Today I would like to share a truly inspirational story with you. This letter was posted on Facebook but I received special permission to share it with you.
“As this year draws to a close, I have so much to be grateful for!
“This is what was in my mailbox today. It took a lot to get here.
Then
“Six years ago my life changed, and honestly, I thought it was over. Everything I knew and loved was gone.
“Let me back up a minute . . .
“12 years ago I met a man who asked me to be his wife, after 3 years of dating. The marriage was brief, but the personal devastation in my life was long lasting. There is so much I could say about that marriage but it’s not what I want to share here.
“During the time I was dating this man, I spent $80,000 on a kitchen renovation. I spent close to $100,000 furnishing the home I bought in 2006. After we married, he moved in with me. A couple of months later we (he) bought a new house. It was my dream home. It was a house that I found and negotiated a hell of a good deal on. There were odd things missing like a doorknob here or a cabinet knob there or a hinge finial somewhere else. Some light fixtures were missing and there were no appliances so I had a great deal of work to do and I made that house a beautiful home for us. There were some pretty extraordinary circumstances surrounding the house that a few girlfriends may recall but it’s not relevant to what I’m sharing now.
Losing My Home
“My former husband had been in an apartment so there wasn’t much furniture in his apartment. I had just spent the last year or two buying beautiful furniture for my recently purchased home, so we moved all of my furniture into our new house and I spent the first year making that house our home.
“I had tried to sell my home, also tried to rent it, and ultimately did a short sell on it. I took a huge financial hit on that home because I was trying to sell it during the financial crisis that hit after we married.
“I left this beautiful home that I found and created, with the very barest of necessities—a sofa, coffee table, a couple of chairs and my guest bed. I left everything else in the house with my former husband. I’ve since asked him, more than once, for my furniture and other personal belongings I left in the house, but he refused. Repeatedly. It’s not that he couldn’t afford to buy new furniture, dishes, etc. He could’ve furnished the house 100 times over.
“I was in commercial real estate and there weren’t any deals to be done, so I had no income when we divorced. There was no real estate market at the time and frankly I was pretty burned out and wanted to do work that was more fulfilling. I had started on a course of study while married but in the devastation of the divorce, that work was no longer pursued.
Starting Over
“I had no direction at all.
“I was sad, at the very deepest core of my being.
“I don’t say all of this to get sympathy, although I certainly felt like I needed it at the time. I’ve never been in a place as dark as that, ever before, EVER, in my life. I truly believed everything in my life was gone. It was as if everything I believed in was a lie. It WAS a lie.
“I took a job in a retail store to pay the rent. I don’t really remember how long I worked there, maybe a year, a year and a half, I’m not really sure.
“One day, I happened across a Facebook post about background work, so I submitted for it and I got booked. Jamie Lynn Catrett booked me on a show called Necessary Roughness. That first year I probably did 100 background gigs. It was fun pretending to have a life again but it wasn’t enough. I wanted a speaking role, so I started taking workshops and classes, anything and everything, as often as I could. I started booking student films and independent films and community theater. It was good. Finally, I began to feel like I had something to offer the world again.
“I also recognized that what everyone called ‘set’ was actually real estate, something I knew. Once, when working a 4 day background gig, I was talking with a location manager during a break in filming and shared with him the idea I had to create a catalog of locations that the owners had already agreed to be used for filming. That conversation was 4 years ago and that’s when I started my location services business. I only did 1 location gig the first year. Maybe 2 or 3 the next year. I was barely making enough money to survive. I was accumulating credit card debt. I was paying my bills on time, but I could never seem to get ahead and certainly could not get out of the 5 digit credit card debt that I found myself accumulating over the last several years.
Now
“Fast forward to 2017
“I’ve accumulated a fairly respectable number of IMDb film & TV credits over the last few years since beginning my acting career.
“This year I’ve had principal roles in 2 feature films, 2 network TV shows as well as a couple of roles in shorts and web series.
“My location services businesses had the best year ever.
“I have zero debt.
“I have an 816 credit score.
“I just returned from the most amazing trip ever!
“Why was this year financially different?
The Difference
“The hard work of the previous years is finally paying off.
“My assistant and project manager, Page Rast, has been with me for several years to help me on set and to maintain the FFG database for the business. When she told me she was leaving in September, on my dad’s birthday (no less!), I was devastated, because I didn’t know if I could do it without her assistance. And, as life unfolds, it turned out to be a blessing. The last quarter of this year was the best quarter FFG has ever had. And I handled it! With a few good site reps. Damn!! I miss you Page.
“It took a lot of work, a lot of focus, and a lot of personal, focused, consistent, positive reinforcement, and extreme belief in myself. I think one of the things that made the difference this year is a subliminal audio program called Your Personal Best, by Eldon Taylor, and his company, InnerTalk. I bought the catalog / series about this same time last year. It was at a reduced price, a year-end promotion, I think. I was a little nervous about spending the money, but I knew something had to change, so I bought it. I think there are about 20 different tracks on it. I created an iTunes sleep list of the 5 or 6 titles that were relevant for me. I listen to it when I sleep. Every night. Every Single Night. Even while in Thailand for the last 3 weeks. Basically, it reprograms limiting or negative subconscious beliefs and rewires your brain. You can go to the website and read about it. www.innertalk.com. It’s pretty impressive. Ravinder invited me review a new program they developed called “Remember Lines: Especially for Actors“, which I also love and added to my sleep list. Thank you Eldon & Ravinder for the amazing work you do!
“I truly hope someone will be positively inspired by reading my story. It’s the story of a woman who was utterly and absolutely devastated—financially, spiritually, emotionally, sexually, physically—and with Gods grace, completely rebuilt her life, from less than zero.
“Believing in yourself always matters ~ Eldon Taylor
“Live with passion ❣ ❣
~ Wanda Morganstern”
InnerTalk
Thanks for sharing your story Wanda—it gave Eldon and I that warm-fuzzy feeling he is always talking about. And now you can all see why Eldon and I love the work that we do. Quite honestly, we never tire of hearing success stories and would love to hear yours too! InnerTalk . . . when believing in yourself matters!
Wishing you love, light, and laughter!
Ravinder Taylor
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