Life! By Design_ 6 Steps to an Extraordinary You - Laura Morton [7]
I was stunned. I felt pretty good about where I was and the path I was on. I had no idea what Brian was talking about. I held my breath as he continued.
“Tom needs to get married,” Brian announced to the entire room.
I stood there thinking, I’m not even twenty-one yet! I’d had a fake ID in my wallet since I was seventeen years old. I felt I was just coming into my own. I wasn’t looking to get married anytime soon, but I was curious. Since I already had Brian’s attention, I began firing off questions as fast as I could think them up.
“How do I find the perfect wife?” I asked.
“Go back to your hotel room and write out everything you’re looking for in the perfect spouse. Put today’s date at the top of that list. I promise you, she’ll show up before you can say the word ‘Wedding.’”
I had studied with Brian long enough to know that if he tells me to do something, it will have the desired result. With my then girlfriend in tow, and as awkward as it seemed, I went back to my hotel room and did exactly as he asked. I wrote the date, July 17, 1991, at the top of the page and began listing my dream girl qualifications. When I was finished, I folded the page and slipped it into my wallet.
Although I couldn’t know it at the time, I’d meet Kathy, my future wife, just thirty days later. Our company was in the middle of marketing a big event that was coming up. One afternoon my phone rang and an enthusiastic woman asked if there was still room for her and five of her friends to attend. I was a young, aggressive, straight-commission salesperson, so this was music to my ears. After we chatted for a few minutes, she said she’d rally her friends and get back to me in a couple of days. I spent the next several weeks attempting to follow up with her, but never spoke to her again. I actually typed the word “flake” next to her name in my computer.
On the day of the event, unbeknownst to me, she showed up with her posse but paid at the door, which meant there would be no commission for me. I was at a private cocktail party for our best clients when I noticed a beautiful woman walk into the room with one of these clients. I was immediately drawn to her. I thought she was stunning. Since we had never met, I walked over and introduced myself. When I looked at her name badge, I went from a would-be Casanova to a hurt schoolboy.
“You’re a flake! You never called me, and now you’re here?” I asked half serious and half joking.
Kathy and I spoke for a few minutes before I took a chance and asked her out for a drink. Thankfully, she said yes. We spent the rest of the evening talking, connecting, and getting to know each other. There was an instant and electric bond unlike anything I had ever experienced with a woman.
At the seminar the next day, MF acknowledged me from the stage, thanking me for the number of people I helped get to the event and doling out accolades for all of my hard work. I was sitting in the back of the room with Kathy when he said, “…all of this the day before his twenty-first birthday!”
I cringed because I knew that Kathy had no idea I was so young. Truth be told, I wasn’t your average twenty-year-old kid. I was mature, successful, settled, and experienced. Besides, I didn’t like the girls my age. They were too immature for where I was in my life. I wanted to be with a woman who matched or surpassed me emotionally and intellectually. Like my dad, I had tremendous drive and ambition, but I also wanted to build a family.
After Kathy heard how young I was, it took a lot of convincing to get her to go out with me again, but eventually she gave in. I knew I had to make that date count, so I took her to a swanky restaurant in Newport Beach. Once again, the time we spent together was fantastic. When we got into the car after dinner, I could tell that something was on her mind, but she wouldn’t tell me what she was thinking. I decided