Article
Goodbye Message Carried No Sorrow
By: Nigel Alston
Motivational Moments
Originally printed 6/13/2002
Don't worry too much about what people think of you. They're not thinking of you, they're
thinking of themselves.
Life's little instruction calendar.<
What would you do if you had quit your job, discovered and followed your passion, shared
positive information with others and had thousands of subscribers to your weekly inspirational
email messages and received note like this - I don't need you anymore.
May be feel a little disappointed? Possibly wonder why? Not so for Walt Goodridge. The note he
received didn't point out failure, it was welcomed feedback. He couldn't be happier than when he
read the 'unsubscribe' request and the reason for it. "When I initially read the message, I was
filled with a tremendous sense of effectiveness," he said.
There is nothing like doing what you love, following your passion and knowing it is making a
difference. "It was validation. It was reinforcement. It was support. It was gratitude. It was
growth. And it was closure," he told me. "The message is really a goodbye. But, I felt no sorrow
whatsoever. Only a satisfying sense of completion," he continued.
Frustrated by his well-paying job - the former civil engineer - decided to quit and follow his
passion and make it pay. The monotony and restrictions of being an employee was too much for
him, so he turned his passion into profit - in more ways than one.
Goodridge has written and published 10 books, launched a number of online businesses and is
the creator of a popular weekly inspirational email, "Walt's Friday Inspirations - the thoughts that
create success." I remember the first time I read one of his inspirations, forwarded to me by a
friend of a friend. It was positive, inspiring and thoughtful. After visiting his website -
www.waltgoodridge.com - I immediately subscribed.
He is best known as the "passion-to-profit" expert and has published a best seller, "Turn your
passion into profit: information, inspiration and ideas to help you make money, doing what you
love!" He helps others discover and profit from their life's passions.
"You share with others so that they may grow. Mission completed!" I told him in response to
sharing the 'unsubscribe' request. "Absolutely!" he responded. "I was explaining to a friend that
THIS is what it's all about! And why this email, more than most others I receive is the ultimate
fulfillment of what I've come here to do! He had received an affirming note from one of his
subscribers.
"Please unsubscribe me. I don't need you anymore," read the message matter-of-factly. It had
not always been that way though. "When I first started reading your material -- I was
fascinated. I was intrigued. I was really touched. So much had to eerily do with what I found
myself suddenly dealing with." It was too easy to click unsubscribe, an explanation followed with
gratitude.
"So I just can't say 'unsubscribe'. I just have to say thanks for taking the time to have a web
presence. You're insights are extraordinary There were critical times that I forwarded these
(inspirational messages) to a friend. I've found myself deleting you the last 3 or 4 months. And,
I'm rather pleased," she continued, now more confident and strong.
"I see your email, and I say, 'I don't need to read this anymore.' And that's that. I sure hope
other people are getting out of it what I did. That's it for me. Best of luck with all your work."
"Without a doubt, this ranks as the BEST email I've ever received in relation to my inspirations! I
hope you don't mind me sharing," Goodridge said.
The goodbye message carried no sorrow. "She came. She grew. She graduated," he wrote in
plain words, his work complete. It's one thing to think you are helping someone, and another
thing to know that person doesn't need you anymore because you have helped them.
There is power in purpose.
Nigel Alston is a radio talk show host, columnist and motivational speaker. Visit his Web site at www.motivationalmoments.com.
Inspired by a fan letter to Walt, and which
consequently inspired Inspiration #251: "The Best of All Goodbyes"
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"Freedom to Prosper. Freedom to Escape. Freedom to be Ageless."
