I cannot resist sharing this outrageously wonderful response from DeVonne Salliey to the posting I made the other day, ”Out of the Mouths of Babes…” I predict that you will all love it!!!! What amazes and inspires me is how “The Power of Acknowledgment” just keeps growing and working its magic, and taking us to places we never dreamed possible. So here is the wonderful response I received, and I wish you all of you who celebrate the holiday a joyful and peaceful Thanksgiving. Whether it’s a formal celebration or not, we can all use this holiday as an opportunity to express our gratitude, and DeVonne and her girls are perfect role models for us! So here you go:
Hi Judy!
OMG!!! I was shocked to read your blog….thanks so much for including us. Your blog exceeded my expectations by leaps & bounds. I was expecting a partial sentence excerpt surrounded by lots of commentary. I know how excited I am right now; my girls are going to FLIP!
My family will arrive tonight for Thanksgiving and the long holiday weekend. I think I will copy & laminate page 1 of the blog and use them as placemats for the dinner table tonight. I won’t mention a thing and just wait for the eruption! The girls will certainly notice their names first and the FUN will begin. I CANNOT WAIT. The hard part will be staying mum about this until then…. I look forward to letting you know the reaction….might even have my video camera at-the-ready. What a GREAT holiday dinner conversation this will make.
Judy, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving Season I have to let you know how extremely GRATEFUL I am for YOU and the work you will continue to do for our children. Out of the mouths of babes….I am so grateful that your nephews inspired you to gear your next book towards the children. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Please keep me posted and I will ensure that it gets put on every required reading list in our school district. Then we can see how far we can further stretch that influence. We live in Montclair NJ and the girls often have authors visit their schools. It would be marvelous if you could pay them a visit.
Lastly, but most importantly, I feel very confident in speaking for Deja and Dena. “YES!!”….they would love to be a part of your team. They would actually be thrilled to do so.
Seriously, please keep us informed and let me know whatever we can do to help you drive forward this very passionate agenda.
Judy, wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. And once again, thank you.
DeVonne Salliey
Enterprise Program Management (EPMO)
Strategy and Development
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
I led a half day course on The Power of Acknowledgment recently in New York City, and a lovely woman, DeVonne Salliey wrote this to me as a followup:
“I really enjoyed the course, and haven’t stopped talking about it yet. If you recall, I asked you about “pay it forward” which was in the course notes…..I’d never heard of it. Well, based on a recommendation from my co-worker, Cynthia, I rented the movie “Pay It Forward” and watched this weekend. It was a little heavy for my kids (5 & 7 yrs), however we discussed the premise and characters in great detail and I even drew pictures to illustrate how the character stories inter-related and how the one-to-three relationship can spread “goodness” so quickly. When I asked if there were any questions, I got one from my 5 year old. She wanted to know why she had to limit her “pay-it-forward” acts of kindness to ONLY three people!! As you can imagine, I was thrilled. And I even agreed to let them watch the last 20 minutes or so of the movie with me later this week.
Thanks again for a great course.”
DeVonne Salliey
Enterprise Program Management (EPMO)
Strategy and Development
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
I acknowledge DeVonne for exploring and sharing this concept with her two wonderfully and delightfully aware daughters, Deja and Dena. I acknowledge the girls for their openness to the power of acknowledgment and its “pay it forward” effects on people. And I especially want to thank five year old Dena for not wanting to play small, in spite of her age and size — and wanting to pay it forward on a grand scale! If we start exposing children to the power of acknowledgment and its associated benefits early, imagine what the world will be like in generations to come!
Coincidentally, last week I spoke to my two nephews, Michael (age 7) and David (age 5) about why I was out in San Diego, California, near their home. I explained that I had been talking to 1,000 people about the book I had written, The Power of Acknowledgment, at a conference. They wanted to know what an acknowledgment was, which I explained to them. A short time later, I heard David saying to MIchael, “You are really good at playing soccer.” Michael thanked him, and then David turned to me and said — in case I had missed it – “That was an acknowledgment!” Later, I heard Michael, who was actually reading the autographed copy of the book I had given to his brother and him, say that I was a really good writer. Then, with a smile he added, “That was an acknowledgment!” Wow! I was pretty amazed at how quickly they had grasped the concept and put it to use.
It was at that moment that I started thinking about what my next book might be (everyone keeps asking me, so I will tell you about my idea first): The Power of Acknowledgment for Kids. What do you think? I feel that it could be pretty awesome to get them started early. I asked Michael and David if they would like to be part of my editorial advisory board and get a credit in the book. They both said “Yes!” immediately and then asked me what that meant. I said they would have to review what I wrote and give me feedback. They were very agreeable, and I think if I do move forward with this project, that I will ask Deja and Dena to be part of my team as well. I suspect they will say “Yes”!