After being sick and off work for one week and getting fired, a multi-million dollar business was born. No joke and no exaggeration. A person that I appreciate being called friend was at home sick for a week a few years back, and received a letter of termination! Can you believe that? I mean, how ruthless is that? To this date, she can’t answer the question of why she was let go; but let me tell you…it was the best thing that ever happened to her. Her ‘then-boyfriend’ reminded her of a business idea that she had spoken about years prior, and viola, she said, “Oh yeah….” Now she owns and operates a multi-million-dollar business along with her husband that was her ‘then-boyfriend.’ Had she never been let go on her job, she would probably still be there making a good salary but not walking in her purpose. Her name is Pamela Bush.
I have many stories of powerful women who started businesses through pain or something happening to them. Studies show that most inventions have come from someone’s personal need.
Major organizations have been created because of a personal pain that someone suffered from or a simple passion that they didn’t want to let go of.
Do you know Les Brown’s story? He was a twin that was known as the dumb twin because he was dyslexic. Was homeless at one time, sleeping in an office building?? Look at him now! He’s a multi-million dollar Motivational Speaker. Someone who was classified as dumb has a company that is known around the world for helping individuals build their lives and help others to build their lives. He gets paid many thousands of dollars to speak! Something that he didn’t feel confident doing became his money-making gift. Actually, one of his money-maker abilities is ‘telling his story.’
How about the CEO and founder of eWomen Network? It’s one of the largest networks for women. She (Sandra Yancey) started the business inside of a room inside of her house. What about Ali Brown who boldly admits that she started a business from being broke – not even having enough money in the bank to use the ATM because the minimum was $20 and she didn’t have that amount in the bank to even use an ATM card.
Jimmy and Karen Evans from Marriage Today, had a horrible marriage that was on the brink of divorce! They testify that they didn’t even like each other at times, and felt like they were falling out of love. In fact, I believe Jimmy describes it as they fell out of love. It took them years to get it right. Now they are saving marriages across the globe—including mine. They have a television program, sold-out conferences, seminars, products, trainings – you name it! They have literally transformed lives through their story of how their marriage was healed and changed through the grace of God. I am a contributor to marriage today and I always be because I believe in what they do. I believe in the power of God to fix marriages so much that I received training and certification through Marriage Today (Marriage on the Rock) to become a certified marriage instructor.
Bishop T.D. Jakes! Should I say more? I don’t have to, but I will for those who don’t really know about him. Bishop Jakes started out with a small storefront church with less than 30 members. He preached with torn suits and holey shoes. He drove cars that the other preachers told him to park in the back so that it wouldn’t look bad for him to be driving what he was driving. He talked about his car having a hole in the floorboard, being on welfare, having utilities turned off over and over. It’s not that he didn’t work, he just couldn’t get a break! I remember him saying how him and Lady Serita would stand at the door and hope that people will come to church when they first built the church in Dallas. Really? Thirty people? Hoping people would come to the church? Look at them now! He is the pastor of
a mega church, not on welfare anymore! Babies not wearing paper towels for diapers anymore! There’s too much to this story, but you get it. He’s just one of many people with a story that proves pain is part of the purpose.
I could go on and on with stories of people that I know on every economic level who found their purpose through pain.
The one thing all of these people have in common is that they decided not to allow their pain to be in vain; but most of all, they chose to open up about it. Oftentimes we are embarrassed about what happened to us, so we keep it to ourselves. Sometimes we’re afraid of who might be hurt (friends, family, clergies, preachers, etc.), or how we might be hurt about the things that people will say and how they will look at us. Embarrassment of making wrong choices will keep our mouths shut, and just think of the many gifts and healing that the world would miss out on. What if Sandra, Les, Pamela, Jimmy and Karen and so many others had kept their mouths shut and their feelings inside… Wow! So many lives would have never been changed.
Let’s not go another day of keeping our mouths closed about our pain because someone somewhere needs to hear you. Somebody somewhere needs you.