There must be someone.....

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't think it's a rarity at all. Every person close to you in your life (particularly your immediate family if you grow up with them...or not) has a profound effect on who we become, where we're motivated (or not) and assorted influences.

I couldn't name one person if I tried but I'd generally say my parents when I was a child and my kids are molding and changing me as I do my best to raise them.

We're the sum of many different experiences and always changing as circumstances around us change. I was an entirely different person in my corporate life than I am today.

That sums it for me, too.

There have been several people and events that have profoundly affected me over the years and probably will be more as the ride continues.

If it was a school or business assignment to pick one and only one person who profoundly influenced me, I could choose one of a few people and go through all the "whys"; no problem. But, it would be a person who was the most influential in a specific context or during a certain period of time, not someone who I could quantify and qualify as being more influential than the others overall.

While I wouldn't have considered our experiences and outlooks on the subject to be rare either, indisputable pub research confirming that it is indeed rare recently surfaced. Who knew? Hoping you can accept the startling revelation that you might not conform to standard societal norms (weirdo!) as readily as I did. If you need any support, just let me know -- I'll PM you my Stuart Smiley loop clip -- it really helped me to stay positive on my journey from denial to acceptance.