I just finished listening to Susanna Barlow’s Memoir, Not In My House on Audible. I started reading it on Kindle, but after a few chapters, I really wanted to hear Susanna’s story in her own voice. I love that voice and the knowledge, understanding and wisdom it conveys. I love Aaron’s voice, too, but so far, he hasn’t written or narrated a book 🙂
I first got to know Susanna and Aaron in February, 2009. Looking back on how that meeting came to be reminds me of how miraculous life is and how we never know what our decisions and actions will lead us to next.
Steve Jobs put it like this in his 2005 Stanford Commencement address:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
I am grateful for the dots that connected Lisa and I with Aaron and Susanna.
One of the core principles we discussed in the *SGR Club was gratitude, and it was probably gratitude that we were talking about the night this happened:
I was sitting on the table at the front of the room during one of the Thursday night SGR Club meetings in early 2009. I don’t recall the exact phrasing I used, but the gist of the question I asked the group was, “how has this changed you?”. Aaron and Susanna were in attendance. They were sitting on the front row and Aaron was leaning forward with his arms resting on his knees. He looked up at me and said, “It changes everything.”
Aaron’s thoughtful, soft-spoken answer struck me hard. His response has stuck with me and I think about that moment often. It was a profound moment in my life that I will always be grateful for. Our friendship started that night with that answer.
Since that night, Aaron, Susanna and their family have been some of the best friends Lisa and I have ever known. I respect and appreciate their integrity, bravery, gratitude, love, curiosity, and dedication to learning, growing and helping others.
While listening to the book, I was reminded of a quote that Susanna shared with me a few years ago:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melodie Beattie
I went to add that quote to the quotes collection on this site and realized that I had already added it. I then thought that I would search my previous posts to find anything else on my site that talks about gratitude. I found a few, and this post from July 22, 2009 where I share something that Jeanette Barlow wrote stood out to me: https://skycor.net/2009/07/22/gratitude/
I strongly encourage you to read Susanna’s book, but be prepared. When one of Lisa’s Sisters bought the book, Lisa told her this:
“Be prepared for lots of shock and tears. It has a lot of heart breaking truth. It also shows amazing resilience and forgiveness. Susanna is incredible and I am so proud to call her my friend.”
The book is amazing. Susanna is amazing. Aaron is amazing. All of their children and extended family are amazing. I am awestruck by the blessing that their friendship has been and continues to be in my life.
*SGR officially stands for the “Science of Getting Rich”, but when Aaron’s son, Sam, asked what it stood for, he answered, the “Science of Getting Real”. Perfect!
