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

As a kid, meeting someone new often sent my heart

racing. You see, I worried that they would judge me for the scars of my face, maybe the burns

on my arms or maybe the fingers that were no longer there. My mom, always able to read her kids'

thoughts and then directly coached them up,

observed my pain and hesitation when meeting new people. One day, mom knelt down next to me,

looked me in the eye and said, John, you are as good as anyone that you will ever meet.

And if shaking hands makes you nervous, here's what you need to do

instead. Extend your right hand and with your left arm. Pull them in for a hug. Let them know

who you are before they have time to decide what they think they see. Then she said something that

echoed through my life ever since.

Your scars will not define you.

The way you show up will.

That's a strong line I'm going to say to you one more time today.

Here it is.

Your scars will not define you.

The way you show up will.

My friends, through the years I I've noticed that my mom,

as so often as the case, was right. Sure, some people might make judgments and they might look away in fear, but far more often, confidence, kindness, and the way we treat others carry far more

weight than snap judgments or superficial scars. I thought of

mom's advice while reading a fascinating study that put her wisdom to the test. Researchers gathered a

group of ordinary participants and had a makeup artist create realistic scars on their faces.

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