A woman and her dog were walking along a road. The woman was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to her that she was dead.
 
She remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside her had been dead for years. She wondered where the road was leading them.
 
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble... At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When she was standing before it she saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.
 
She and the dog walked toward the gate, and as she got closer, she saw a woman at a desk to one side. When she was close enough, she called out, “Excuse me, where are we?” 

1) My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION:
"Just wait until your father gets home."

2) My Mother taught me about RECEIVING:
"You are going to get it when we get home!

3) My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE:
"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you ...Don't talk back to me!"

Isabel Allende is a master storyteller in the genre of magical realism. Her novels have been translated into 30 languages, and have sold more than 51 million copies worldwide.

Her list of honours, awards and accomplishments is truly staggering. But none of this, according to her, reflects who she is, or what has been important in her life.

This spellbinding 2007 TED Talk by world-renowned writer and feminist Isabel Allende alternately made me laugh, cry, and reflect.

So much of what she says revolves around themes that I’ve recently been exploring in my own life. It truly resonated with me, as I hope it will with you.