Betrayal, it can hit you like a load of bricks falling from the sky, leaving you with a pit in your stomach that no pill can cure. Starting your own business is hard enough, however when your inside people are working against you as well, it can make the toughest of souls weak at the knees. Let me take you back a few years, and share a little story with you. There I was, a fledgling in the corporate world, I had just quit my (steady) job and sold everything I had to venture out into entrepreneur life, when it never could happen to me happened. My closest friend and business partner wiped out our bank account balance, leaving me with debt up to my eyeballs, and a lesson to be learned. I come from one of those attitudes that believe that everything happens for a reason, so what could this reason be, I pondered? It was tough; let me tell you - faced with the biggest crossroad of my life. A failing business with no cash to save me, a close friends betrayal, and two roads leading into separate directions. One, Go after the person who did me wrong, obviously having a slam dunk case and would win in any court, or Two, use that same precious time and energy to focus in a more positive manner on rebuilding what I once had, and learn from the experience, if nothing else, what I would never tolerate again. What would you do? For myself, I chose the second of the two, knowing darned well, that by wasting my (thoughts and energy) on ways to get back at this person, and how I could make them suffer as I, there would be little left to focus on what really mattered most. Creating the business model and dream that I had began on in the first place. What made me take this route, you ask? There is an old saying that goes many receive good advice, yet few actually profit from it. Since I chose to succeed, I went back and listen to all my old motivational tapes, thumbed through the books, and messages, got my focus back and quickly realized that we are all dealt obstacles in this world. I mean, there will always be stumbling blocks in our lives, thats just part of life itself. Its our Attitude toward these events that show the world who we are as a person. For, its been said: we learn more about someone on one bad day, then on all their good days put together. Have you ever wondered why some people seem to always have drama in their lives, while others simply go with the flow? Or why one group of people are happy and content most the time, while some seem to only attract anger and chaos into their lives? I believe its because what we feel and how we see ourselves on the inside is the direct reflection on how we feel and see the world around us. Someone once said to me, we cant control our circumstances all the time, but we can control our attitude toward them. A true statement I know, but come on - I was stuck in a tight spot here. So, there I was - with a BIG decision to make and decided to take on this challenge as just that. A challenge. I figured, if I could overcome this situation that seemed so grave at the time, and not only make it through it, but actually grew from it, perhaps, maybe - just maybe my business partner didnt fail me after all. Heres what I did. I moved on, and buried the past. I went into the office the next day, changed the locks on the door, rolled up my sleeves and never looked back. Its amazing what a new coat of paint can do to a dreary old room, and thats what I did for my business and attitude toward it. Out with the old, and in with the new. When I called all my customers and explained what had happened, you wouldnt believe the response. It was like a brotherhood of business people. Each person I spoke with having more advice that the last. It was strange how I felt all-alone, and ashamed for letting someone take advantage of me, while others saw me as a new start up, and simply green behind the ears. Remember, we all make mistakes. There were many lessons learned that month, and I took the advice given to me by these people, by hiring the best accounting person I could find, and then one of the best of Tax firms to oversee their numbers as well. By doing so, guess what happened? My business rose to the highest of dimensions, allowing me to set my sights on growth rather than setbacks, and on the future rather than the past. That was many, many years ago, the company became a corporation, and eventually the corporation was sold to another. Now I find myself here, writing this story as if it were yesterday, remembering one of the greatest lessons Ive learned. In life - things will happen, both for the good and the bad. Its the way we handle these situations that make us who we are. Its all right to feel anger; its OK to sense pain, but in the end, when the story is written, which path will you have chosen? Live in the past, or live FOR the future. Best wishes, and what ever you do Keep smilin, Gregory Scott Reid - The Millionaire Mentor |
