Just under 3-years ago I found myself working in an environment that was poisonous to people with a belief that much can be accomplished when we work together. I had worked there for 25 years but suddenly couldn’t make myself get up and go to work. My health was being seriously affected, physically and mentally but there was no way out. I was a single mom, no college degree, no money in the bank, too young to retire and make enough money to keep my house, and no longer capable of doing my job. It had to be me failing….right?

I had a friend who was considering an early retirement, and although we were both in education, I could see that she had options out there to supplement her reduced pension. Imagine my surprise when she said I had options too, that I just hadn’t looked for them. Huh, what options?
I couldn’t think of anything but retiring after she said that – whether I had everything figured out or not. I simply could not continue to try to control what I had no control over – my job environment. What I could control was myself. I would figure out something to bring in more money or I’d learn to live on what the pension was. My two kids, grown men by then, supported my decision. So off to retirement I went!
In October of 2012 my youngest son came to his brother and I with a proposal to go to one of Dean Graziosi’s real estate events and see what options we might all have to work together towards something that we couldn’t even imagine was possible. So here we are 18-months later – doing the “impossible”. We took the pro’s we learned from seriously when they said it would not be easy – it would not be quick – it would require a totally different mind-set than we had. They didn’t lie. Are we where we wanted to be by now? No, but we have made some money. Are we closer than we thought we could get? No, we know we can do this. Where are we? We are getting up every day and showing up to work on getting to where we want to be!
The more I look for my options, the more I look around and learn about what is possible the more I believe in myself, the fewer limitations I see. I have had to be willing to broaden my thinking from the old formula of money for time – work long enough and you can retire. What I need to find is something of value that people will pay me for. It has to be something that makes money for me regardless of what I am doing with my time. We all have options! It’s just unfortunate that it may take someone else to see we have them, and fortunate that there are so many ways to learn about finding our options. Options that didn’t even exist 10-years ago! Real estate investor? Me? Own a nationwide business with no upfront money? Really? Yes!!! Always believe options are there and look for them!