When I was a child my father always used to preach “positive mental attitude”, and say things like “there is no such thing as can’t.” I must say I found it difficult to buy into. Now, at the age of 34 (and my father has since passed away), I do believe he must have known something I didn’t.

About 2 years ago I decided to resign from my position as a Restaurant Manager of a relatively high profile Quick Service Restaurant Brand. I was never truly satisfied with my job, as it was not what I had always aspired to do. Besides that, due to “corporate office politics” amongst other things, I decided to take a leap into the unknown (after 9 years of dedicated service to the company) and resign. I attempted to open my own little fast food restaurant which after six months turned into a dismal failure.

At this point in my life I found myself in a position which I had never been before: without any source of income and the equivalent of $6000 in debt. Whilst being supported by my mother (God Bless Her Soul!) at the fairly ripe age of 33, I was forced to go job-hunting. I was quite unsuccessful for a number of months, as for some inexplicable reason nobody wanted to hire me (even in the very industry in which I had worked for nine years and been fully trained in).

I then decided to dabble in Network Marketing & door to door sales in order to generate an income. It was during this period that I was introduced to a number of “self-help” literature, such as “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and a couple of authors who featured in “The Secret”. The one which impressed me the most was “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles. I was quite motivated for a while, but unfortunately not successful in my efforts to generate an income.

I then decided to move out of my dear mother’s nurturing abode and move into living conditions which I was not used to. I was tired of being a parasite. I did, however, accept my fate and I was determined to be successful: one way or another.

The literature I had fleetingly read became a distant memory. I continued applying for positions and got a few positive responses. The income bracket of these offers were not to my liking, and I respectfully declined.

The memory of the “self-help” literature then surfaced again. There was always something burning deep within my soul nudging me to continue studying this material. I also came across “The Secret”. This seemed to confirm the other literature and make the picture even clearer. In my heart of hearts I knew that this had to be true, but nothing was happening in my life to finally convince me. Doubt was still lurking. I was also finding it difficult to visualize and to remember to be grateful for that which I already possessed.

I then managed to secure a position in the restaurant industry again, but at an income half of that I had earned a few years earlier (although better than all the other offers). I decided to make the best of it, be positive, and do everything in my power to impress my boss. I continued to read the literature on and off, still finding it difficult to implement some of the practices. But I was always determined to be successful no matter what.

To make a long story a little shorter… one way or another the literature must have filtered into my subconscious. I am a far more positive individual than I was even a year ago. I now have two high-level management positions in two different companies simultaneously, and I’m earning 25% more than I have ever earned in my life. I am completely debt free. I am also in a financial position to repay my dear mother by helping to support her and improve her quality of life. I have a vision board. I say thank you every day for everything I have (no matter how small or insignificant it may seem). I own a lot of the literature I was speaking of and I am studying it passionately and diligently. I have also been told by a reliable source that my corporate office position I’ve been trying to achieve is in the pipeline and secure. This, however, is only the beginning: I have huge goals for the the very near future and I know I will achieve them. Thanks to “The Secret”. I believe!