ME AND CHERYL

  About 12 years ago, I was watching OPRAH and a beautiful woman was on promoting a book.  Her name was Cheryl Richardson.  She called herself a life coach and I was fascinated.  I watched her work with a single mom who barely had time for herself between her job and raising her children.  What she really wanted to do was write and perform her poetry.  Cheryl was wonderful and gave her some great ideas to find time to write.  One was to just carrying around a small tape recorder to record ideas as they came to her...Cheryl said it wasn't about time, it was about fear, and soon the young mother was writing again and giving some readings.  She worked with another woman who had such concerns about how her friends interacted with her.  If they hadn't called in a while, she would get very upset.  She said that she went to a party with a new coat and someone said, "That is the ugliest coat I have ever seen."  Cheryl had alot of advice, and also said she wonders what that does to our bodies when we stuff our feelings.  I ran to the bookstore to get her book.  I was working at the Marriott back then.  I opened the book and it talked about money issues… something I had.  One suggestion she had was to see what you could cut out of your budget to save money. Not exactly new advice, but I realized the book was too extravagant for me to buy at that time, so I didn’t get it.  A few  years ago, I was at church and in their bookstore I saw one of her latest books for only 5 dollars.  I grabbed it and it’s been wonderful to read and use.  Then I got on her Facebook page, and from time to time we say hello to one another.  When I didn’t win a contest that she held on Facebook,  I wrote, “I feel so used.”  Fortunately she got the joke.  One time there was a caricature of her husband and I wrote, “He never calls.”  She got that one too and says it back to me when I write her.  She is getting more and more famous, yet she doesn’t forget these goofy things I have said.  She seems to walk her talk.  I hope someday to meet her.  I listen to her radio show and find her advice is so perfect and practical.  One person called in recently who is starting her own business.  She has repeatedly told people to have a good source of income in place when doing this and this woman had great concerns about her finances.  She was ready to go on a cruise where Cheryl was one of the speakers and Cheryl said if she really didn’t have the money, then to put the cruise on hold.  Come on… How many people would say, uhm…”don’t take this cruise that I am a keynote speaker on…” if she didn’t have a whole bunch of integrity?  This is why I think she is getting so much attention.  We gravitate to honesty….  She tells people who call in with very serious issues, that she is putting them in her prayer book.  On Facebook she will express her personal “stuff” and how she handles it… with a great deal of gratitude.  As soon as I have the money, I will go see her speak at one of these conferences... in the meantime…"He never calls” and “I feel so used” will have to suffice.