Today is my 40th Birthday and I Appreciate The Failures Over The Past Decade

Today is my birthday & I officially turn 40 years old.

This past decade has been the most difficult & rewarding.

I went from living at home, single & unemployed to growing in a new career & happily married. I've also watched my son grow from a child to a wonderful young man.

I remember when I was fired from a customer service job after a few weeks of employment and didn't qualify for unemployment. I had probably the worst flu of my life, yet I went to work every day and was let go because "I didn't seem interested".

Life had dealt me a major blow and I felt like I was a failure of a man and a father. I was alone, broke, and needed the help of my mother for everything while I struggled to find a new job.

After a few months of unemployment, I found an IT job opportunity that accelerated my career and brought me economic independence.

I think about these struggling moments not to whine about, but to instead make me appreciative of how far I've come from those lonely moments.

Now that I no longer have a victim mindset, I can see those challenges in life as tests that I was able to endure and how they have strengthened me. I understand that failure is only a failure if you learn nothing from it.

I can also see the hidden blessings in all of those terrible moments. If I was never fired from that job, I may not have finally broken into the IT industry like I had been trying to for years.

Today, I now understand how God was always with me putting people in my path to help me from even worse outcomes, especially amongst the darker times in my life. I am grateful for my struggles, my failures, and disappointments.

I celebrate my life not just because of the heights climbed, but because I know where I started. I'm proud of the man I've become and the people I've touched positively and I wouldn't be here if I didn't learn from my worst moments.

So, if I could offer a word of advice: Where you start your race doesn't determine where you'll end it. If you want change in your life, it's not going to be smooth but it's worth going through those obstacles to reach the other side.

If I could go back in time, I wouldn't change anything. I appreciate the suffering I experienced over the past decade. It has made me a better father who's better equipped to provide life-changing wisdom to my son.

It has helped to improve me as a man to attract such a wonderful woman like my wife Michele. I appreciate everything I have and never take it for granted. I appreciate making it to 40 years old when there were multiple times I thought about ending it all.

Today is a day of reflection for me and I hope the next 10 years will be filled with more opportunities to use my stories to impact the world for the better.

I love you all and thank you for your support. God bless.