YOU MATTER: A Message, A Reminder, A Connector, A Mission.

I believe these are two of the most powerful words in the world.  It doesn’t matter who speaks them or to whom they are being spoken, the power is there.

Wanting to know you matter to someone is more than just a request for recognition; it is a desire and quest for significance. We don’t want to know we matter; we need to know.

I recently had the opportunity to talk about the importance of mattering in a TED Event hosted in Iowa. As I watched people react to the talk, turning immediately to someone next to them and speak these words, I realized how many people in my life I had not yet told how much they mean to me.

From that day on, I have become consciously aware of who matters in my life. I started calling people, meeting with them, emailing,tweeting, and connecting with people in my life with the express purpose of telling them, “You matter.” The reaction has been profound.

Each time these words have left my lips or fingertips, I have changed. People to whom I’ve said “you matter ”  have been touched, moved and inspired, and they’ve responded with the same words, tears, hugs, smiles, and thanks. Even more importantly, they have begun the process of reaching out to people in their lives to do the same.

YOU MATTER.

• If you share this exchange on Twitter please use the Hashtag- #youmatter
• It has been so powerful to see this happen in real time.
• If you post your thoughts about mattering here in the comments, I will collect your stories and share in an upcoming post.
• If you write about the experience on your blog- please link back to this post.  Thank you  Dr. Z , Collette, Jerry, Tom, Karen for leading the way!

Little by little, we will show the world that MATTERing matters.

Join me, will you?

Oh, and if I have not yet told you in some way how important you are to me. I want you to know that  - YOU MATTER!