The Tale of Two Phone Call Messages
Thursday Thoughts, Wisdom and Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs and Women in Business
Thursdays are my day to catch up on phone calls and emails that slipped by busy early week duties of entrepreneurship. As big snowflakes dropped from the sky, I lounged in bed after the alarm clock went off, since I bustled around every other morning. In a sense, I had been on a “book tour” making my rounds between local and state-wide media sharing my alopecia story, new book, and lessons learned to help other women. I was certainly in the public eye for the past two weeks.
Phone messages blinked on my phone waiting for me to listen to them. Hitting replay, the first message was from a 91-year-old woman who called to share a cure for alopecia that worked for her late husband. He died in 2006 but he had alopecia in college and his brother got it too. Both had their hair returned after this one treatment she wanted to share with me. Her voice seemed sweet and positive. My heart was touched.
Following her message was an angry woman calling to voice her unpleasant opinion about me and my company not supporting the recent New York State bail reform law that can put domestic violence offenders back on the streets. “You are disgusting,” she yelled into my message machine and ear. She continued, “How can you say you, support women, when you don’t stand up for this horrific incident that’s putting dangerous men on the street?” I played two messages for my husband. He was shocked at the second one.
I glanced out at the softly fallen, quiet snow and said to him, “These two messages are two different examples of how people respond in the world today – one is kind and the other condemning.” I continued, “If the second woman framed her displeasure differently, I might have called her back to ask how I could further her cause but I won’t do that after being attacked by someone who doesn’t know me, but I will call back the first woman who approached her phone call differently.” The calls remind me the loudest people don’t get noticed the way they really want and the positive, controlled people do. Any person can make a point about any topic facing women, but the positive or negative emotionality in the point is what gets noticed and responded or ignored.
I’ll let you know if people picket my house or overwhelm my phone message box since that is what the second woman threatened if I didn’t do something about denouncing the new bail reform law. I’ll wait for them glancing out my beautiful office window on this beautiful winter morning as I call and speak to the 91-year-old woman who gently said, “She just wants to help me.” What tone will you take today in communicating with people?
If you want to see how positive, caring, and compassionate people helped me “cure” my thoughts on alopecia, buy a copy of my new book “Under the Rose-Colored Hat” and feel good about society.
Women TIES 