My life began on a farm in rural Minnesota, and at the age of 8 my father was killed as a result of a tornado. The circumstances surrounding the event and the family environment following my father’s death led me to be pessimistic about life. It always seemed as though everyone else had a better lot in life then me.

The tremendous loss my mother experienced at the age of 35 as a result of this event, coupled with the fact that with little or no education, she would have to raise 4 small children alone, left her with a “woe is me” outlook on life. Mom had had elderly parents and her siblings to help her, but the fact remained that a lot of difficult decisions for her were made alone. Money was also a constant concern, as my father hadn’t done a great job of planning for an untimely death.

I have always been interested in self improvement, and as a result there have been many instances in my life that I would take courses and attend events to do better with my life. It always seemed as though their were missing pieces to put it all together. The people who know me best, my family, have always supported me in these activities and events.

When I learned about this Law Of Attraction, I was naturally fascinated. A friend of mine in recent years has told me, in an interest to help me with my frustration, that I seemed to be a person who had “lost his joy”.

After reading The Secret, it occurred to me that all these years I’ve carried my mother’s “woe is me” attitude with me, and I have been attracting negative things toward myself for probably the last 55 years. My friends have always seen me as a very optimistic person, but I have too frequently been thinking pessimistic thoughts based on past events.

I’m excited about The Secret, have purchased many books for others as gifts, and I continually listen to the CDs in my car and have listened to the Wallace Wattles CDs as well. Thank God for Rhonda Byrne and all the work she has done informing others about the law of attraction.