Here's How A Complete Stranger Crossed The Street & Inspired Me

Last blog, I told you that I’m currently between gigs. Well this blog is about my encounter with a complete stranger that would ultimately inspire me to understand that my success & destiny aren’t contingent on any one job or person.

Me at Capitol Records in Hollywood, sitting in the same chair that Frank Sinatra sat in while recording.

During my daily prayers, one of the things I thank God for is my gift of voice because it has afforded me the opportunity to have a successful & storied career. It has afforded me the opportunity to have so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences that many people will never experience. I’ve always had the gift of voice…even before I started in radio. Whether I was going to sing or be on the radio, my voice was going to be the thing that would catapult me into a successful career.

The national television commercial I voiced for Ke$ha’s album in 2009

To be clear, this isn’t a blog for me brag about my voice. Rather, it’s a blog for me to share with you my ‘aha moment’ (as Oprah always says) when I realized that God has already blessed me with all the tools I’ll need to be successful in life. Sure, we all experience success because there are those amazing people who help us along the way. But this blog is also a reminder that YOU already have what it takes to be successful. You don’t have to wait for someone’s approval of you or for someone to give you permission to succeed. As the Good Witch Glinda told Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vt0B0bZVM8

“You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power.”

I found out that I no longer had a job on August 1st of this year…that was when my contract had expired. I was told that my contract wouldn’t be renewed because of budget reasons…In other words, the company would save money if they didn’t renew my contract. I’ve never been unemployed…The news came as a shock. I mean, anyone following me on social media at that time would see that I was working my butt off…In addition to my daily radio show, I’m waking up super early and visiting listeners at their offices, I’m broadcasting live on location collecting school supplies for kids, I’m making appearances for clients, I’m blogging, I’m giving listeners tours of the station. I was working HARD…there’s no denying that. So when you’re working that hard & doing everything (and more) that you’re asked to do, you don’t expect that less than a week later, you’ll be out of a job.

But I have to say…if you’re gonna go out, I’m happy that I went out on a powerful week like I had just had. All of the work I listed above was very rewarding work for me. On top of that, I was receiving so much love from our listeners. Interactions with listeners at my appearances at the two Haagen Dazs locations in La Jolla the weekend before stand out to me most. At the 1st appearance in UTC, a woman that I’d never met approached and asked if I was Shelley Wade. I told her yes. Then she told me that she listened to me everyday because my voice was an otherwise bright spot in a difficult day. At the 2nd appearance at the location near the ocean on Prospect, I was on the microphone making announcements that it was National Ice Cream Day & that we were giving out free ice cream. After one particular announcement, a woman & her husband approached me. She said that she had been shopping at the store across the street when she heard my voice. She said that my voice gave her goosebumps, which compelled her to cross the street and find out who I was. She wanted to know all about me and proceeded to gift me with a barrage of amazing compliments for the better part of 20 minutes. I was blown away by her kindness and by the greatness that she said she saw in me. Then I joked, “Wow, I wish my boss was here to hear all these amazing things you’re saying about me!” To which she replied, “NO, YOUR BOSS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR GREATNESS AND WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LEVELS OF SUCCESS THAT YOU’RE GOING TO REACH. IT’S ALL IN YOU!” I typed that in caps because that was the “aha moment” for me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3-Q5ETgiJG/

I can still picture that woman, but I don’t remember her name. I wish I did because her words really resonated with me in a big way. I was joking to her that my boss needed to hear all the wonderful things she was saying about me. But, in actuality, it was me who needed to hear her words. Less than a week after she spoke of my greatness, I was informed that I no longer had a job. Since hindsight is 20/20, I wholeheartedly believe that God was sending me the message of my greatness through that woman. I didn’t know it at the time, but I would need that message and I would fully need to understand that no one boss and no one job will determine my greatness or success in life. Jobs & bosses come into our lives at specific times & for specific purposes, but they do not determine our value, our destiny or our greatness. Always remember that you are great because God made you that way. Practice having an unwavering belief in your value & your worth. You’ve already been gifted with the tools you’ll need to be successful in life…you just have to use them. “You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power.”

Thanks for stopping by and I hope this was a message that inspired you the way it inspired me. Be sure to follow, like & subscribe to my social media & podcast. All the info’s below…