Did you ever have a moment that, when it happened, dramatically altered the course of your life forever? I’m talking about something OTHER than death, health issues, or demonic possession.

I’ve had several. They should inspire you to look at bad luck in your life as possibly being the best thing that could happen.

Tom The Thief –

I don’t know how it all started, but when I was 7 or 8, I began my criminal life. I wasn’t good at it, maybe because I wasn’t making any money, since what I stole from the local grocery store were school supplies that I gave to everyone else. Not a good business model. My “moment” happened when I got caught. No one can say what would have developed if I was going to continue this career path. Would it lead to taking cans of tomato paste, argyle socks, or used cars? I doubt it. I never seem to get away with anything.

The FBI would surely have caught on, jail isn’t as glorious as the rappers would have you believe, and besides, too many “Robin Hood” movies have already been made. Thank goodness for eagle-eyed managers!

Tom The Business Owner –

I had left my dream job when it turned into a nightmare. Having no idea what to do or which direction to go, I took a year or so and looked around.

What I figured was, since I always had a better idea than who I was working for, why not work for myself? I started an insurance agency. It was not overly large, I employed one – me. It paid no benefits, had no secure future, but it was fun and eventually, I started to turn a profit. I was able to target a popular segment of the industry (new mortgages) and I was able to get them first and using only the best companies that had the cheapest rates. I could see a bright future…. and then, my “moment” kicked in.

I had a bicycle accident. It wasn’t the scraped-knees-or-cut-hands kind. I landed on my jaw, breaking it and a few teeth, requiring an ER visit and oral surgery. What they do for the jaw is to wire it shut. Sounds medieval. On Star Trek, they would have used a bone-knitting laser and a hypo spray. Just so you know, a wired jaw means you can’t seriously sell anything! If you can’t sell anything, it’s difficult to keep the business going unless you have a pile of money you wish to see shrink to nothing. I already had the NOTHING, so I was forced to return to my former dream job.

While this sounds like a tragedy, it actually has a happy middle.

Tom The Worker Who Finally Found Success

I returned to my previous position and was immediately successful. I had a good staff and they carried me to a promotion. The job wasn’t located where I wanted. As a matter of fact, it was the LAST place I thought of going – Philadelphia. Huh? I don’t want to go…..

But going to Philly allowed me to experience success in dramatic ways. As an office, we went from 53rd in the company (out of 53 districts) to finish 3rd. It was an amazing ride. Not only did this allow me to make more money than I could have imagined, I traveled more, and felt better about myself professionally. It taught me so much about business and people.

It allowed me to take Mom on a convention, so she could witness her son being given some lucrative awards. To see the pride in her eyes was worth all the hard work.

I was there for three years and it was the best time in my life.

If I didn’t have that accident, I would not have even visited the art museum. (Come to think of it, I STILL haven’t visited the art museum! I have got to add that to the TO-DO-VERY-SOON list…)

Thank goodness for bad roads and riding without hands!

(READ more at Tom’s Misc Ramblings – Here’s his latest blog post)