Mike Foley, a big guy and ex-football player in his fifties and always happy, says that gratitude was a slow maturing process for him. However, it was a worthwhile one. He is now an entrepreneur and part-time butcher; he loves life and no longer dreads Monday mornings.
Since his football days, Mike has had a dynamic and, at times, wildly successful career in the corporate world as an account rep. He describes himself as having the “gift of gab” and is action-oriented. In his corporate career, he says that several times he went unexpectedly from what he calls “living the life of Riley,” meaning being wealthy and living large, to being unemployed.
Eventually, when he realized that he was sick of people at the top making decisions that affected his life, Mike completely dropped out of the corporate world. For instance, he recalls, one time, a boss telling him to get used to eating hamburgers instead of steak, all while bragging about his brand new 40-foot sailboat. Mike needed to take control and ownership of his destiny and no longer wanted to worry about someone else calling the shots.
Each time a major setback occurred–like the loss of a job that would’ve supported his family for years–the cycle of anger and regret lessened once he could let go of the fear and focus on the positive and what he was grateful for. He uses his motto today in his personal and professional life: “Enjoy today because yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is not promised. And always look for the silver lining.”
Mike and I were in the same networking group. I interviewed him in 2017 and included the above passage in my book, Leading with Gratitude. Mike’s story is like mine; we both came gradually and later in life to fully embrace gratitude because of life situations. I lost track of Mike after I stopped attending the networking group and recently learned he passed on at 64. His friends reported that he had that positive outlook till the end. RIP Mike. His full obituary is here: Peabody Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Derry and Londonderry, NH – Obituaries
Whom do you know that oozes gratitude?
How did you bring gratitude into your life?
