My purse was stolen in London by a professional thief. This comes on the heels of leaving my blackberry in a taxi. This comes on the heels of leaving my purse in a restaurant in Washington DC, several weeks ago.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard the words blonde, dumb, ditzy, naive, silly, American and brain tumor. Not that any of this matters. I know who I am, and I don’t have a brain tumor, but I recognize that I am not in control of my personal brand at this moment. Perception is reality, and I am perceived to be a dopey and silly woman who can’t keep her stuff together.
And I don’t care because my reality is amazing.
When I left my purse in a restaurant in DC, I had an associate (whom I’d only met the night before) travel back with me to the restaurant — and the purse was there. My blackberry was lost in a taxi in London, and I put out the word with friends & colleagues on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. A British woman found my phone, went to a mobile phone store to recharge the battery, and called my husband (who is listed as the emergency contact on my screensaver) to notify me that my phone had been recovered. He sent me an email and the phone was back in my hands in 36 hours. My twitter stream and Facebook page lit up with congratulatory wishes. I received heartfelt messages of love and affection. People were genuinely happy for my good fortune.
When my purse was snatched at The Duke of Wellington on Portobello Road by a professional thief, my network jumped into action and offered help at the British Embassy, offered money, and provided immediate assistance. Friends that I know primarily through social media came to my assistance. Michael Long took me to the police station and loaned me some money. Sarah White searched the bar for my purse — and she let me cry without making me feel too girly. Craig Fisher took charge like a recruitment manager and made me trace my steps. He wanted to ensure that I wasn’t mistaken. Although CCTV confirmed it was a thief, Craig made sure I kept a level head.
My British friends and colleagues have been lovely, too. Offering a place to stay. Offering assistance at every turn. What do I need? Money? A place to stay instead of a hotel? Biscuits? Even my taxi driver, upon hearing my story, refused to charge a fare to the police station.
I may be a naive, blonde, American woman with an undiagnosed brain tumor — and we all know that I’m not really blonde — but I have a great life and wonderful people who mean the world to me. I hope everyone has the opportunity to experience the support of a social network AND offer help to your network. I’m not schmaltzy enough to talk about paying it forward or karma, but I am in the debt of so many good people.
I won’t let you down.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
So much of this goes back to the concept of the Golden Rule: Treat others how you would want to be treated – I’m so glad things have worked out and you had a chance to experience the good in events and people. Not to mention being able to stop and spend time with those you might not have been able to, although not for the best reason.
I always say, “What goes around, comes around.” So glad your generosity came back to you!
Wow, your story was so inspiring to me, coming in the heels of being wronged by someone who I trusted with my life. My faith has been restored because I’ve always felt that there are truely a lot of good people out there who are willing to go out of their way to help someone in need. After a horrific week of questioning the goodness in mankind, your story brought me back to the realization that I too am surrounded by really good people who have my best interest at heart and not to let any one person ruin it for the rest of us.
The Gods are saying, “Yo Punk Rock Chick. you think you are a bad ass, but we know better.”
And the congregation says, “AMEN!”
I think you just write posts about personal branding to have me comment
I think every brand has lost some degree of control, but we can shape perceptions based on what we put out there. Unless you plan to dye your hair blonde, you probably can’t escape that description.
Will I see you in Chicago in March!?
Sorry to hear about your purse. My friend lost her purse one night in college. She was really upset because everything was in there – wallet, keys, cash, credit cards, king-size Snickers bar, etc. A couple weeks later she got a call from the police – they had her purse: everything was in it – credit cards, phone, even the cash…everything but the Snickers bar…
It’s wonderful that so many people offered to help you.
First off, I absolutely second Simone. Second, I’m really glad you’re able to keep such a fantastic perspective during such an…adventure.
“You use more muscles to frown than you use to smile.” Being kind is effortless— and I hope everyone would do the same as these english folk! Congrats, Laurie—-One should lose thier cel phone more often!!
Great story, happy result. Even traumatic events can be full of pleasant surprises, and like @MattyMat says: it’s always easier to give help than to ask for it. Best wishes for a smooth and *uneventful* return trip!
Could be everything you’ve been paying forward coming home to you – no surprise how many people are willing to extend themselves. To paraphrase Celine Dion (and provide a schmaltzy moment), “It’s all coming back to you now!”
For those of us who know you, we know that you are anything but dumb, ditzy or naive. Your are blonde (at the current time) and American however. You can be silly (but in a good way), and not being your doctor, I can’t comment about a brain tumor (or lack thereof).
You have demonstrated through all of this the true power of a network. You were in need, and your network sprung to action to help. I hope your trip wasn’t ruined by this, it sounds like it was a great conference.
See you in San Diego, those of us in your network there will be sure to protect you from further travel trauma…
Dude, sorry about your purse. Have the Bobbies (I think that’s the U.K. lingo for “cop”) checked with every butler in the area. I’m not super familiar with the U.K., but it is my understanding from many black and white films that butlers in the U.K. are often criminals in disguise.
It is awesome to hear how folks supported you, Karma is a great thing!
Your life is nothing short of an adventure. You have an amazing network of people who reached out to you because of YOU. It’s because you are so adored that everyone would drop everything to help!
This brain tumor thing needs to be explored. I too want to help. My brother is a general practitioner / doctor here in New Zealand (about 28 hours flying time from London). Hop on the next plane, and I will try and get you booked in for an appointment
@paul I’m never traveling again. Never.
@breanne oh shucks, thanks. adored? i’ll take it.
@puf it was miss scarlet with a candlestick in the library. that bitch!
@beng Onward march to ERE. That’s all we can do. Thanks for being so kind.
@marsha OMG, celine. Nevertheless, I get your point and thank you x100.
@kentropic thanks!
@mattymat I’m never losing my mobile phone again. NEVAH.
@sherry I won’t lie — I broke down and sobbed a few times. But hey, what the hell, I’m human. I love how everyone is so kind.
@ginger I should be so lucky!! thanks & keeping my fingers crossed.
@dan we’ll talk about march shortly — and no, this is not about having you comment
but I’m glad you did. xoxo
@bz there are no gods, only monsters.
@latina hr oh no, hang in there. sending support!!
@simone I feel like I don’t deserve all this actually — now I gotta do some hard work and earn this goodwill. Oy. It’s a circle. xoxox
Most people would have gotten really bitter and angry about events like these and then lashed out at cab drivers and the like. But instead, you rolled your eyes, got on with your life and hoped for the best. And guess what? The best showed up.
Good on ya!
Wow! What amazingly positive experiences have come from what could have been tragedies. Thank you for telling your stories and demonstrating the power of sharing and community.
Limey bastards! Hope you made it back to the states in one piece! Had a great time at Borough market!! May be one of my top 5 favorite places in the world, no joke. So nice to see you, even if only for a few mins!
So glad that you had so many folks willing and able to help out!!
I think your karma is doing just fine.
I knew there would be a great blog post coming from you on all this! I’m a huge believer in karma and know you’ve earned more than your share! Nice to see it coming back to you in such a meaningful way. Just continue to be you and the scales will balance once again. Hugs.
Careful. those monsters might stop smiling on you.
@Laura Oh make no mistake — I’m wingey (wingy?) according to my brit friends. Complaining. Whining. But I’m also laughing.
@Lesa Thanks!
@Misty LOL. Boroughs market was so awesome! So glad to bump into you there. Give chubby a kiss for me.
@Angela I’ve got a guardian SOMETHING.
@JEFE
I’ll take your hugs.
@BZTAT I know. I jinx myself.
Keep the Faith Laurie!
There are GREAT people all over the world ready/willing/able to serve!
Best, Brian-
good reminder that this world is not full of complete psychos, the good people outweigh the negative by far.
Talk about synchronicity, in a weird kind of way. Something is trying to tell you something but I think it’s a good message. Yay to all the Brits for helping you! I have had some bad luck myself while visiting England and I have to say, what happened because of it was almost magical! It’s too long and complicated a story to tell but within a few short hours of the evil thing happening to me (which is something I did NOT follow my instincts on, to get back to that post) one of the most wonderful, fairytale type things happened to me and all was well for the time being.
Don’t listen to the blonde, dumb, brain tumor words. I am someone who has a habit of leaving my wallet on the top of my vehicle and driving away. For some reason this usually happens on visits to the vet. I don’t blame myself for being ignorant anymore. I blame it on the fact that I am usually in a hurry, trying to get the animals safely in the vehicle, and having too many things on my mind. Laurie, you are an extremely busy person with loads of things going on. These types of things are bound to happen when we have too much going on.
Laurie, this is what I love about your posts – you are always so honest and write a compelling story (either that, or your life is a compelling story!). So sorry to hear about your purse, I would have been a mess – plus you were in another country. WOW. Your story is inspiring. Way to keep a level head, work your network and you do have good friends. Thank you for sharing your experience. Safe travels in the future.
I came across your blog while doing some research on personal branding. I love how you’ve built your personal brand – feels very authentic and unique. Click my name and check out my post…I have linked to you as example.
Your “misfortune” reminds me of something Ken Robinson said in his book, “The Element.” “It’s not what happens to us that makes the difference in our lives, what makes the difference is how we respond to what happens.”
Best,
Greg
@kentropic “it’s always easier to give help than to ask for it.” So true!
I am sorry all this happened to you, but heartened by all of the friends and strangers who helped you out along the way and inspired (cheesy choice of word? perhaps, but true) by your attitude toward your bad luck and your focus on gratitude and the positive. I am glad you got through all of that crap… with help, of course.
We’re just plain embarrassed this happened to you here. Mortified.
It’s difficult to know whether my faith in human nature should be dented or restored by this story.
Hope you have a safe journey.