For nearly 30 years, Jim has maintained a newsletter correspondence with his loyal clients.
For all of the youngsters reading this, newsletters are like blog posts--just better.
Read on for some of Jim's "greatest hits" and musings on business and life.
Finding Your “Source of Hope” (December 2007)
A little over two years ago, I was lying in a hospital bed contemplating my life. I was on the verge of having a triple organ transplant (heart, kidney and pancreas to hopefully cure my lifelong battle with diabetes and save my life. Remarkably, this procedure had only been attempted in the world a handful of times. And, here it was was happening to me. As I lay there awaiting my fate, I said a little prayer, not exactly sure if anyone was listening. All the while, I knew, as if someone had told me a secret, that it was all going to be okay. The question I have since been asked is, how did I know?
Before you can become a transplant candidate, you have to be pre-qualified both physically and mentally to be sure you are up to the task. It is not an easy process. And once you have been selected, you have to be prepared to wait and wait and then be ready whenever your name is called to have the biggest surgery of your life.
This surgery is one that had never been performed by the hospital before. There would be three surgeons who would perform their specialties and the surgery would take more than 20 hours to complete. How do you mentally prepare for such an operation?
I had previously been interviewed by a social worker who had asked me a series of endless questions to qualify my mental state. I answered them one by one and then was struck by a single questions. It was, “What is your source of hope?” I thought about this carefully. For many, their source of hope might be their belief in God, or perhaps it is their family who gives them the strength to persevere. For me, it is an enduring belief - somewhat of a fatalistic confidence that “everything that is meant to happen, will happen.” That because things had worked out for me in the past, there was no reason to believe that they would not work out for me again. This is my personal philosophy, my belief system that allows me to overcome any challenge, no matter how difficult it may be. It is my “Source of Hope.”
I tell this story in part because everyone needs to find their individual Source of Hope. I think it is worthy of some thought. What gives you the motivation to get out of bed each day, fight the traffic, go to work and perhaps struggle to make ends meet? Life is not easy and some days are really tough. But as we all celebrate the holidays, know that better days lie ahead and be thankful for all the wonder in your life. There is hope.