Point to Ponder: “Tragedy depends on the way you see it. If you chose to be a victim of the world, anything which happens to you will feed that dark side of your soul, where you consider yourself wronged, suffering, guilty and deserving punishment. If you choose to be an adventurer, the changes - even the inevitable losses, since everything in this world changes - can cause some pain, but will soon thrust you forward, forcing you to react.”- Paulo Coelho Warrior of the Light
Story Line:
A week ago I received the following message and responded to it.
October 3rd was the second anniversary of our first meeting, the day Shawn knocked on the window of our car and informed us that the mattress he was moving had hit rear side and done some damage. We were impressed with his honesty as well as with the utmost Integrity ( Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching) he demonstrated in resolving the entire issue. Since then we have become good friends, share our experiences and family stories, and we have also met for lunch with our spouses. Learning more about his life journey in past two years of association, we realize that his faith and good values have helped conquer many challenges.
Reflection: With Shawn's permission I am sharing his own Reflection a year ago on the fifth anniversary of the founding of his business.
“5 years ago I was unemployed and my wife was 8 months pregnant... She had gotten her maternity leave papers from her Dr. to hand to her boss... before she could hand over the papers, her boss gave her a termination letter.... we were both unemployed and our baby boy was a month away ... being the man of the house, the provider, I felt embarrassed that we were scrounging anywhere for food... our main diet was living off the free costco samples just down the street...I remember praying to God that I just want to eat, I just want to be fed... then I turned it around ... I started to pray that I wanted to feed others, I wanted to feed many...
By the grace of God, I started a business... Today is the 5 year anniversary.... these are the 8 men I call THE HUMBLE WARRIORS in the photos... I told them to meet me today on their day off to do a very large side job and that I needed all hands on deck... we met at a costco parking lot, the very same one that my wife and I used to live on the free food samples...we had a quick meeting and I told them a few nice words about all of them and showed my gratitude towards them … then I proceeded to tell them about the origin and motivation of this company... I then told them to please forgive me, that I had been lying to them... and that we are actually not working at all today... I am delivering on God's promise to feed many and that they all are getting a $500 shopping spree to the same costco that fed my wife and I free samples years ago... the caveat was to get some stuff for others as well and to pay it forward just as I have...
I will never forget their faces, the energy, the joy I felt… an honor to do so for good people... as I was reflecting on the 5 year anniversary and thinking about some of my favorite days… it was not all the (business) accounts we got… it was not every time we purchased a new truck… it was the 8 days that I found the 8 HUMBLE WARRIORS…
I am sharing this story to inspire, to help others, to stretch the God given imagination you have been blessed with… to be humble, to be selfless, to think beyond just yourself… to reach out and touch somebody by speaking through the heart.”
The life story of someone we just met by accident (literally) has so many good lessons. It has touched and inspired us. I like to sum it up with a paragraph from Warrior of the light by Coelho: “This miracle is in the small things of daily life; we must live in the understanding that at every moment there is a way out of each problem, the way of finding that which is missing, the right clue to the decision which must be taken in order to change our entire future.”
*Fom The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho