Well, hello, my friends, and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast Monday morning moments with John O'Leary.

I record these each and every week so you and I can begin our weeks and indeed these days in awe

and on fire with a burst of inspiration.

Who better to light us up today than my buddy, my friend, and yours.

Her name is Bray Brown.

Ms. Brown says this.

The willingness to show up changes us. It makes us a little braver each time.

So here's a truth about John O'Leary. You're ready for it? I can't say no to my mom. I know, John, like you're in your mid-40s, figure it out. I'm just telling you right now,

I can't say no to my mom. That's how I ended up at a parking lot of a retirement home in our community

just last week. Mom had reached out to see if I might be able to visit a friend of hers,

Gloria, who I'd met a couple times previously, has Parkinson's disease, had recently fallen, and mom thought she might benefit from a little encouragement.

My friends, my calendar was fairly jammed up. We had five speaking events, several podcast interviews, various meetings and deadlines.

It would have been easy and it would have been honest to simply tell

mom that it was not going to work. There just was not time. And yet, mom's entire life is about the

transformational power of not making excuses, of finding the time and of showing up for others.

So I said yes to my mom.

I made time for the visit.

We met at the facility, parking lot, and walked in together.

Near the entrance of the building,

mom stopped for a moment to compliment a resident seated in her wheelchair on her beautiful earrings.

She gushed then about how cute the receptionist hair was.

We then paused on the walk back to say hello to a gentleman eating breakfast by himself.

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