Half-Drank Cups of Coffee

My desk is covered with pill bottles and half-drank cups of coffee. On the wall I got a small sign that reads “The Difference Between a Boss and a Leader” then it lists the differences below. I’ve ever had the heart to take it down even after my medical issues, because I agreed with it so much. At one point I had convinced myself I could take on the world, now I give out of breath just hanging laundry. 

I graduated from college in 2012 at 50 years old. I had zero dollars in my pocket and an idea to start a tech advisement company. I had the idea to bring on other tech partners and start an LLC where we could pool our resources and be equal partners. I also continued my education while working to promote my little one-man sideshow, working on my MBA. 

But in 2015 while working of my Capstone Exams to graduate. In the middle of my last exam, I felt a blaze in my chest. Ignoring the pain I pushed through the timed exam and sent it in. Thinking it was just the ongoing panic I suffered through since 1999, I ignored it. But for the next week I suffered with the worst indigestion I’d ever experienced. Finally it got to the point where I was having trouble catching on breath. So after taking a cold shower in October, I could breathe any more and used my last breath to call 911. 

Since then many things have had to be adjusted. No longer was my dream of starting an advisory business a viable option. Lost and disappointed with myself, I ended up going on disability. Still I knew it had skills, skills that I could still use in another capacity. So I turned back to my first love…writing. Today I publish a website “fdthornton.com” where I tell stories and handout my own brand of motivational advice and truths. It’s not much, and it certainly doesn’t turn a profit. But it offers me an outlet for the passion and drive I still carry. I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t give up on your dreams or yourself. Circumstance opens just a many doors as it closes, if you only try.