The Relief of Giving

Okay, I'll admit it - I have 2 digital cameras but I still use my old fashioned, film-based camera. And sometimes it takes me a while to get my film developed. Today I had 3 rolls of film developed - one of them was a series of shots taken in November, 2006 at a conference I attended in Florida. It was the Millionaire Mind Conference by T.Harv Eker - where I met this woman who completely changed my perspective on giving.

This is what happened...

There were 1200 people at the conference. It was intense, tiring, exciting, and invigorating all at the same time. They asked us to share our deepest, darkest fears about money. They kept the room cool so that participants would stay alert. Every few hours they gave us a break to grab food and coffee. On one such break I walked past this woman named Chantaye and she stopped me in my tracks to compliment me on the jacket I was wearing. It was long, it was black and white, with zig-zag designs, and had a funky look and feel to it. It was one of my favorites and gave me a hip style. I received compliments every time I wore it - but this time was different.

"I love your jacket" she said.
"Thank you" I replied.
"You know, in the spirit of giving, it would be great if you gave me your jacket, that's a jacket I would love to have."

I think she meant it as a joke but without batting an eyelash, I began to take it off so that she could have it. As I did so, the cold breeze of the air conditioning hit me and I thought about how miserable I would feel without a jacket. Here's what I said:

"I would love to give you my jacket and I will. But it's a little bit cold in here with the air conditioning on. How about if I keep it on for the rest of the day and I bring it with me tomorrow for you to have?"

At this point she thought that I was joking but that evening when I went back to my hotel room, I promptly took the jacket off and put it in a bag so that I would not forget to bring it to her the next day.

I spent all of the following day carrying a plastic bag looking for this woman that I had only seen once before in my life. I looked everywhere. I walked up and down the aisles scanning all 1200 faces. I went to the washrooms - all of them - during the break - I couldn't find her. As the day passed, I grew more and more anxious about not being able to find her. It was the last day of the conference and it would be my only chance to give it to her. The conference was scheduled to end at 5 p.m. and the time was quickly slipping away.

At 4 p.m. I spotted her - I ran across the massive hall to catch up to her. I said, "There you are, I've been looking for you all day!" I was mistaken and embarassed. It wasn't her.

Finally at around 4:30 p.m. she walked by. With tremendous relief I caught up with her and handed her the bag. She was flabbergasted! She couldn't believe that I had brought it to her and kept my promise. For me, there was no question, I had to give it to her. I asked her to try it on and take a picture with me - so that I could remember the incident ... and the jacket!