Iron Sharpens Iron Series: Joy Youell

If you are new to the Iron Sharpens Iron Series, I urge you to check out the inaugural post to learn more about what the series is all about.

Iron sharpens iron, and the people in my life sharpen me. They make me better. They make me more than I can be alone. And this series is about interactions I’ve had that make me better, that change my perspective, and that challenge me to grow. 

This is all about interactions that have left a lasting impression on me. No matter how small, or short the interaction, if it leaves an impression worth sharing, it will live in this series.

Joy Youell

Joy is the founder and lead content strategist at Hire a Writer, and one of the most incredible business owners I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

The Sharpening of Iron

If you’ve ever had a moment where you realize that someone else “gets you” better than you do, then you’ve experienced the kind of moment this particular entry in the series is about.

There are a thousand things I could write about Joy and all the ways I look up to her. She’s an incredibly savvy business woman, passionate beyond measure about her work, and easily the hardest worker I’ve ever met. 

But the particular moment that stands out so readily in my mind as the most perfect encapsulation of who Joy is has to do with how present she is when interacting with other humans. See, in a very short time, Joy was able to see things about me that I hadn’t even really noticed myself. And I guarantee I’m not the only person to experience this.

One of my favorite things about Joy is that when she talks to you, she is completely focused on you. And that is incredibly rare.

The day I really realized it is the day she gave me the incredible “gift of words” that you see here:

And the moment I looked at it, there were about a million feelings from all different directions that happened at once. Suddenly, so many of the confusing moments in life made sense. Suddenly, I understood something about myself I was searching to better grasp. And Joy had seen it all along.

See, I tend to have moments of intuition where I know “something.” Either a tingling that something is wrong, or a strange feeling that I need to do something different. In an effort to be open or in an attempt to see the best in the people around me, I tend to push myself to rethink things, and fight that feeling that something is wrong or fight the voice inside that tells me it is time to change. 

And days, weeks, or months later after many things transpire, I can typically look back and find that one single moment where it was all so clear, and pinpoint that feeling that I completely ignored. And Joy saw all of this, while I was completely blind to it. She figured it out way before I did.

And, while it is certainly still a work in progress, her gift has helped me listen to those feelings, hear that voice sooner, and do something about it faster. So thank you Joy, for seeing something I needed to see, but couldn’t, and helping me better harness strengths that lived in me all along.