Every year as Thanksgiving comes around, we are reminded to be thankful and appreciative of the little things. This year was different. I have been self-employed for 4 years and never would have crossed my mind that something like this would happen. The business next door caught on fire.
In order to access the roof, the fire department had to forcefully enter (resulting in a broken back door) and cut through our ceiling. This wasn’t the issue. The gym reeked with the smell of smoke. It wasn’t an environment where we could train our clients. We had to shut down our gym.
This is what I walked into one Tuesday at 5:45 am.
I started thinking, “what am I going to do? I have no place to work.” I couldn’t sleep and felt powerless. The constant back and forth conversation with insurance, contractor, landlord, and the city. It was stressful! Fortunately, the fire didn’t spread to our side and damage was minimal compared to the businesses next door.
Being trainers, we have the ability to move and lift heavy things so it comes in handy when cleaning.
Looking back in hindsight, the fire showed me how vulnerable I am. Being a small business owner, the business is everything. It’s my livelihood and my future. Within one day, I lost my workplace. We see it on TV from time to time. Plane crashes into a business. Fire in a shopping plaza. Wouldn’t even think that a tragedy like that would happen to you. It’s very humbling and I cannot be grateful enough that the damage wasn’t significant.
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. “-Moliere
So this Thanksgiving, I am grateful that I have a place where I call work and clients that love coming in. I get to do what I love. I have a beautiful wife. A lovely dog. A new house (we bought it last month). Family and friends that support me. At times, we are so caught up with our busy schedules, we forget to appreciate what we have accomplished. Hope you enjoyed this week’s blog. Stay tuned for more next Wed………….Kei
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