I’ve been overwhelmed with all the kind words, thoughts, and prayers as I’m seeking a new career path to support my family. My former employer dissolved my position prior to the end of the year. The timing was difficult just before the holidays and as my wife and I were 7-months into the building of our new home. Despite the challenges, we’re still pushing forward. I’ve had a number of people tell me they wish I could win the lottery. I’ve even had some tell me that they would share their winnings if they won the lottery. They’ve seen how invested we’ve been in the building our new home over the last 7-months and the excitement shared with our children.
What I want everyone to understand is that I’ve already won the lottery and there’s no need to worry about us. I don’t need to donate $2 to someone else winning a cash prize. I’ve already won the prize. Look at both my social media and my wife’s and read the kind words and open prayers since we went public with our news.
Let me share a little backstory. My position was eliminated right before we were to close on our new home and just before the holiday season. Although our cash reserve was in good shape, I couldn’t in good conscience sign the lender’s disclosure documents that nothing had changed since we were approved back in May. I would be committing mortgage fraud if I were to sign the disclosure documents knowing that I was no longer employed by my former employer. This created a real problem in closing on our new home. The good news is that our lender was very empathetic to our situation and is working with us as opposed to running from us. Our builder also had empathy for our situation and allowed us to push out our close date allowing me some extra runway to resolve my current circumstances. You see, I’ve already won the lottery. God always provides.
If that wasn’t enough, we had coordinated the close date on the sale of our current home to coincide with the purchase of our new home. As we were met with a wrecking ball on the purchase of our new home, we didn’t want to pay it forward to the new buyers of our current home with our own version of a wrecking ball; hence, we decided to follow through with the sale as we knew the new buyers were as equally excited to close on our home as we were for our new build. This was a huge risk, but it was the right thing to do. We closed with the new buyers and they are as happy as a peach. Uh oh…we have a problem, we just sold our current home and have no new home to go to. It’s not as dramatic as it sounds; my in-laws came forward and allowed us to stay in their home until we get everything worked out on our new home. You see, I’ve already won the lottery. God always provides.
There are little things that happen along the way that you don’t plan on. We have a cat named “Luke Skywalker” that is like another sibling to our two little children. We didn’t want to burden our in-laws with an additional furry friend while we’re staying with them, but we had to figure something out. Worse case scenario is that we would have to find “Luke Skywalker” another home. Without hesitation, my brother and his wife stepped forward and offered to be foster parents to our four-legged family member until we get this all sorted out. They have the perfect setting to foster “Luke Skywalker” while we work through our situation. You see, I’ve already won the lottery. God always provides.
Aside from the overwhelming support from our family and friends, I’ve had equal support from my professional network. Once word got out that I had separated from my former employer during this critical time, my Inbox was inundated with inquiries from former colleagues, partners, business associates, and people I’ve met over the years. Although I have not identified my next adventure just yet, I’ve had a few partners reach out interested in partnering with me directly; hence, the “Solutions” section of my professional blog site. My risk tolerance and current circumstances with the new build on the line don’t allow me to run with this full-time just yet, but it has proven to be a value-add to the potential engagements I’m currently exploring, as well as a value add to my partner ecosystem. I have no doubt my current situation will be resolved and this will be a distant memory. You see, I’ve already won the lottery. God always provides.
You don’t have to visit your local convenience store to play the lottery. It’s called “life”. You play it every day, and you’re a winner every day if you have the proper perspective.
You see, I’ve already won the lottery. God always provides.