Archived_Member16
SPNer
The Road Back
There I was living in a tiny bedroom in my parent’s not-so-large, five room apartment. I had, as they say, "run out of options." My life was out of control, way out. Had it not been for mom and dad’s willingness to let me stay with them, I would have been homeless living in Central Park or another one of New York City’s fine parks. Years of rampant excess had brought me to my knees.
I would lay awake at night, unable to sleep, pleading with God to help me. I prayed, begged and bargained for my life to change. I would imagine having a nice apartment and girlfriend, spending quiet evenings together. I just wanted to get my life back on track for it had been years since I lived anything that resembled a "normal" life.
I had done it all – lived in cars gone days without food, moved from place to place, and so on. Each time I told myself, "This time it will be different. This time I’ll get it together."
I remember looking upward one day and saying "Okay God, either take me or help me change." To be quite honest, at that moment, it didn’t much matter to me which He chose. That fateful day was many years ago, and my life has never been the same from that moment on.
Something in me wanted to live more than I wanted to die so, swallowing my false pride, I accepted the help that was being offered and entered a treatment program. Upon release, I was on my path to recovery but I wanted more. I wanted the life I once had.
It was during those days of early recovery that I read everything I could get my hands on. Frankly, I had little else to do. At about the same time I was introduced to audio learning when I received a Nightingale Conant catalog and ordered a set of tapes. This one small action was to change my life forever. I began devouring every self-help book I could find, listened to audio tapes daily, and attended regular seminars. My life began changing for the better and I began achieving goals greater than any I had previously imagined.
After several years of immersing myself in this information, I began to write, mainly as my way of sharing what I had learned. Little did I know the impact this would have on my life. My writing, something that has always come easily to me, evolved into my first book - "Handbook to a Happier Life." Since then, my books have been translated into six foreign languages. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to hundreds of groups in seminars and regularly receive letters and emails from people whose lives I have impacted in a positive way.
As Og Mandino, one of the greatest self-help authors of all time and my role model would have said, the hand of God reached directly into my life and changed my course from living in misery and despair to a life that is beyond my wildest dreams.
Today I understand that all have the capacity for greatness. All we need to do is take responsibility for our lives, learn to dream again, set worthwhile goals, have faith in God, and take action. We will be shown the next step as our lives unfold.
Today I am totally committed to lifelong learning. I know that reading and listening to positive, uplifting information on a daily basis is what determines the difference between an exciting, meaningful life or the kind of life Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was describing when he said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation."
Today I live a wonderful life, complete with a loving and supportive wife and beautiful home but, more importantly, today my life has purpose. I realize I was given another chance so that I could share my message of hope and possibility to help others. Today I have the privilege of touching the lives of people throughout the world with my books and speaking and I am forever grateful for the life I have been given.
Jim Donovan
http://mydailyinsights.com/quote.asp
There I was living in a tiny bedroom in my parent’s not-so-large, five room apartment. I had, as they say, "run out of options." My life was out of control, way out. Had it not been for mom and dad’s willingness to let me stay with them, I would have been homeless living in Central Park or another one of New York City’s fine parks. Years of rampant excess had brought me to my knees.
I would lay awake at night, unable to sleep, pleading with God to help me. I prayed, begged and bargained for my life to change. I would imagine having a nice apartment and girlfriend, spending quiet evenings together. I just wanted to get my life back on track for it had been years since I lived anything that resembled a "normal" life.
I had done it all – lived in cars gone days without food, moved from place to place, and so on. Each time I told myself, "This time it will be different. This time I’ll get it together."
I remember looking upward one day and saying "Okay God, either take me or help me change." To be quite honest, at that moment, it didn’t much matter to me which He chose. That fateful day was many years ago, and my life has never been the same from that moment on.
Something in me wanted to live more than I wanted to die so, swallowing my false pride, I accepted the help that was being offered and entered a treatment program. Upon release, I was on my path to recovery but I wanted more. I wanted the life I once had.
It was during those days of early recovery that I read everything I could get my hands on. Frankly, I had little else to do. At about the same time I was introduced to audio learning when I received a Nightingale Conant catalog and ordered a set of tapes. This one small action was to change my life forever. I began devouring every self-help book I could find, listened to audio tapes daily, and attended regular seminars. My life began changing for the better and I began achieving goals greater than any I had previously imagined.
After several years of immersing myself in this information, I began to write, mainly as my way of sharing what I had learned. Little did I know the impact this would have on my life. My writing, something that has always come easily to me, evolved into my first book - "Handbook to a Happier Life." Since then, my books have been translated into six foreign languages. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to hundreds of groups in seminars and regularly receive letters and emails from people whose lives I have impacted in a positive way.
As Og Mandino, one of the greatest self-help authors of all time and my role model would have said, the hand of God reached directly into my life and changed my course from living in misery and despair to a life that is beyond my wildest dreams.
Today I understand that all have the capacity for greatness. All we need to do is take responsibility for our lives, learn to dream again, set worthwhile goals, have faith in God, and take action. We will be shown the next step as our lives unfold.
Today I am totally committed to lifelong learning. I know that reading and listening to positive, uplifting information on a daily basis is what determines the difference between an exciting, meaningful life or the kind of life Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was describing when he said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation."
Today I live a wonderful life, complete with a loving and supportive wife and beautiful home but, more importantly, today my life has purpose. I realize I was given another chance so that I could share my message of hope and possibility to help others. Today I have the privilege of touching the lives of people throughout the world with my books and speaking and I am forever grateful for the life I have been given.
Jim Donovan
http://mydailyinsights.com/quote.asp
