Painful Life Lessons
I'm a true believer in "All things happen for a reason." I'm also a very intuitive person, and I try to always listen to my gut feelings.
Recently I took a low paying part-time job 45 minutes one way from my home. My friends and family thought I was crazy, but I told them it was something I needed to do.
When I met the owner of the store it felt like every right and wrong decision I ever made had led me to that moment. She was successful and currently owns 3 retail stores in 3 different states. Her back story is truly fascinating, due to the fact she was homeless for many years. Obviously she knew something I didn't, and I jumped at the opportunity to learn from her. I knew I was supposed to take this job despite the cons that came with it.
I listened closely to every word she spoke even though I quickly realized she had deep rooted issues. She wanted another employee to take under her wing and set them up in a location so she could take time off. I knew I didn't want to manage a store and was really confused on why the universe had placed me there.
She is a brilliant and successful business owner that taught me the ins and outs of her successful businesses in a short amount of time. She taught me how to calculate risks worth taking vs rewards. I learned the value of giving customers exactly what they need and not what you think they need. I was also taught the importance of educating people on products, so they can make a better purchasing decision for themselves. Many times people would come in to learn about products and leave without buying a thing. They always seemed to make their way back when they did decide to finally make a purchase.
I looked up to her and considered her my mentor even though she was horrible to her other employees and her wife. I knew my job would be short-lived, because it was a matter of time before her rage turned toward me as well. I'm not anyone's doormat or someone to erupt on to make yourself feel better. My employment lasted 6 weeks.
My last 30 minutes of my job I was so hurt by her words. Not only did she proceed to tell me I was stupid, but I was also blamed for her wife's extra stress that had led to their marriage issues. As tears ran down my face she even mocked me for crying by telling me emotions have no place in business.
I don't tell you this story for sympathy, instead to tell you not all life lessons end with smiles and rainbows. Sometimes painful endings have a greater purpose. The universe knew I would've continued working there, even though, I was unable to pay my bills, so my exit had to be painful or I would've stayed much longer. I learned enough, and it was time to move on.
Because of my former boss, I joined Wealthy Affiliate. Her business tips turned on a light bulb for me, and I decided to give blogging another chance but this time with training and the sole purpose of helping others. I looked in to Wealthy Affiliate several times and as early as 2007. I even started a blog in 2017 and it had failed miserably. Timing can sometimes be crucial.
Through the years I had been searching for ways to make extra money and had even joined many MLM companies along the way. I wasn't passionate about any money making ventures I was a part of and failed each time. Passion was part of what I had been missing. The other part I was missing was proper training and lessons I learned from my former employer.
Wealthy Affiliate has provided me a way to help others. I haven't earned any money yet but I'm too busy focusing on providing quality content. If I can turn my passion in to a business, anyone can. Reconsider your life lessons as ways to teach others. Maybe that's why you were taught those lessons to begin with.
The moral of my story is... Don't disregard valuable life lessons even if they're painful. It could be life changing.
Cheers,
Jamie Humbert
https://healthydiabeticdogs.com
Recent Comments
20
Such an awesome and inspiring writing. It is really inspirational because you are sharing such positive lessons we at times forget we have learned during bitter times.
Thank you. We often disregard hard life lessons. Painful lessons are sometimes more valuable than happy lessons.
Hey, excellent article, yes sometimes we do things and wonder why?..I have heard many times that nothing is random!..that things happen for a reason and that you create whatever is happening in your life!.. so true and insightful. Well hope your blogging comes to fruition here. ...I have actually used creating your reality as my niche...lol..Good luck and you are in the right place to achieve your goal.
Thank you. I agree that nothing is truly random. I would love to read your blog. I could share stories with you that would make your arm hair stand up. lol
Hey Jamie, yeah just follow the link: http://changemindreality.com/
am also wondering about your site, why you have not enabled the comments section?
lol...sorry I was looking at the home page..do apologise.. I was trying to comment yesterday and must have missed it..
That was a great post and I enjoyed reading it very much. You are so right we have lessons to learn and that is how we learn them. Through mistakes or choices that we have made good, bad, or in differ we all have lessons to learn.
Hi Jamie :) I'm little confused since you said "her wife's stress" ??? Do I misunderstand you that former boss's a female and she has a domestic marriage with same sex? Sorry for asking such horrible question...just little confused... Sorry If I bother you.
hmm....but at leas your former boss did learn by herself about running business and her three branches in three different states are the prove of her ability and her business knowledge :)
Thank you for sharing for get some inspiration :)
I totally agree. She has unbelievable business abilities that she's learned all on her own. Her down fall is her lack of ability to manage her employees. I don't think she'll ever be able to keep managers working for her so she can work less.
hmm...because she doesn't know how to manage her business? It's little weird to me while someone run a business, they usually take lesson associated with management course. In your mind, because that former boss attitudes to her employees, she couldn't hire a manager for each branches? or in other words, no managers could work long-term with her?
Even with our WA business as well, we usually manage things by our-self first for gain some positive returns....Talk into here -.- I feel that to me, it has a long way to go....
thank you for your time :)
The post was simply to show that I'm thankful for my experience with her and not to point out her faults or analyze them. She is very successful and I learned a lot working for her. My post was to tell others that painful lessons are still valuable lessons.
I am not trying to determine weather or not her attitude is holding her back because obviously it's not. I knew it was my time to leave, and she will continue to be successful despite her personal issues.
I wish her and her wife even greater success but I won't be apart of it.
:P sorry my bad...analyze things...yeah not every life lessons have a good ending, some are very painful-> but it's life. No pain no gain!
See more comments
Wonderful story Jamie. Like you I believe, "All things happen for a reason." I also believe, "Everything has value." Often, our challenge is to identify the value in the event or situation.
You have brought things you learned from that situation to WA. Here you can act on them to create value for readers.
Thank you,
Lovetta**