Today’s story is about how losing everything in your business is not the end of your life. You have to stay positive and fight back to success. Bob’s story will truly motivate you.
In 2008, I was on top of my world. I owned a small business with 90 employees, 60 trucks and my company was grossing $5 million a year. By late 2009, my company had lost a major contract and slowly I went out of business. I was stressed and devastated of course. By late 2010, I had lost my cars, had to sell my house and moved 4 times with my wife and kids over the following years. I was sitting in my home one day, and I suddenly collapsed to the ground gasping for air. I thought I was having a heart attack. My wife called 911 and I was taken to the hospital where they ran all the tests to see if my heart was okay. To my surprise, I was a little embarrassed to find out my heart was in perfect health and what I suffered was a major panic attack. The stress had finally caught up to me. I was a little depressed and felt like I had failed my wife and kids. I continued to have panic attacks and depression for the next 6 months.
Was this the end of me? What I did not realize at the time was that I had so much support from the people around me. I had not realized that this was also affecting the 4 other people in my life. It was not the money and the struggle we found ourselves in that was affecting them! It was the fact that a husband and a father was not there. I was so worried about my stress and panic that I did not stop and think about what my wife and kids were going through. Then it hit me. It was like I ran into a wall. I let go!
I have always had a no quit attitude, I just fell into a slump. I read The Secret, I watched the movie. I followed all of the teachers in the book. I lifted myself up off the floor and just started to change my perspective. I started to visualize what I wanted to be as a person. I realized one thing that completely snapped me out of it. I was being grateful! I was grateful for my wife and kids, my in-laws and my parents and siblings. I was grateful for all of the friends in our lives that helped out when we needed it and were there for us. That feeling started to overwhelm me. I began to get my passion back and my desire to share. I realized that what happened to me was nothing! It was not cancer! It was not death! I was still breathing. That I had unconditional love coming my way. That I could possibly help other people to see this, too!
My passion to help children turned into a book series. I was sitting at my night job one day and it just hit me. I said, I am Grateful Bob. I thought it had a nice ring to it. I immediately started to write a story based on my own life and combined it with my son Bobby’s life. This combination led to my first book, Grateful Bob: The Beginning. As I wrote, I realized that this was going to be my way of sharing with the world. I could send a message and help people get by. Hopefully my story can become a movement of gratefulness! The Universe is sending me all of the right messages and it makes sense. It all started with The Secret book. When I read this book, it changed my outlook in life. So all of the circumstances in my life where I thought I was a victim, I now realized that each one was a lesson. So I thank you Rhonda, for helping me make that leap into the possibility of helping people. I have just launched my website and book series and I hope I can help at least one person, like you helped me. #gratefulbobmovement
Thank you!
Author: Grateful Bob from Tewksbury, MA.
About the Author: I am a husband of an amazing, inspiring wife and a father of 3 very diverse and amazing children. I am a 47 year old man with many dreams yet to accomplish. I have been involved in coaching sports for over 20 years. I am very passionate about teaching kids how to dream and follow their passions. I have authored a series of children’s books called “Grateful Bob”. My goal is for children to learn at a very young age how important it is to be grateful every day. To find just one thing.
Source: http://www.thesecret.tv/stories/grateful-bob/
