Back in November of 2011 one of my Go Giver friends, Roger Boneo connected me to a lady named Judy. Roger thought Judy and I would have a lot in common because we were both mothers of Autistic teenagers. Judy and I played phone tag with promises to connect over the holidays and even Facebooked and emailed. 2012 came and I realized Judy and I had not connected and it started to bother me a bit.

In December Mary Riesberg and I launched our Magical Mondays with Mary & Michelle and we decided to start our first series of videos with the subject CONNECTING. Both Mary and I were speakers at an event in December and the main question asked to both of us was how does one connect. Where does someone start? That was a GOOD question, and Mary and I decided that CONNECTING would start with us.

We had someone for the first time ever be a guest of our Magical Mondays; it was Author , Coach & Speaker Josh Hinds. Josh was visiting me over the holidays, and we thought we would pick his brain about taking our Mondays to the next level. Mary and I thought we would gather information, and then make a plan to launch our Magical Mondays, at the perfect time. We even had our pads of paper out , scribbling down all the tidbits of knowledge Josh was so willingly sharing ,hanging on every word of coaching advise. We did not even take in consideration that Josh was the author of “Why Perfect Timing Is A Myth”, but before we knew it Josh had us on video, and then You-Tube. We did not even see it coming. I am smiling because Josh let Mary and I talk, and he did what most great leaders do ….he listened to our plan, asked short questions, determined our weakness, and needs, then executed a plan of action.Looking back, it was the very push we needed. He said,” don’t over think it ;Just DO IT”!

One day I was listening to an interview Bob Burg was giving. He was interviewing Ivan Misner , the founder of BNI. In that interview Bob and Ivan talked about how important it was when someone connected you to someone else that you made sure you followed up with that connection and then also once you connected to let the person who connected you know you did indeed connect. When people connect you to others it is the ultimate compliment.They have put their name out there for you. I guess I never thought of it that way before. Someone was putting their name out there with mine. It makes so much sense now because I have always been in the belief that if I recommend someone for a job it was my name behind them that says,”this person is the best person for that job”. When I really put meaningful thought into my core belief system I realized that when people connect you to others it means they are recommending you to them. Recommend and Connect began to look very much alike.

I began to think of all the people that I might have dropped the ball on connecting with.No matter if we had left emails, phone messages face books etc.. I had not made a meaningful connection had I not spoken with them and gotten to know the person that I was recommend to get to know so I began to make my list. I owed it to the people who thought so highly of me to make that CONNECTION. When I looked at it that way I began to realize that I had missed opportunities to help others or have them help me. That made me sad but motivated me to do something. I decided I would contact one person a day and genuinely CONNECT to them. Thus started my 365 Days Of CONNECTING.

I started looking at my list and Judy’s name amongst others stood out. So I decided to just stop what I was doing and call Judy. To my surprise Judy answered the phone and said she was so glad we finally CONNECTED. My lesson was when I put the intention out there the vibrations of connecting aligned me with my purpose. I also made my point to call because Roger thought so highly of me he put his name behind mine. I owed it to Roger to live up to his honored opinion; I owed it to Judy to see how we could help each other and I owed it to others to connect to Judy so they could connect with her in the way the universe meant for it to unfold.

Connecting to Judy has made a huge difference in my life. I learned during my conversation with Judy that she had not one but two autistic children. I also learned that Judy wrote a book called “Judy’s World, The World of Autism Through the Eyes of a Mother”. Judy asked me to look at her book and sent me a signed copy in the mail. I will forever treasure this book. Through Judy’s book I began to connect with my own daughter and implement ideas and strategies I had not thought of before. The best part was I made a new friend and got to connect her to other people that I thought she could add value to or them add value to her.

Is there someone that you have been meaning to CONNECT to but just have not been able to find the time, keep missing them etc…? I want you to think about the person that put their name beside yours. How do you feel about this person? I bet you feel the exact same way I do about Roger. Make the time to CONNECT and each day try until you do. Wishing you all Many Blessings!

~Michelle Colon-Johnson

“Connecting is about the genuine love of meeting people and making friends engage and assist one another on their journey.” ~Michelle Colon-Johnson

You can purchase Judy’s World Here:http://www.judysworld.info/PurchaseJudysWorld.aspx