Many years ago, when I still lived in Californi-yay, Steve
and Lori, friends of mine from high school, came for a visit.
We spent five days together, visiting over gourmet meals,
touring San Francisco, going to movies, and so on.
One afternoon, whilst driving through the mountains, Steve
said something to me that I’d never thought of: ‘You’re a
change master,” he said. “You come up with an idea, a new
way of thinking, and you instantly shift gears and leave the
past behind.”
Yesterday I was reminded of this conversation when I spoke
to Bill, a bishop, who is also a friend and client.
After our 15 minute conversation approached the 2-hour mark,
I mentioned that I had a CD to record for the Matt Furey Inner Circle –
http://www.mattfureyinnercircle.com – as well as another for the
Psycho-Cybernetics Success Group – which you can read about at
http://www.psycho-cybernetics.com/success_group.html
‘Okay, Matthew,” he said, followed by, “Uh, I didn’t mean to call
you Matthew.”
“You can call me Matthew, if you’d like,” I said. When I said this I
was a bit shocked to hear what was coming out of my mouth because
I’ve never liked being called the seven-letter word.
“No, I can’t,” he said. “It’s not right – but for some reason, when
I speak to you, Matthew keeps coming up for me instead of Matt.”
“Well … maybe there’s a message in a bottle, so to speak, for me in
this,” I said. “Maybe it’s time for a change. Matt Furey is a fighter’s
name; a wrestler’s name; the name of a guy who kicks butt and
takes names. But maybe it’s time to leave that behind and become
something more.”
After I hung up the phone with Bishop Bill, I pulled into a parking lot
and made a quick call to Tania, a master of Pythagorean Numerology.
“Tania, could you check something for me,” I said. “I’m thinking about
making a name change.”
“Oh yeah,” she giggled.
“Yeah.”
“And what change is that.”
“Well, my whole life I have gone by Matt Furey. My given name is Matthew,
but I always hated that name. Absolutely hated it. And if anyone ever called
me Matthew, I would get angry as hell. I’d want to kick ass. And this started
when I was seven or eight years old. People learned early on, NOT to call
me Matthew. Later on, when I wrestled in college – and afterward, when I
went into business as a personal trainer for high school wrestlers – people
often questioned my name. Many asked if I made the name up – if it was
a stage name, and so on. And now, after all these years of NOT wanting to
be called Matthew – I’m considering the change. In fact, I’m going to make
the change. I just want to know what the old Greek guy would have to say
about the extra letters.”
Tania quickly did a few computations, then exclaimed, “Matt – Matthew is
a great change for you.”
She proceeded to give me all the reasons to support this change – and then
she asked, “How soon are you going to put the change into effect.”
“I might wait until my next birthday, in May. But if I were a betting man, I’d
bet that it’ll happen before that. It might be later today.”
When I got home last night, after the two CD’s were recorded, I sat pondering
whether or not to go through with the change. I asked for guidance on the
matter. “I have all these websites with “Matt Furey” – all these products with
“Matt Furey” – what do do.
The answer slammed into my mind: “Leave the past alone. Leave all those
old books and courses and websites the way they are. Then REINVENT
yourself with “Matthew Furey.”
I nodded in agreement.
And so it IS.
From NOW onward, I will sign all emails with the name I was given by my
mother and father at birth. All future books, courses, newsletters, seminars
and coaching will be conducted by me – albeit with the name I was given
over four decades ago. My email addresses and website names will
remain the same.
“Matthew was a healer,” Bishop Bill said to me yesterday. “And remember
what I told you at your seminar last year. I shook your hand when it was
all over and our eyes met for a few seconds – then I said, ‘Your seminars
are about transcendence.’ Then I walked away.”
“Very true,” I said.
The truth is, all my courses, seminars and coaching are about transcendence.
They’re about rising UP when others want to tear you down. They’re about
becoming MORE when it’s so much easier to think less of yourself. They’re
about overcoming obstacles, setbacks, problems, mistakes, failures, blunders
and boo-boos. They’re about bringing YOU out from behind the bushes; helping
your stand up and be counted.
For more than 40 years I have identified with the name Matt Furey. Not anymore.
I’m glad I used the shortened version for so long; it served me well. But now it’s time
to move beyond the old and embrace the new.
Perhaps you will find motivation from this; perhaps not.
Yours,
Matthew Furey
P.S. Want to learn more about Reinventing Yourself – then be sure to check out
Steve Chandler’s book on the same subject – www.stevechandler.com – as well
as The Story of You – and How to Create a New One – wherein he wrote a few
pages about moi – er, someone named Matt.