There are a handful of times in my life where I have experienced something so powerful that it moved me to tears. And hearing two consecutive voice mails back in the summer of 2005 was one of those times. One was a message from a stranger and one was from my husband, Bill. I listened to the stranger’s message which began with, “Hi, you don’t know me, but…” and he continued to state why he was calling. And then I wept. I don’t know that I have ever had that strong of a reaction to such a natural turn of events, but this is one of those times where I knew my life would never be the same.

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In the early 90’s when Bill and I first decided to hang together (and knew it would be forever!), we talked about our greatest love—vacations and travel. We simply couldn’t get enough of the “adventure” side of life and were delighted to be on the same page with each other.

Hooked on vacations

Early on in our business, we led workshops together on creating conscious vacations, we spoke at travel conferences, we created our own vacation-planning process that quickly got the media’s attention, and we began writing a vacation book. A lot of great things were happening for us!

We also created a lifestyle that set us up for being able to take the vacations we wanted. Vacations are simply sacred to us.

But in the beginning of our self-employment, we had to be careful with our finances, and there was definitely a limit to what we could spend on travel. At the time, our dream was to plan a special vacation to a Caribbean island. The airfare there was pretty expensive. But we had our magazine subscription to Caribbean Travel + Life and posted pictures of various exotic islands in different spots throughout our house.

We had Caribbean dreams and visions of “us” being that cute couple on the front of the latest magazine issue dressed in colorful beachwear…making a toast to each other with fruity drinks as a palm tree shaded us from the intense heat of the day.

That dream became a part of us, embedded in our souls. We looked for ways to barter our work with vacation companies and leisure groups. We sought out avenues to write travel articles in exchange for airfare or hotel compensation. We wouldn’t let it go! We were following our joy. We knew and trusted that there would be a way to make this work out and get ourselves to the Caribbean.

The opportunity

At about that time, the local smooth jazz radio station announced a “Trip-A-Day Giveaway.” Without thinking about it too much, we both registered. Why not? Bill was working as a handyman and would set his watch to beep at the appropriate time every day so that he could faithfully listen in as the daily winner was announced. Occasionally we even rearranged our plans so that we didn’t miss a single day of listening!

One morning before Bill left for work he said, “We may not win today, but we WILL win these tickets.” And later that day, the second of those two important voice mails rolled in. This one was from Bill: “Okay, Babes, you better be sitting down for this one.” He continued to tell me that he (yes, he!) was the day’s winner of the trip giveaway! And his message ended with an “I’m serious and I’m not kidding!”

My world stood still and the tears flowed uncontrollably. The tears were not about our upcoming trip to the Caribbean (although the thought of that was absolutely magnificent!), but because of my deep understanding, in that moment, of the power of intention.

Wayne Dyer, in his book, The Power of Intention, talks about how when you know what you want and your intentions are pure and you visualize it happening, the world works powerfully in ways for you to get what you desire. That “power of intention” is already there; we simply have to latch on to it and ride the wave.

The power of intention and universal support

The first voice mail I heard that day was the stranger’s unfamiliar voice: “Hi, you don’t know me,” he said. “But I was just on my lunch break and heard your name announced on the radio.” He proceeded to say that there happened to be a phone book on his desk so he looked up our number because he wanted us to claim our prize quickly and call in.

When Wayne Dyer talks about how the world is working for us to get what we want, this is what he means. The call from that man, a complete stranger, hit my heart in a way that defies words.

A couple years prior, I had been through a very intense visualization exercise in my coaching training where I visited my “Future Self” twenty years down the road. My experience was incredibly powerful and life-affirming. The lovely woman I met in this visualization happened to live on a beach cove in the British Virgin Island of Tortola. By no coincidence at all, this is where Bill and I cashed in on our much appreciated gift from the radio station. We spent two weeks in Tortola; an experience together that forever changed our lives.

And during that special vacation, in proper fashion, each morning we started out our day with the simple and powerful prayer of: “Thank You.”

*Note: For another fun Caribbean story (this one with a hilarious twist!), check out Just Another Day On The (Nude) Beach.

Last fall I had an idea. I wanted to bring my coaching work into organizations to help leaders be their best, and I knew exactly the Fortune 100 company I was interested in approaching. I was in the middle of my work and very focused on business when my Aunt Jane called to say she’d love to take a trip to L.A. together to see our favorite guy, Neil Diamond, perform at the Hollywood Bowl.

Too busy for joy?

Now if you know anything about me, you know that I love Neil Diamond. And I love my Aunt Jane! But in this moment I was so intent on ‘producing’ and ‘achieving’ that I politely thanked her for the fabulous idea, but I had “too much work to do.”

However, as the week went on, Jane even offered to treat me to this wonderful little getaway in celebration of my upcoming 40th birthday. Basically, everything was all set-up for me. I couldn’t turn it down! What a way to be following my joy…spending a week in the sunshine with one of my best friends and celebrating life by cheering on Neil Diamond. Okay, it was perfect. So I said yes.

As I grocery shopped later that day, I heard Neil’s music play in the store. That made me smile. Okay, Universe, I appreciate your support and vote of confidence in me following my joy.

Setting my intention

Before I left home, one item of business I felt must be taken care of was to set my intention for coaching in the organization I had my eye on. So I put it in writing, tacked it up on my bulletin board, packed my bags, and got on the plane.

On the flight to L.A., I spent a good amount of time going through reports and research about organizational coaching, pulling bits and pieces out for my pitch to the company. On the plane I shared my exciting new focus with my aunt. Then we touched down in sunny California and I let go of all my business ideas in service of staying present and enjoying every moment of this vacation gift.

It goes without saying that our two back-to-back nights at the Hollywood Bowl with Neil and his crew were phenomenal. 2nd row one night and 1st row the next (yep, we do it in style!). Two warm fall evenings with a purple sky and 17,000 concert-goers abuzz with excitement as the night-time stars shone brightly. It was quite a thrill!

In addition to the concerts, Jane and I walked the beach, ate out, checked out Hollywood, laughed, and explored. This was following my joy in the purest sense.

The ultimate synchronicity

When it was time to head back home, I checked-in for my flight at the counter and was met by a ticketing agent who said: “Oh I’m sorry. We thought you’d be happier on flight #312 instead, so we moved you to that one.” Great! I didn’t really want to have a connecting flight anyway and this one was with my aunt and non-stop. I had actually checked earlier and this flight would have cost me 50,000 additional frequent flyer miles, so I dismissed the fact that it was even possible to switch. I looked at the woman in surprise and a bit confused and she said, “This only happens once in a blue moon.”

I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, so I figured there must be some rationale behind why I got moved. Maybe my original flight ran out of peanut M&M’s? That would have stunk.

So I waltzed over to my new gate, thinking I’m cool because I just got upgraded. And who should approach my gate at exactly the same moment as me?

The lovely CEO of the company I was so interested in.

Wow. I could not have orchestrated this meeting any more perfectly if I had spent months planning it. What a powerful reminder that anything is possible. All that was required was for me to follow my joy and let things unfold.

Embracing the gift

So I seized the moment and introduced myself. Our interaction was delightful, amid mutual smiles and genuine handshakes. We exchanged contact information, and in that moment I felt my future take a direct turn. It was time to board, and as I sat down in my seat, the in-flight magazine in the seat pocket had this CEO’s mug-shot on the cover, smiling at me. It all left me pretty speechless.

For much of the 3 ½-hour ride home, I was teary and reflective and grateful for the awesome synchronicities in life. This was no longer a “business” thing. This was about the power of following my joy, and the magic that is created as a result.