I’m 43 years old, been married for 26 years, have 7 children from ages 10 to 25 and have, for the last 33 years, led exactly the life my mother wanted me to. When I had my twins, 10 years ago, I awakened to the realization that there was a lot of life I hadn’t experienced. Life with 7 children from age one to 14 was too much – and not enough – at the same time. In 4 years I grew into a depression that was incredibly lonely and painful.
First, I read Happiness Is A Choice and To Love Is To Be Happy With. Possibilities began to appear. Then my husband and I attended the Happiness GPS and then a year later we both did the 8-week Living the Dream (including Inner Strength, Optimal Self-Trust and the Happiness GPS), followed ultimately by Wide Awake. Life? It’s now exciting, fun, challenging, fun, rewarding and did I mention – fun?
It didn’t change what I do: I’m still a mother and do all the things moms do; I’m still a wife and a business owner; I do the same things I did before attending The Option Institute, but now feel differently about what I do. I learned not to judge myself or others. I feel joy in simple activities: cleaning, laundry, balancing books, running errands. I’m grateful for all the opportunities that being a wife and mother presents. I feel more alive than I ever dreamed possible.
The tools we took away from The Option Institute were crucial in our efforts to save our business. After running a moderately successful business for 10 years, we saw our business start to lose money. It went from a successful enterprise to bankrupt in an 18 month period. The bank was ready to close our doors for good, but we convinced them not to, with the insights and tools we learned at the Institute. We were clear about what we wanted and totally believed in ourselves, wasted no energy on doubts and fears – we learned this at the Institute – and trusted ourselves and never missed a night’s sleep worrying.
We reduced our debts by over $120,000 in 8 months. We went to the Option Institute to learn to become more comfortable with life; we never dreamed it would save our business and our livelihood; in brief, it was the best money we ever spent. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Mary Church, Mother/Business Owner, Indiana