My wife is a lovely woman, and I say that knowing she doesn't read my blog; isn't that a shame, you can work on getting others to read your stuff, but your own wife,... oh well,...

Anyway, she's one of those people that most other people just like. There are those kinds of people that others are drawn to for whatever reason, and she's one of them. She stands out in any crowd, but the reason she stands out is because she fits in with every type of person and crowd. Overwhelmingly, people are drawn to her in so many different circles that I like to stay close to feed off her karma. Okay, that's not totally true. I like going places with her, but I like to step away from her and watch how other people react. She earns fans, and her friends are so loyal that they literally fight over each other just to prove which one is the better friend. I used to see that with kids, but never with adults.

Now, here's the flip side of things, because not even her life can be perfect. There are those people who are strongly against her, for no other reason than the fact that so many others are for her. I hate to use the word "jealousy", but there's really no other explanation for it. It gets to a point where they will start creating problems, often making things up, and then wonder why no one believes them later on. And, because no one believes them, it then starts getting worse.

My wife used to be the type to respond to this sort of thing by deciding they could have it and leaving. That's happened a couple of times while we've been married, but as we've talked over the years it seems that was always a pattern with her. Standing up for herself against the minority of those who got on her nerves never seemed to be her way, and if one can't do that I guess it's fine, but allowing someone else to dictate to them is quite another.

I told her she couldn't continue going down this path in her life, because it limited the amount of satisfaction she was going to be able to derive in her life. She's such a happy and pleasant person, and the thought that anyone else could make her feel bad in the face of so much adulation from so many others was troubling to me. So, I got a break when Jack Canfield, he of Chicken Soup fame, was giving a presentation about six weeks ago at the casino close to where we live. I had a previous engagement and couldn't go, but I asked her if she'd like to go, even if she had to go on her own. She loves those books, and gained an even greater appreciation for him when he appeared in the Secret Movie, so she said yes.

It turns out to have been the best money I've ever spent, and I've spent my money on some pretty nice things (though don't talk to my friend Kelvin about the Palm Lifedrive; one mistake,...). She came home with a new philosophy and a plan, and one statement he made really stuck with her and seemed to be the difference maker: "What other people think about you is not your business."

How simple a statement is that? And yet, in its simplicity, the message is strong and clear, and it makes a lot of sense. A little part of this can relate back to my post on fear, and how we sometimes worry so much about what others are thinking or saying about us that it impedes us from going for our dreams and vision. Well, my wife took this statement to heart, and says it often, and it seems to have made a drastic difference in her professional and personal life. I'm not sure she sees it as I do, but I feel like she's taken a 10 fold step forward, and is better prepared for the challenges any detractor might ever think about imparting on her.

Isn't life better when we don't let someone else hold us back from what we want to do? I'm so glad to be the beneficiary of her good fortune.