Wonder Woman Wednesdays-Generosity

Welcome to the first installment of Wonder Woman Wednesday. Women of strength are found all around us, but they may not be obvious to the naked eye. Sometimes we have to look past the exterior and see what’s inside a person to find a woman of strength.

Today was a frustrating day. I had an eye doctor appointment that took several hours and had some issues with insurance.

First world problems, for sure. But I found myself irritated, cranky, and several hours behind at work.

On my way home, I stopped to pick up the mail and received a good reminder of how much I have. Let me back up…

In the fall of last year, I took a trip with a friend to a writing conference where Rachel Renee Russell, author of the Dork Diaries, was the keynote speaker. She told the story of her writing journey, of its ups and downs. It was inspiring, but then she did something that made me lean to my friend and say, “That is the kind of author I want to be.”

RRR pulled an Oprah moment. She gave away gift cards to everyone present. My friend, who had attended to keep me company, said, “Even me?” Yep. Everyone.

That generosity touched me so much that I wrote Rachel a thank you note. Today, I received a letter back. 

Rachel didn’t have to be as generous as she was. Showing up and inspiring other authors with her words would have been enough. But she went above and beyond. She gave of herself and her resources. Now, does that mean we all have to give away money or gift cards? No. There are plenty of ways to be generous. We can give of our skills. We can give encouragement. We can give our time. We can lend and ear or a shoulder. And yes, we can give our resources.

This is who I want to be: My personal version of Rachel Renee Russel. I want to be a successful writer so I can be generous.

Tell me, how are you being generous today?

You can find Rachel’s books here. Go, buy them for your kids. Know that the person behind them is going to give back to those around her. That’s the kind of person I want to support. So Rachel, if you’re reading this, thank you for being a Wonder Woman of Generosity.