They met over a piece of jewelry.
Not in a store, not on a planned date, but at a church event, where a children’s choir from Africa was performing to raise money for their village. Patty Malcolm almost didn’t go. Living in Hollywood at the time, she remembers thinking she didn’t want to “drive over the hill.” But something nudged her, and she showed up.
After the performance, guests browsed handmade jewelry supporting the children’s village. As Patty looked over the pieces, a man standing behind her made a casual comment: “Oh, it’s all for women.”
“I said, ‘I don’t care. Buy one for your mother, your sister, your girlfriend… it’s for a good cause,’” Patty recalls.
She walked away. Minutes later, he returned.
“He said, ‘I bought one and I bought it for you.’ And I turned around and there he was,” she recalls.
That man was Matt Emerzian.
“And I just knew,” Patty says. “That’s my guy right there.”
Years later, they’re not just partners in life. They’re aligned in purpose and making a difference. Together, through their individual work and now through two new books, they’re helping people reconnect with something many have lost: a sense of worth.
A Framework 20 Years in the Making
Matt Emerzian’s latest book, Make It Matter (May 5th release), builds on more than two decades of work through his nonprofit, Every Monday Matters. For 20 years, Matt has been creating experiences and curriculum to bring mattering to individual lives and organizations, impacting millions of lives. “The mission is simple, but profound: help people understand that they matter and teach them how to live like it.”
Unlike his previous, more personal book, You Matter, this one has a sharper edge, particularly for the workplace.
“This book is about helping people navigate the weight of work and the weight of the world and how people can feel like they matter in what they’re doing.”
Make It Matter takes the reader through what Emerzian has named The Mattering Mindset framework. “It’s designed for anyone navigating their own search for meaning, leading a team through constant change, or trying to make a greater impact in the world around you.”
The framework centers on a simple but powerful progression: I matter, you matter, we matter.
“If you understand how much and why you matter, you do better in every aspect of your life,” Patty says. “And then you can help other people understand why they matter.”
The ripple effect is undeniable. When individuals feel seen, valued, and connected to purpose, organizations transform. Teams become more engaged. Cultures become more human.
Or, as Matt’s work emphasizes that mattering isn’t just a belief. It’s a practice.
At its core, the message is both personal and practical.
“We get one life to live,” he says. “We have to make it matter.”
From Playing Small to Stepping Into the Light
While Matt’s work focuses on helping people understand their value, Patty’s story is about reclaiming it.
Her book Bougie by Nature, Powerful by Choice: A Vibe-Based Guide to Manifestation, Identity & Quantum Confidence, was born from a deeply personal journey that began in Hollywood, where she spent 20 years working as a body double and actor in TV Shows like Gilmore Girls, Criminal Minds, Amazon’s Butterfly, and in movies.
“Playing a body double, I used to play small,” she says. “I started to forget the original dream and stepped back into the shadows.”
Over time, that distance from her own ambition began to impact her confidence.
“I started to believe I wasn’t worthy of being an actress. I stopped believing I was worthy of the spotlight.”
What changed wasn’t a single moment, but a gradual awakening that was sparked by other women who encouraged her to step forward.
“They were like, ‘You can do this. Everything you have is already inside of you.’”
At the same time, Patty was developing a personal practice rooted in manifestation. For years, she wrote down her goals as if they had already happened and began fully immersing herself in the experience.
“I would live in it and breathe it and feel it and then it would always appear in my life at a later time,” she says. “I just live in the trust of that.”
Her message blends that mindset with something more grounded: a call to remember who you are.
“It’s about stepping into your power and your worthiness,” she says. “And going after the original dream, the things you’ve put on the back burner.”
Redefining “Bougie”
At the heart of Patty’s work is a redefinition of confidence, of worth, and even of a word.
“Bougie,” often used to describe extravagance or status, takes on an entirely different meaning in her book.
“Bougie is a woman who remembers who she is,” she says. “Powerful, worthy, the creator of her own life.”
In her definition, a “bougie” woman moves through the world with self-trust and clarity not because of what she has, but because of who she is.
“She enjoys the finer things because they match her vibration, not because she needs them to feel whole,” Patty explains. “She is already whole.”
A Shared Mission
Individually, their books tackle different sides of the same equation.
Matt helps you understand that you matter and shows you how to bring that belief into your work, your relationships, and your leadership.
Patty helps you reclaim your worth and step boldly into the life you were meant to live.
Together, their message is unified:
Know your worth. Live like it. And make it matter.
“We want to leave this life better than it was,” Patty says. “We want to help people understand their worthiness and step into the light.”
And if their story is any indication, sometimes that journey begins with a small decision to show up, to listen, or even to accept a piece of jewelry from a stranger who sees something in you before you see it in yourself.
