Hi Everyone,
That was a very emotional post to write, or should I say posts. It was a devastating time, personally, yet, my business was doing better that ever. I wish i had the time to enjoy it, but, that just wasn't the case. My daughter collapsed into a deep depression and I did too. My wife was the rock during this whole time. It got progressively worse before it got better.
My daughter ended up in Milan with my American Express card, it took me five days to convince her to come home. When she finally did, we had to commit her. It was the worst of times. Fortunately we could afford the best of health care, so we put her in a rehab out in Western, Ma, that was run by McClean hospital. It was dark times.
I would show up at the office but after the initial Hi everyone gave, you could see the fear and pain in my employees eyes! I wasn't the same, and they knew it.
It took me really 4-5 months before I was really back to a somewhat normal state. I have never felt so much grief in my life. Not only had we lost a beautiful grandchild, we almost lost my daughter in the process. It was really unbelievable. But every word of this is the truth.
So, by early December I was starting to come out of my depression, I decided for the holidays the family should just get away this year. It was 2007, we would spend 9 days in Jamaica at The Ritz Carlton. Run away, well its not always the best option.
We spent the holidays there, and it was, after a few days, a mistake. We should have been home with all of our family, the running decision was a bad one. Live & learn.
The holidays are a big thing in my family, and by breaking the tradition, of not spending time with our extended family was not the solution. But, hey, we still weren't thinking straight. It was obvious.
Here comes New Year's of 2008! Well professionally I had the best year of my life, personally I had the worst. I had to find a way out of this depression.
So after New Year's, I became much more involved in the day to day operation again. Wow, it opened my eyes. When you run a business, that is family oriented, you must know your management very well. I came back full force and didn't like what I saw.
There was a considerable amount of slacking going on in all facets of my business. It was time to buckle down and get us back on track. I decided to do that, so I jumped back in with both feet. Only now I had an experience that I felt could channel into other facets of my life. I had a deeper understanding of compassion and became much more emotional in the process.
I had to find a way to get rid of all the bad habits that were picked up during my semi-absence. It was a real eye-opener. It was a lesson that I wouldn't wish on any one, but you know what? If you own a business and you are The Leader, you must not let anyone else run your business. Sure, you can and should listen to advice, but the one thing I learned is you have to be physically and mentally engaged! Otherwise, it can go sideways very fast.
That wasn't going to happen, we had a management and company meeting. I was very forthcoming and straightforward.
The funny thing is, everyone seemed to almost embrace it! I then realized the power and responsibility I had as an owner of a business, like I had never realized before. People need leader's! They want leader's and by God, I was going to take control of the situation with both hands. It was a real lesson, but I wish I learned it in some college class I took. But I realized one thing, there is NO substitute for experience! It is all how you react to what life throws at you. I had to adapt!
Remember: The last post has an address for our SIDS Foundation, we are still actively fund raising for it!
Join my email list at the side of this blog, if you would like to know how to purchase a T-shirt for The Brady William SIDS Foundation!!
I won't be bombarding you with emails selling you some stupid offers, that's for sure. Otherwise please send whatever you can to this cause, through our foundation. It still in 2014 means a whole lot to myself and family.
Thank you in advance, and let's move on with the story!
That was a very emotional post to write, or should I say posts. It was a devastating time, personally, yet, my business was doing better that ever. I wish i had the time to enjoy it, but, that just wasn't the case. My daughter collapsed into a deep depression and I did too. My wife was the rock during this whole time. It got progressively worse before it got better.
My daughter ended up in Milan with my American Express card, it took me five days to convince her to come home. When she finally did, we had to commit her. It was the worst of times. Fortunately we could afford the best of health care, so we put her in a rehab out in Western, Ma, that was run by McClean hospital. It was dark times.
I would show up at the office but after the initial Hi everyone gave, you could see the fear and pain in my employees eyes! I wasn't the same, and they knew it.
It took me really 4-5 months before I was really back to a somewhat normal state. I have never felt so much grief in my life. Not only had we lost a beautiful grandchild, we almost lost my daughter in the process. It was really unbelievable. But every word of this is the truth.
So, by early December I was starting to come out of my depression, I decided for the holidays the family should just get away this year. It was 2007, we would spend 9 days in Jamaica at The Ritz Carlton. Run away, well its not always the best option.
We spent the holidays there, and it was, after a few days, a mistake. We should have been home with all of our family, the running decision was a bad one. Live & learn.
The holidays are a big thing in my family, and by breaking the tradition, of not spending time with our extended family was not the solution. But, hey, we still weren't thinking straight. It was obvious.
Here comes New Year's of 2008! Well professionally I had the best year of my life, personally I had the worst. I had to find a way out of this depression.
So after New Year's, I became much more involved in the day to day operation again. Wow, it opened my eyes. When you run a business, that is family oriented, you must know your management very well. I came back full force and didn't like what I saw.
There was a considerable amount of slacking going on in all facets of my business. It was time to buckle down and get us back on track. I decided to do that, so I jumped back in with both feet. Only now I had an experience that I felt could channel into other facets of my life. I had a deeper understanding of compassion and became much more emotional in the process.
I had to find a way to get rid of all the bad habits that were picked up during my semi-absence. It was a real eye-opener. It was a lesson that I wouldn't wish on any one, but you know what? If you own a business and you are The Leader, you must not let anyone else run your business. Sure, you can and should listen to advice, but the one thing I learned is you have to be physically and mentally engaged! Otherwise, it can go sideways very fast.
That wasn't going to happen, we had a management and company meeting. I was very forthcoming and straightforward.
The funny thing is, everyone seemed to almost embrace it! I then realized the power and responsibility I had as an owner of a business, like I had never realized before. People need leader's! They want leader's and by God, I was going to take control of the situation with both hands. It was a real lesson, but I wish I learned it in some college class I took. But I realized one thing, there is NO substitute for experience! It is all how you react to what life throws at you. I had to adapt!
Remember: The last post has an address for our SIDS Foundation, we are still actively fund raising for it!
Join my email list at the side of this blog, if you would like to know how to purchase a T-shirt for The Brady William SIDS Foundation!!
I won't be bombarding you with emails selling you some stupid offers, that's for sure. Otherwise please send whatever you can to this cause, through our foundation. It still in 2014 means a whole lot to myself and family.
Thank you in advance, and let's move on with the story!
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