I am overwhelmed with inspiration – inspiration to share my story as it once was and as it is today. The peace of mind I now have from the understanding that I am creator of my story has and will continue to transform my life. I am experiencing a level of gratitude right now that I have never felt before this moment.

I am thirty-one years old, and I am a recovering heroin and cocaine addict.

Three and a half years ago I was, by many people’s standards, living an exceptional life. I had found the love of my life and conceived the most inspiring and beautiful person I have ever known, Tayven, my son. I was living in a beautiful home. I owned two great vehicles and a Harley-Davidson. I was living what many would call the American dream.

It was through my lack of gratitude for the amazing things I had in my life that I “lost it all,” or, as I now say, “gave it all away.” We have all heard the saying many times that “a person doesn’t know what he has until it’s gone.” I now like to say that a person knows what he has; he just is not grateful for it until it’s gone.

Looking back, I am amazed that I ever felt any level of success. Yes, I became very good at acquiring material things, but I never took the time to appreciate what was really important – my ability to create them and all the other circumstances I had experienced. I felt no gratitude for the people who supported me in creating these things, or for the opportunities that were literally thrown in front of me to create an astonishing existence.

I am so very grateful for the new perspective on life I have gained as a result of giving up everything I have ever loved and worked for. Only through “starting from scratch,” as they say, can I truly see how blessed I have been.

I was released from jail after serving a year in custody. I am now a convicted felon after being found in possession of heroin and cocaine. You see, I not only felt ungrateful for the things and people in my life, I also felt I was entitled to experience them while I was intoxicated.

I spent much of the first six or so months of my incarceration blaming outside people and circumstances for my situation. It wasn’t until I read The Secret and started adopting its principles of looking inward to change and taking ownership for my life that it truly started to transform. This amazing book found its way into my life at the most opportune time. I was quite literally standing at a crossroads where my life could have taken two dramatically different paths.

After four near-death overdoses, a pulmonary embolism, and a year of my life behind bars, I can truly say thank you, not only to the amazing team who created this book but also to the Universe for bringing into my life exactly what I was asking for. Even though what I was asking for was not pleasant, it was granted. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have survived, and for the chance to start asking for the right things in my life.

I am a perfect example of what an amazing experience using The Secret can be for anyone brave enough to look at their own life – the result of what they have attracted into it. I want nothing more than for all of mankind to experience the level of optimism and gratitude I am feeling today.