Mr. Positive

I teach people how to be positive.

If that sounds like a great job, well, it is.

These days I’m a pretty positive person, but sometimes I can tell what people are thinking, Of course this guy’s optimistic. He’s got no problems.

Wrong! I have challenges just like everyone else. And I remember a day, only eight years ago, when they nearly overwhelmed me.

I was in sales for a dot.com startup. I’d been working 12 hours a day for the past six months on a big account. That day I hoped against hope the deal would close.

I got to the office on the second floor of my house a little after 7:00 a.m., right after my morning jog. Breakfast—two waffles and OJ—sat next to my computer. No time to eat with the family this morning.

I needed to make something big happen, something that would really blow away my boss, Keith, in Atlanta. And still, deep inside, I worried it wouldn’t be enough.

On the corner of the desk was a photo of my wife, Kathryn, and the kids. The little guy, Cole, had just turned one. His sister, Jade, was three. We’d recently moved from Atlanta to Jacksonville to be near the beach.

One day I’d get out to the beach with them. But that would have to wait. Right now I had to get some cash flow.

“Right now” seemed to have become my mantra. I was haunted by the thought that if I took my foot off the gas for even a minute my whole world would fall apart.

Twelve-hour days wore on me, but it was all going to pay off—big time. And I was leaving nothing to chance. In a month I was opening a restaurant, a burrito place. If it did well, I planned to open multiple franchises.

“Once the restaurant gets hot, I’ll quit sales and spend time with you and the kids,” I had promised Kathryn.

I started lining up my calls for the day. Then around 8:00 a.m. the phone rang. “Jon, it’s Keith.” The boss’s voice sounded a little odd.

“Hey, what’s up,” I answered. “How are things in Hotlanta?”

“Hold on, Jon,” he said. “Someone from HR’s joining us on the line.”

“HR? Keith, what’s going on?”