By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC
It is said that “your life can be changed in a matter of seconds by people you don’t even know”
For me, I don’t think it even matters as to whether or not you are actually even open to the possibility of that moment or even open to the change that that moment might bring.
These are the moments, or what, Oprah Winfrey calls “Ah Ha!” moments, that usually come completely out of the blue or when you least expect them and yet quite possibly they are the moments that can and probably will change the direction of your life or be the defining moment when you change intrinsically as a person.
That’s not to say that you will only experience one of these moments in the course of your life time. I certainly haven’t! But then of course why would you limit yourself to only one of these deliciously appetizing, soul defining moments? You don’t have to you know.
That said, like your first kiss or your first love – your first ‘Ah-Ha’ moment is one that you are unlikely to ever forget. I certainly couldn’t.
My defining moment came in November 1999, when I sat in front of a complete stranger by the name of Vanessa Paige and she was reading my Tarot cards.
Now I can see all of you smiling and nodding your head in unison – a Tarot card reading!
Well let me tell you, this was not a Tarot card reading that you have done by the Gypsies who live in caravans or the fortune tellers that you engage with at the fun fair. This was a reading like I have never encountered in my life! And this was the reading that changed the course of my life and who I am as a person.
You see Vanessa told me that I was a worthwhile person. That I had the right to make my own decisions and my own choices. That it was my life and that I had the right and the power to live it. She told me that I had “given away my power” to bosses that used and abused it, to friends who did not appreciate me and to family, who took as much as they could and then discarded me.
Vanessa made me understand that I could take my power back, I could be somebody, a worthwhile somebody, who could make a valuable contribution to this world. All I had to do was to believe in myself and start to love – me.
And you know what else? Vanessa told me that she believed in me!
This was the first time that anyone had ever said anything like this to me and the effect was quite profound.
It has been a slow and sometimes painful journey, but it has also brought me much happiness and fulfillment.
I now own my own business. I make a difference in the lives of others. I write for magazines and newspapers. I have been interviewed and appeared on TV. I have been the guest speaker at huge functions – but most of all, most powerful of all – I am the master of my own destiny.
And all it took was one brief moment in time, with someone I did not know!
Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za.
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