THE WOMAN BEHIND THE SMILE
Debby Montgomery Johnson is the most beautiful, graceful woman and when I first met her back in the summer of 2017 the thing that struck me was her warm eyes and big beaming smile. Debby has a smile that not only lights up her face but the whole room however these days it is a far cry from the mask she used to wear.
You see Debby used to use that smile to cover the mask of shame she experienced after a love turned into betrayal and financial disaster to the tune of over One Million Dollars. Yes, that’s right … $1,080,762 to be exact!
Like so many of us who have experienced pain, challenge, shame, guilt and worry, she would put on a happy face, her smile and the well-rehearsed words, “I’m fine” that would come out of her mouth.
She hid behind that smile for decades and it seemed to be working, until it just wasn’t anymore and it was during that time she came to remove the mask and step out from behind.
Stepping out from behind the smile, and releasing the paralyzing fear of what others would think if they only knew the truth has allowed her to stand in her power and she knows that the same can be true for the women she works with.
With such a powerful story you would imagine that this would be her choice for the book “The Pay It Forward Series: Notes To My Younger Self” but Debby has chosen another powerful story to share with our readers. A story of a fire that ripped through her family home taking with it all their possessions, all that they had known to be “home” just before she was due to go to boarding school at the age of 15.
The lesson of going through that experience taught her about what was truly important, to recognize the value of family and service. It taught her to be strong and to jump into new experiences safe in the knowledge that she could adapt and be tenacious in her striving for excellence.
To find out more about Debby and her journey: https://thewomanbehindthesmile.com/
Watch out for news about the upcoming launch of the powerful and heart warming book: The Pay It Forward Series: Notes to My Younger Self
Check out Kezia Luckett and Women Of Contribution at http://www.womenofcontribution.com/blog/
THE PAY IT FORWARD SERIES: NOTES TO MY YOUNGER SELF – DEBBY MONTGOMERY JOHNSON
