10 Painful Life Lessons I Learned from 2019
2019 What a year!! I started off the year asking the universe for the strength to handle any challenge that came my way, and boy did they ever! Before I can share with you the 10 things I learned in 2019. I need to share with you some of the challenges that gave me the insight I gained.
This year was without a doubt the hardest one I've ever faced professionally and personally. It began with a brutal power struggle with my long time friend and business partner. Collectively, we identified that our vision of the business no longer aligned. That eventually resulted in us severing ties. However due to poor contracts (get a good lawyer people!!) We didn't have the means to end the relationship without mutual consent. Suffice to say, we didn’t agree on valuation. After a long, protracted battle that cost $50,000+ in legal and accounting fees we finally came to an agreement.
I wish that was the only struggle I faced, but in early 2019 my wife and I suffered a personal loss. We had a miscarriage, that was hard to lose our unborn child, but what added insult to injury was that my wife suffered a catastrophic hemorrhage and nearly died on the bathroom floor of our house. After a few days in the hospital and weeks of recovery at home she was able to pull through but I will never forget how close we came.
I wish that was the extent of it but the universe continued to test my resolve. With the battle of wills at work, many good people, people I called friends abandoned my team. While I don't blame them as many had good reasons, it still hurt.
This caused me to have many sleepless nights and my health began to deteriorate, around mid summer I took a needed vacation. However, like a pressure cooker, when you release containment on the lid, it BLOWS and boy did it ever. While at the cottage, I went into town one Sunday afternoon to pick-up some supplies. I left the highway, parked my car, walked ½ a block and blacked out. I woke up in the back of an ambulance. Apparently I had a seizure! I also had a mild concussion from the fall onto the sidewalk. This sucked, but what really sucked was I lost my driver's license! Imagine a Realtor without a car!.
Oh it continues 😊 I'm writing this now nursing a broken foot! Slipped on some ice in a parking lot and landed on a curb in a weird way that cracked my 5th Metatarsal.
Now don't go feeling bad for me! Many people have had it much worse and ultimately I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow this year.
So, now let me share with you the 10 things I've learned in 2019:
Have a good lawyer and draft any partnership agreement. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Be thankful for all the good things you have. Gratitude is the best defense against despair.
Learn the warning signs of a bad miscarriage. No one wants to talk about this, but if you do not know what to look for you may wait too long to get help!
You need to start fresh every day with your spouse. Never take yesterday's happiness for granted. You need to choose your spouse every day!
Understand that you may have a friendly relationship with your co-workers but that does not make a true friendship. Work and money makes people act in very strange ways.
Sleep is just as important as drinking water. Treat rest like work. Book it into your schedule and guard it with your life.
You must focus on a healthy lifestyle to be truly effective. That means eating, sleeping, exercise with a plan. You cannot escape this truth. Avoiding it will result in failures in business and life.
These are the "Good old times!" I will look back years from now and remember these times fondly. We cannot choose the times we are born into, only how we spend the time we are given.
Serving others and solving their problems is a surefire way to stay relevant and create value.
Be thankful for your challenges. These are the opportunities to be great!
When life gives you lemons, turn them into lemonade. Most (if not all) of these lessons could not have been learned without trials and tribulations I experienced. So next time you are struggling, remember the silver lining: At least you will be able to learn something 😊