Here’s a poignant story about a friend of mine who doubted her power. Her name is Lue Ann Eldar, and she’s the executive director and chief executive officer of Casita Maria, a charitable organization that has helped tens of thousands of Latinos in New York City. Lue Ann knows she’s worthy — of being listened to, of being taken seriously, of leading. But she sure didn’t start out that way. Back in 1978, when she was 23, Lue Ann had a passion for classical music and a huge admiration for one of the great opera impresarios, Sir Rudolf Bing. For years, Sir Rudolf had been general manager of the Metropolitan Opera. So Lue Ann wrote to ask if he would agree to meet with her and consider taking her on as an intern.

About a week later, she received a letter from Sir Rudolf’s office. She looked at the envelope long and hard, turned it over and over, but didn’t open it. In fact, she didn’t open it that week or that month or even that year. She kept it unopened in a box with some forgettable keepsakes, taking it out now and then but never even breaking the seal on the envelope — for 19 years.

“Good grief, why?” I asked when she told me this.

“Because I didn’t think I was good enough. I only saw my flaws and failures. And, frankly, I just didn’t want to know that he had rejected me,” she said. “I didn’t want to read what I was sure would be his ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ response.”

Then, in 1997, Sir Rudolf died. It was only after he was gone that Lue Ann retrieved the letter from the box, opened it, and read these words from the impresario: “I’d be delighted to meet with you. You sound like a very accomplished and talented young woman. Please call my office to set up an appointment. I look forward to hearing from you.”