You sat there on a chair in the back office of our new business. I had not seen you so scared before. It was opening week and you had no idea what all this meant. You had never worked outside the house. Hell, you didn’t even know how to speak English back then. How were you going to learn all those services advertised on the front door of your business? And what the heck is a POS system? What if a customer just walked in the door!
You got up that day and stood at the front counter confidently smiling and greeting customers. You mustered up the courage to speak English, as broken as it was. Within months, you had learned all about that POS system and hundreds of packing and shipping options. You were so charming that you started making friends with customers and they were now coming in by the dozens. Congrats, you were now a proud owner of your own business… and my inspiration forever!
You taught me so many things about life since I was a child. I was shy and would sit quietly in a corner anytime we visited someone’s home. You gently taught me to speak up and build my confidence. You came up with a fun game where I had to make at least one new friend at every party we went to. You told me that it was going to be hard to talk to people at first but it will become easier with practice and it did…
You taught me to always ask for what I want in life. What is the worst that could happen, you said. If the answer is no, that’s no worse off than not asking at all. You told me that I would be surprised to learn how often in life you can get what you want just by asking. And you were right.
You taught me to dream… and to dream big! When you had mastered your small business, you didn’t sit there to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You already had bigger and better ideas in mind and you worked hard to pursue them. You were not scared of the business world anymore. You were now closing sales and negotiating deals worth tens of thousands of dollars. You didn’t let fear get in the way of your dreams and challenged me every day to be my best and not settle for anything less.
You are and always will be my life inspiration. I am proud to be your daughter.
Love,
Your biggest fan