Forever Touched

There are certain people in this world who touch our lives in a special way and ultimately change who we become. Perhaps we have known them for a long time or perhaps only for a moment. But God places them in our lives for a reason and their purpose can be profound.

Betsy White was one of those special people who touched my life in a very profound way. When I first met Betsy in the mid 1980’s she was a Senior Property Manager for the Irvine Office Company, managing some of the nicest, most expensive high rise office buildings in all of Southern California. Her office itself was extraordinarily beautiful overlooking Fashion Island in Newport Beach. On the other hand, I was a long haired, 25 year old kid, who just started his own business selling lighting supplies out of the back of a pickup truck. We could not have been more opposite in our career positions, she at the top of her field and me just starting out.

It was intimidating just to enter the building where Betsy worked. I felt out of place among the high class movers and shakers of the Commercial Property Management world, but when I sat down for my first meeting with Betsy, it was a magical moment. She never stopped smiling! She was warm, funny and engaging. She treated me like I was more important than she was; allowing me to tell her all about my company and products, never interrupting me, never rushing me or acting like she was too busy or too important to listen. By the time I left the building, I actually felt like I was somebody special. That was just one of the gifts that Betsy gave to people. She made everyone around her feel special.

The other gift Betsy gave me was the inspiration to create my Monday Messages. Betsy was the original “Monday Message” person, although she didn’t call it that. What she did back in those days was to fax a funny cartoon every Monday to every vendor she dealt with. She told me she knew her vendors had a tough job keeping all of her buildings operating at such a high level and she knew it was stressful, so she wanted everyone who worked with her to start their week out with a laugh.

Whenever I think about Betsy.… I smile because I can picture her in her custom built wheelchair, wheeling over to her fax machine one more time to send out another goofy cartoon on Monday mornings. You would have never known she was sick with Multiple Sclerosis because she never mentioned it, never complained and never stopped smiling. When I heard she had passed away it tore my heart out.  I sat down and cried but I knew she wouldn’t want that. So I tried my best to smile and remember how she touched my life and made a struggling young salesman feel like he was the king of the world. Betsy, if you’re reading this please know that you touched my life and this week’s message, as well as every other message I have ever sent out, was inspired by your wonderful example!

 



Whether or not we realize it each of us has within us

the ability to set some kind of example for others.

Knowing this would you rather be the one known

for encouraging others, or the one who inadvertently

discouraged those around you?

~ Thomas Kinkade