge that I have for myself, it’s the challenge that I give for every one of you is to live every one of your days, your regular days, like a life-changing Tuesday. When you do, I want to hear about it.
People say, “Don’t brag about your good deeds,” and I say, “I don’t believe that.” Sometimes, when you brag about your good deeds, that inspires someone else to do it. I will give you an example. A girl I was in the military with wrote on some social media site that we used several years ago that she paid off somebody’s layaway at Christmas.
Becoming The Hero: Sometimes, when you brag about your good deeds, that inspires someone else to do it.
I didn’t even know you could do that. I didn’t know you could go pay off a layaway somewhere. I grew up as a kid where most of the things that I got, I got because of layaway because you could pay over time. At Walmart and many other stores, you can go pay off somebody’s layaway anonymously at Christmas, and I wouldn’t know that unless someone had shared that they did it.
If you have one of these life-changing Tuesday events, I want to hear about it. Go to WinningMindsetMasteryPodcast.com. At the bottom of the page, there’s a place where you can Ask April. That’s where you can send me a personal message. I want to hear about what you did on a life-changing Tuesday. Here’s to your success.
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