What is the one thing no one knows about you?

I woke up again very early this morning.

God wants me to share another message with you. I am not entirely convinced I should share this, but I believe it could help someone, so here it is.

My fabulous co-host asked me a question on one of our episodes, and I didn’t know how to answer it till now.

Dr. J. Royster asked me, “What is the one thing no one knows about you?”

It came to me at 2 am this morning.

About 15 years ago, I was in an extremely dark place. Like the moment-to-moment walk with Jesus!

See, as the certified people pleaser and the one that fixes everything for everyone, I meant I took care of everyone, and I never f’ed up!

Until I did! And I did it in epic proportions!

See I wanted to find love, someone who would be all the things and take my loneness away.

Someone who would shower me with flowers and words of love. So, I went online to one of the big online dating sites and met this guy!

He was from Ohio, he was an engineer, he said all the right things, he sent me flowers and was extremely upset when the side gift was not delivered with the flowers.

He was overseas on some assignment.

Then it happened!

There was a shipment he needed but there were customs and because he was on a ship he could not get the money wired directly, he needed my help!

He sent me all the documents; I double-checked everything. I was the investigator, and everything appeared to be in order.

I had some money in a separate account that my parents had held onto for themselves.

All I needed to do was pay for the customs, and he would send me the money back way before they needed it. No problem! Until it was a problem!

Yes, I was involved in one of the largest scams that existed. I had even borrowed more money from a friend.

You guessed it; it was all a lie.

The moment I knew that it was, I wanted to die.

My first thought was, “How the hell do I get this money back?” The second was I failed my parents in such a way, how the hell could they ever trust me again.

You see, before this, I had never screwed up with my parents this badly. NEVER!

I spiraled that night, if it wasn’t for a friend that I reached out I don’t think I would still be here today.

There were times during those 24 hours when survival depended on a moment-to-moment walk with God and taking deep breaths.

Long story short, my parents forgave me. I ended up paying back every dime, not only to my parents but also to my friend.

However, I didn’t trust myself for a long time after that. I didn’t trust others, and I dropped that dating site!

It took me a lot of healing, inner work, and prayer to recover from that moment.

I can look back now and realize it had to happen; I needed those life lessons.

1) Trust yourself

2) Reach out to a friend when you need to

3) Don’t be so desperate for love; you miss the warning signs

4) Love yourself first; the rest will follow

5) No matter how badly you screw up, your parents will forgive you

6) No one is perfect, and you don’t need to fix everyone or anything

7) Allow others to be there for you

8) Search for inner love first, before outside love

9) Have the right people in your life to help you navigate life

10) It’s ok to mess up; life is filled with lessons. It’s never a mistake; it’s just a lesson.

I believe I went through these moments so that I can be there for other people.

I can identify and empathize with so many because of all the lessons I have learned.

I help others through concepts, not theories.

If you want to learn how I became THE Overcomer, then check out my second book, The Overcomer Playbook. The Overcomer Playbook: O'Dell, Dorothyann: 9781778081514: Amazon.com: Books. I've outlined the seven steps I have taken to get to where I am today.

If you want to check out the full episode where this question was inspired, click here: (2) From Bookkeeper to Media Maven: How Stories Ignite Transformation on The Unstoppable Network - YouTube

Please share this with someone who you know could benefit. And if that person was you, I am grateful that I shared these moments with you. And subscribe to our channel so you can listen to other incredible stories as well.

Bottom line, no matter how much you think you screwed up, there is always redemption. It may look bleak at the time, but everything usually works out in the end.

Never give up, and please don't hesitate to reach out if you need help or would like to talk to someone.

Much love and gratitude.

Dorothy