motd Wed March 6, 2012

[Guest guest]

STERN LESSON

Wednesday, 07 March 2012

A few weeks ago, when I was in New York City,

I

made an appearance on The

Stern Show. It was my first time

on his show in a very long time. Those of you who

know my relationship with know that, more often

than not, our on-air appearances together can

sometimes get, well, a little

testy. LOL.

I'd been receiving e-mails

almost daily from Stern's fans wanting me to

come back on his show.

I'd been receiving e-mails almost daily from his fans

wanting me to come back on the show. Well, like I

said, I did go back on and 's conversation with

me ended up getting, as always... racy. But

that's okay because I'm used to it. And that's not

really what I'm writing about today anyway.

Instead, I want to start by giving a big thank you to all of

's fans who've written and said how much fun it

was having me back on the show. (They also told me

not to let 's antics get to me! LOL.) But I'm

also writing to tell you about one special e-mail

I received from one of his fans. That e-mail really

made me think about my own past and yes, even

yours. Take a look at what this young man had

to say.

Hello ! I just listened to your interview

with Stern. I was really moved by the story

from your childhood. The one where you talked about

the abuse you took from one of your fellow

classmates when you were in school. You talked

about how this other kid constantly made fun of you

and would actually strike you in the head with a

baseball bat!

I was a child of

tremendous abuse and harassment both in school and

at home.

Your story made me think about my childhood.

See, I was also a child of tremendous abuse and

harassment both in school and at home. I am, from

what I hear everyday, a nice-looking guy. I think I

have a nice-enough looking body and very little body

fat. But my biggest problem has always been that I

can't see myself as that nice-looking guy people say

I am, no matter how many times I hear it. The abuse

and comments on how ugly I was as a kid lie very

deep in my soul and it's very hard to rid myself of

these feelings. I just needed to share how I feel

and after hearing you on 's show, I figured if

anyone understood, it would be you. Keep up the

good work, !

Oh, this young man's letter really got to me.

Immediately, my mind raced back to the abuse I took,

not only from the kid with that baseball bat, but to

the other people who mistreated me when I was young

and overweight. But in the case of this man who wrote

me, he wasn't fat but still had to put up with abuse

because of the his personal appearance. Can you

relate?

Truth is, you may not have to revisit your school days

to recall the abuse you've taken in life. Some of

you, especially if you're overweight, still have to

put up with that kind of abuse today. Hey, kids can

be mean to each other but, I'm sure I don't have to

tell you, some adults can say some pretty nasty and

abusive things to each other, too.

I used to let what others say about me ruin my day.

But I don't anymore. I came to realize, that by

letting the comments of others define who I was, not

only was I taking abuse from them but I was giving it

right back to myself. That's

twice the abuse!

No matter what you weigh,

no matter what you look like, the only person who can

say how good a person you are is you.

Now listen to me. No matter what you weigh, no matter

what you look like, the only person who can say how

good a person you are isyou. Submitting to

and believing the negative things people say about you

only makes what they say seem more real. I told this

guy to stop believing in what others said and to start

believing in...himself. From reading his

letter, it was obvious to me that he was a wonderful

guy. And...the people who abused him? Well, the way

I see it, they are the ones

who need help!

I hope he took my words to heart. And, if you're

dealing with the same issues, I want you to do the

same. Forgive those abusive, negative people from you

past or even your present. Focus on the many good

things about yourself and, that way, you'll be able to

build a more productive and positive futurefor

yourself.

And oh yeah, thank you,

, for giving me the opportunity to teach this

very important lesson to one of your fans and to all

of my own friends!

Love,