A real place you can call home, with people who support you and who care about you. A place where you feel safe and excited to be! A place that makes your heart sing. We’re going to commit to each other and eventually to someone who brings out the best in us. Someone who gives us butterflies, makes us feel loved, at home and cares about. We are going to create a life that we want, on our own terms. I want to wake up every morning, not because of some alarm, but because we cannot wait to live the life we choose, we created, where we are finally free to thrive, live and experience. Let’s commit to having way more fun.
The truth is you are good enough, smart enough, strong enough, pretty enough. When we fall, I promise to listen and grieve for the losses, the pain, and sadness. Then we will get right back up! No matter what, we will always have each other from our first breath to our last.
XO,
Your always bestie
Reflections
Depression is not about feeling unhappy, because when I’m unhappy, at least I’m still feeling something. When in depression, instead of seeing the world in vibrant colors, I could only see it in black and white. Life was dull and cloudy. I couldn’t snap out of it. What made it worse is when others told me to snap out of it. I felt like I was living in a shell of my former self — like I was dying inside, and I felt completely helpless. I was chasing happiness and seeking solutions from everyone except the one person who could actually make a change — me.
Looking back now, seven years after my first wave of depression, I can honestly say that the last year and a half has been great. I have a fantastic home, living with a beautiful best friend and mentor. I slowly built my sense of self back by doing little things to help other people. I would get feelings of calm contentment or praise from my awesome friends, or acknowledgment from a consulting gig, or feedback from people at a Me Too rally. Every talk I gave at the Singapore Sports Council or the Singapore police, I felt myself getting a little bit stronger. I had something to offer the world again, and with a consistent practice of gratitude, I was so grateful for good days again.
I’ve been a private investor, which was my only means of making money during this long period of transition and personal development, and now I’m teaching others how to invest in the stock market. I’ve been invited to give talks on entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment. I recently got back from a local women’s financial literacy workshop and conference in the Maldives, which was so rewarding.
During my first wave of depression, I was still hosting startup competitions and remember running a startup weekend in DC. This guy came to talk to me afterward and said, “It’s so cool that you started your own company, an award-winning coworking group, and it just seems like you have this picture-perfect life. Well done for having it together.” I remember feeling like such an imposter, not owning my success or allowing myself to receive love or praise. After that weekend, I confided in this kind stranger about how bad it was inside. I will never forget his words: “I know how you feel. After every winter, no matter how dark or how cold it can get, there is always the spring.
Some days I wonder why it took me so many years to recover from depression. I believe resilience is like a muscle. You can train it. You can get up faster each time. You can develop the best relationship of your life with yourself first. Everything else will fall into place after.
Thank you to my darkest days for the appreciation and gratitude I now have for my greatest days.
“If there is no struggle,
there is no progress.”
~ Frederick Douglass
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
John Spender
CHAPTER ONE
John Spender is a 17 time International Best Selling co author, who didn’t learn how to read and write at a basic level until he was ten years old. He has since traveled the world started many businesses leading him to create the best selling book series A Journey Of Riches; he is an Award Winning International Speaker and Movie Maker.
John was an international NLP trainer and has coached thousands of people from various backgrounds through all sorts of challenges. From the borderline homeless to very wealthy individuals, he has helped many people to get in touch with their truth to create a life on their terms.
John’s search for answers to living a fulfilling life has taken him to work with Native American Indians in the Hills of San Diego, the forests of Madagascar, swimming with humpback whales in Tonga, exploring the Okavango Delta of Botswana and the Great Wall of China. He’s traveled from Chile to Slovakia, Hungary to the Solomon Islands, the mountains of Italy and the streets of Mexico.
Everywhere his journey has taken him; John has discovered a hunger among people to find a new way to live, with a yearning for freedom of expression. His belief that everyone has a book in them was born.
He is now a writing coach having worked with more than a 170 authors from 34 different countries and his publishing house MotionMediaInternational has published 20 non-fiction titles to date.
He also co-wrote and produced the movie documentary Adversity starring Jack Canfield, Rev. Micheal Bernard Beckwith, Dr. John Demartini and many more, coming soon in 2020. Moreover, you can bet there will be the best selling book to follow!
Georgiana Zor
CHAPTER TWO
After graduating from high school in Romania, she studied European Studies and obtained a Master’s degree in Crisis & Security Management from Leiden University’s in The Netherlands.
Although not published before, Georgiana has always loved writing. Composing poems from an early age, writing pieces for school magazines, creating short stories, and journaling since she was nine.
Georgiana loves of being in nature, especially close to the sea and the starry night sky. She likes exploring cities by getting lost through narrow streets and buildings that tell stories. She loves art in any form. Georgiana loves painting portraits birthed by her imagination.
She gets her energy from inspirational people who have interesting stories and an avid love for life. Georgiana is in love with British humor. She is trying to improve herself constantly – recently, she took acting lessons and is learning how to fly an airplane.
Brian Wood
CHAPTER THREE
Brian Wood is obsessed with personal development, believing it is our responsibility to inspire others to take action and drive positive change. He is the past Chairman of the Board for the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, with his term concluding in July 2017. Originally, from NJ, Brian earned his BA in Communications from William Paterson University. He earned his MBA in 2014 from the University of Phoenix while balancing family, community involvement and corporate life. Brian has been an Executive Coach with the American Express Leadership Academy hosted by the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and nonprofit innovation at Arizona State University - for the past three years.
Additionally Brian is: a Certified Professional Coach (leadership and transition); Founder of MARS Coaching - Myrtlewood Athlete Representation and Success; a Board Member with “Linking Sports and Communities”; a Mentor with New Pathways for Youth; a Certified Agent with FIBA, the NBA and WNBA Players Associations; and a graduate of Valley Leadership – the legendary Class 32!
Brian was certified as a professional coach through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), and uses a model that identifies the mindset and energy that is constructive while attacking the opportunities to convert catabolic thinking. Brian is enthusiastic about helping people and organizations find their passion, identifying and achieving their definition of success – while enjoying the journey and leveraging their “gifts.” He loves adventure, travel and time with his wife Vivian and family. A writer and a speaker, Brian also enjoys reading and is grateful to watch his children compete athletically and in the game of life.
Erin Levee
CHAPTER FOUR
Erin began her meditation journey at the age of seventeen, learning transcendental meditation from Tim Brown. Her absol
ute immersion into silence was a turning point and lead to many tears of travelling through India and to the teachings of Ramana Maharishi.
Since then, sitting with esteemed Satsang teachers Gangagji, Mooji and Isaac Shapiro lead to a grounding in her personal life and now married, with two young children, Erin feels drawn to offer her experience to those wishing to experience meditation for the first time. Trained in yoga therapy with Nikola Ellis at Adore yoga, and Aura soma colour therapy from the international school of ASIACT, she brings many healing modalities to her sessions and empowers others to choose wellness on all levels of their being.
She is a Doterra Silver leader and wellness advocate, empowering women in new ways of doing business collaboratively and with support from each other, their families and Mother Earth.
Www.spaciousbeing.com.au
M: 0415099705
Amy Suiter
CHAPTER FIVE
Amy Suiter is first and foremost a wife and a mother of three beautiful young souls, which in her world is the life of her dreams. She and her husband Dustin were high school sweethearts and have been together for 22 years and married for 12. They have three amazing children Haley (9), Trey (7), and Cash (2) they are the light in her world and definitely her why.
Amy played collegiate softball at the University of Washington and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. After college, Amy started her collegiate softball coaching career at Texas Tech University where she pursued a doctorate program in Sports Psychology.
Western Washington University was the second and final stop in her twelve-year softball coaching career. Currently, Amy is taking her organizational leadership expertise, communication skills, and mindset coaching that she mastered in her playing and coaching career to athletes, organizations and businesses around the world.
Sonja Stamenova
CHAPTER SIX
Sonja Stamenova is born 29th August 1975 in a small town Sveti Nikole in the Republic of Macedonia. During her school years, she always showed interest in literature and even wrote poems that didn’t have a chance to be published. In 1997 she moved to Australia to start a new life.
Sonja had two daughters and dedicated most of her time to her family but never gave up on her dream to become a writer and help people with her work. She is working in hospitality at the moment and is trying to endeavor her desire to become a writer.
Sonja enjoys reading, spending time with her family, cooking, traveling the world and doing charity work. In her life, she has been through a variety of tough times but never lost hope and now she tries to help other people by telling her stories and giving advice to others.
Andrea Daylor
CHAPTER SEVEN
Andrea is from a large Italian, Irish family, born and raised in Pennsylvania. Andrea earned her degree in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa. She specialized in Hand and Upper Extremity Rehabilitation early in her career later entering corporate management.
Andrea resides in Jacksonville, Florida, with her family. She attributes her many blessings to God and the love and support of her parents, William and Michelina Daylor as well as her family, Michael and sons, Bryce, Rowan, and Anthony.
Anastasia Gunawan
CHAPTER EIGHT
As a young millennial, Anastasia is passionate about sharing her discovery to authentic success with others. An old paradigm of hard work equals success led Anastasia to a path of burn out and debilitating symptoms of chronic disease. She is a social epidemiologist, outdoor enthusiast, author, writer, health educator, and a yogi in training.
She is the founder of The Burn Out Millennial – a grassroots online movement with a simple mission to end stress and burn out epidemic https://theburnoutmillennial.com
She currently lives in Reno, NV with her loving partner and enjoys being an active member in her local community.
Lillian Tahuri
CHAPTER NINE
Lillian Tahuri has a background in central and local government working across strategy, policy, planning, compliance and the implementation of legislation. She is also a personal development, transformational and leadership coach. Lillian works with individuals and groups to create better leaders, on trauma, phobias, high performance and positive mindset tools to improve the lives of her clients.
She is passionate about the environment, human rights, gender equality, diversity and inclusion. She is currently a board member of UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand National and represents the board on the Women’s Empowerment Principles Committee (WEPs).
Lillian is from New Zealand and has successfully represented her tribe to settle historical claims against their government. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Humanities) in Philosophy from Massey University in New Zealand, a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Coach, Master Hypnotist and trained in neuroscience-based personal development.
Jason Stein
CHAPTER TEN
Jason Stein is a humorist and communicator, with a passion for sharing new experiences with others so they can learn. He is a professional tour guide in New York City, uniting his love of history with his background in improv and standup comedy.
Jason also approaches learning through personal development. He is a certified Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Transformational Coaching and Leadership, and focuses his coaching efforts on ways people can create financial security for themselves and their families.
Jason enjoys hiking and spending time in nature to fuel his creativity, positive mindset and sense of humor. He is excited to join with all the talented writers in this book on resilience.
To contact Jason for more information, please visit: www.thehappinesshelper.com
Joy Chien
CHAPTER Eleven
While at the FBI, Joy quit her corporate job seven years ago and transitioned to being a full-time private investor and has since been traveling the world, founded two companies; living her best life on her own terms.
Joy studied Bio Engineering and IT, founded an award winning co-working group The DC Nightowls, volunteers for Singapore’s oldest women’s rights NGO AWARE, hosts startup competitions and runs investing and yoga retreats around the world.
She’s worked with individual investors as well as MNC’s such as IBM, Accenture, Bloomberg, KPMG, Paypal, Hilton, etc.
With 15+ years of consulting and 12 years of stock market experience, Joy believes in a balanced, holistic approach to life especially when investing money.
As a financial wellness coach, she is now empowering other women to be financially independent and is working on an App to make researching stocks more fun and engaging. Joy is currently living in Singapore.
“Strength doesn’t come from winning.
Your struggles develop your strengths.
When you go through hardships and
decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger
AFTERWORD
I hope you enjoyed the collection of heartfelt stories, wisdom and vulnerability shared. Storytelling is the oldest form of communication, and I hope you feel inspired to take a step toward living a fulfilling life. Feel free to contact any of the authors in this book or the other books in this series.
The proceeds of this book will go to the Bali Street Kids Project, in Denpasar, Bali.
The project gives orphaned and abandoned children a home, meals and an education.
You can donate to this fantastic cause here: https://ykpa.org/
Other books in the series are…
In Search of Happiness : A Journey of Riches, Book Seventeen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R8HMP3K
Tapping into Courage : A Journey of Riches, Book Sixteen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NDCY1KY
The Power Healing : A Journey of Riches, Book Fifteen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGRJQ2S
The Way of the Entrepreneur: A Journey Of Riches, Book Fourteen
https:
//www.amazon.com/dp/B07KNHYR8V
Discovering Love and Gratitude: A Journey Of Riches, Book Thirteen
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H23Q6D1
Transformational Change: A Journey Of Riches, Book Twelve
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FYHMQRS
Finding Inspiration: A Journey Of Riches, Book Eleven
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F1LS1ZW
Building your Life from Rock Bottom: A Journey Of Riches, Book Ten
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZK155Z
Transformation Calling: A Journey Of Riches, Book Nine
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BWQY9FB
Letting Go and Embracing the New: A Journey Of Riches, Book Eight
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079ZKT2C2
Making Empowering Choices: A Journey Of Riches, Book Seven
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Empowering-Choices-Journey-Riches-ebook/dp/B078JXMK5V
The Benefit of Challenge: A Journey Of Riches, Book Six
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778S2VBD
Personal Changes: A Journey Of Riches, Book Five
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WCQM4N
Dealing with Changes in Life: A Journey Of Riches, Book Four
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0716RDKK7
Making Changes: A Journey Of Riches, Book Three
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYWNI5A
The Gift In Challenge: A Journey Of Riches, Book Two
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GBEML4G
From Darkness into the Light: A Journey Of Riches, Book One
Liberate your Struggles Page 15