Insight: "Looking Through The Obvious To See The Real"

Starting at a young age, looking at events and circumstances as something to be developed and/or expanded to learn from, even if negative in nature, to please or attract others was a priority in life.

My mother emphasized God's love and presence in our lives and that when strength was needed it was there we could look and reach out for it.

Creating backyard rides in a wagon attached to a lawnmower as an event and renting books I saw in the house not being used, my mind was always focused on the "What else can be developed?" to enhance and improve the time, place, or situation. Life's challenges began in earnest when the accidental death of my wife and unborn child were killed in an automobile accident at my age twenty-five.

From there I began to look for help in coping from my "best friend" for that purpose: alcohol.

This helped for a temporary dulling of my senses but became a much too important part of my life.

Through many years of finding a way to help others in business and achieving many goals and successes, this friend was always there.

Eventually, this changed from friend to a disease, and one that challenged me further, even though at a significant time in my life (early retirement from a national company), I ceased this friendship and rose to other many new opportunities. After ten years of sobriety I was celebrating the successes of new business developments and expanded opportunities when I brought my friend back with a toast of one glass of wine, and life was turned upside down.

Two years of that produced a loss of all I had gained materially, but a path to understanding my friend was a disease and have been able to protect myself from the disease, and continue after twelve plus years of sobriety to look to help others facing their challenges from this and how to find their opportunities.