My mother once told me that I had never liked any job I ever held. She was right! My latest job, a disgruntled postal worker, was consistent with all my other jobs. I was 26 years old at that time and doing a lot of soul searching and praying.

On that fateful day in March, I became inspired to write down some short-term and long-term goals. I also spent time recalling the things I enjoyed doing as an adolescent and young adult. Sports always came to mind. Seeing that being a professional athlete was out of my grasp due to age and lack of talent, I tried to determine the second best job in the world. It came to me. I could be a personal trainer, begin educating myself on fitness and nutrition, help others and all the while stay fit and athletic.

The lightbulb went on in my head. I found a mentor who was doing what I wanted to become and began to develop a passionate belief in myself. Over the last 13 years, my life has gone from misery to elation. How? I wrote down goals and accomplished them; found a mentor and believed in myself.

On March 24th, 1996, I defined success this way: Waking up every morning enjoying my work and, more importantly, having wonderful, respectful relationships with those I love. I truly believed that if I could accomplish those two incredible goals in my life, money would follow the same way our shadow follows. My view was that, if success came at the expense of my family, it would mean failure. Today, thirteen years later, I can honestly say that I was correct. When one enjoys what they do for a living and has a mutual love with their family, they can add a zero to their income!