My 40th Birthday Surprise

Part of my success philosophy is having success in ALL areas of life -- not just business. It is all too often that I see successful business owners and professionals put all their energy into their work and neglect one of the core foundations of their life -- family.

So I share with you this story with a feeling of pride that my family surprised me for my 40th birthday. First of all, I was working again this year on my birthday. I spoke for James Malinchak's College Speaking Success Bootcamp in Los Angeles on "Connecting the Dots: How to Get a Massive Return on Investment from this Event." And I was leaving three days later for my big celebration trip to Europe (see pcitures on my Travel Blog.) But I really wanted to have a party and I couldn't figure out how to pull it together. Many of my friends were out of town that weekend and I couldn't help feeling a bit bummed out.

Friday night of my birthday weekend my honey suggested we have a nice dinner out with his daughter. Never one to say no to an opportunity NOT to cook, I said sure. I barely put on makeup and a decent outfit. Mark suggested Italian. I say sure. He said, "How about that place over by the mall, I think it's Maggiannos?" I thought, interesting choice, he doesn't usually like that place but I sure do.

I remember on the way over thinking, is it possible that my family is getting together this weekend? Maybe on Sunday night for dinner? Maybe that's a surprise? Wouldn't it be amazing if my brother was there? But a fleeting thought that left right away.

Even as we walked into reservations, Mark said, "Mark, party of 3." The host said, "right this way sir." At this point I'm completely oblivious but a part of me is thinking, "Why are we going down this hall towards the private dining area?" Two seconds later, my entire family including aunts & uncles, are yelling surprise. Of course my eyes welled up because I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that everyone had flown in -- excpet, of course, my brother, from the East Coast.

So they finally get me seated and we settle in. I notice a couple of empty chairs. I glance around the room to see who wasn't seated -- and then, two small hands are covering my eyes saying, "Guess who?"

I ponder for a moment. Who is missing? Who could it be? The next voice was much deeper and said, "Happy Birthday Sweetie."

Well I flipped around and saw my brother and my nephew standing there. Well then the tears were really rolling. I love and adore my brother. We live so far away it is hard to see each other regularly. To top it all off, he has spent the last year in a very difficult divorce and we've been on the phone weekly. I've been missing him and had tried to get him to meet me in New York in June while I'm on my layover. But he wouldn't commit! Now I knew why.

Why did I share this story? Because spending time with my family is precious. Knowing that turning 40 was a big event and that they wanted to be there with me touched my heart in a way that I knew everything I've worked for makes sense. Being an entrepreneur was a choice I made so that I could make a difference not just in my life, but in the lives of everyone I touch.

The key conspirator behind the scheme was my sister. She apparently has been planning this for over a year. Here is my sister, Kerry and my niece. I must say that my family really got me this time. I was very unsuspecting and it was a flawless surprise. Mark, my honey, really had me going to the point where I was amost mad that he didnt' have plans for us.

The celebration was special from start to finish -- multiple days of beach, playing cards, eating big family dinners and just hanging out. I was in heaven.

Because I set my own schedule, I could take off three days before my three week vacation and really just be with my family.

To complete my birthday, I had a very special experience. My mom, who brought me into this world, joined me for the my speaking engagement. During my presentation, I shared with everyone who she was and that it was my birthday. It is quite a rush to have 80 people sing you "Happy Birthday." But afterwords, many people in the room came over and thanked my mom, telling her what a difference I had made in their life. So really, I was able to give my mom one of the best gifts in the world on my birthday -- pride.

It turned out to be a GREAT birthday that I'll remember forever. Now what we will do to top that for my 50th birthday? =-)