Have you thought of one person that has changed your life forever recently? 

Think of a person that has changed or impacted your life significantly. This person saw something in you that he or she believed in you more than you did. The encouragement led to a much enriched life journey.

Does this person know what kind of impact their belief had in you? My call to action is to get in touch with this person immediately. Let her/ him know how you feel and appreciate what he/she did.

Next, follow this train of thought and create a ripple effect. Give of yourself. Help out a person who struggles through life. If you want to read up on what that could look like, Jeff Goins’ book “Wrecked” could help set the stage for you.

My person is my best friend Holger who helped me through some great difficulty when I was 17 and enduring the hardship of apprenticeship in Germany. My mom and dad did not have problems with alcohol – they had problems without alcohol. They were alcoholics. The home life was a royal mess, and we did not even have money to buy heating oil in the winter.

Girl friend? Hah, did not have the guts and the heart to get entangled with more issues, nor was I mentally in a good position to be a good mate. I was bullied extensively during my job apprenticeship. Whenever I could I would drink heavily. Shame galore – living in a small village in Germany was not a walk in the park when you are being put into the same category as your dad. Dad is an idiot = son is an idiot. Simple equation that came with some “interesting” ramifications. I literally clung to life.

One particularly bad night I had come back from a party with co-workers, drunk and depressed. I bumped into Holger at a block party and he saw the little heap of a mess that was me. He listened and helped me get my bearing again. Day by day and thought by thought. We became lifelong friends, but as of late we can no longer stay in contact all that much as we live in totally different places. Thanks for all you did my friend during the darkest time of my life! Cannot wait to connect with him and telling him how much his help meant to me.

Do you know someone who picked you up from the floor and put you back on your feet? How about a teacher or coach? This special person may not even remember you. It does not matter. Make sure you tell him that you love him and that you appreciate everything that he did for you. Do it fast, because life can change with an blink of an eye*.

Ralf

*Thanks, Tom!