Most of you that know me as James "The" Mann that focuses on making others feel good about themselves. I don't just try to do this, it is my lifes calling. I will find something positive in just about any situaton and if I have to tell you something negative I will tell in the most positive way I can.
My Quest for Success is to help people succeed which is the usual thing you will hear but I also have a passion to make people know they are worthy of success in life no matter how small that success is.
Please don't think I am bragging or complaining as you read this.
Before I continue I want you to know that I will struggle through this entire post and I know that I will continually think I should delete it before I finish, but if you are reading it I made it through to the end.
Reading Lynn's Post: Positive mindset, success-thinking, goals & brainstorming, has made me really stop and think. Thank you Lynn.
One month ago I would never even have attempted to do this but because of two new friends I have in my life I now have the confidence to do it.
Those two friends are Lynn Terry and Mike Merz. I have had friends my whole life, like most do, but the difference between these two and any other friends I have had and makes all the difference is the fact that I
have never seen a "What's in it for me" attitude from either of them.
And I have many other new friend here that I appreciate but I would not
have met you either without these two.
Saying that I am going to tell you why I think I am the person I am today and for me to tell you that I need to tell you where I come from.
I was born just north of Toronto Ontario, Canada in 1953. I was born to a mother that was a drug addict and an alcoholic who would get pregnant every time my dad was going to leave her.
In a way that was good because without that motivation I may never have been born.
My sister Sandra, the oldest, never lived with us. She was raised in New Brunswick Canada (that is why I live there today) and I had 3 other brothers that lived with us. Dave the oldest, then Bob, myself and then the youngest John.
Things went from bad to worse and by the time I was 5 our parents called the Children's Aid Society and then left us on the side walk to wait for them to pick us up.
Please remember I said I am not complaining.
I stopped here to read a message that just arrived and it was Lynn and guess what...
...she was thanking me for something. She is always so thankful and positive.
"Just a point where I thought maybe I should delete this post"
Now where was I before I was so politely interrupted. Oh yeah, the sidewalk.
I don't think they just left us there. I honestly believe they could not face the social worker but that they were somewhere out of site making sure we were safe.
From that point on life became a tad confusing. Four boys, 9, 7, 5, 3 where going to hard to place together so the put the two oldest together and John and I somewhere else. We were allowed to see each other once a year until we were 18.
That turned me into something I am not really proud of but I understand why. I became a bitter little boy which made things worse because I never stayed in one home very long, which made it hard for my little brother who was an angel. He had to be dragged out of each home I was remove from.
Home after home I finally grew to the age of 15 when I finally decided to run away and make a life for myself. What I became was a hippy with long hair (girls were very jealous of my beautiful ringlets).
Next I turned to drugs and started hanging with the wrong crowd to say the least. That did not go so well. I spent from 15 until I was 21 in trouble with the law.
I smarten up a bit by the time I was 21 and stayed away from the law but still abused drugs until I was 29.
Then things changed.
I met my future wife through a church group. I am not a real religous guy but at that time I my past became my past and the future was everything.
I stopped drugs immediately and never looked back. I stopped lying and vowed that I was not going to be my parents. It took a long time to get to that place but I did it.
I found that if I did not tell a lie today or take drugs today that I would be fine. I became so honest that my friends would fault me for it. Not even little white lies. The same with drugs.
It only takes one to get you started again. That was 21 years ago as of this past April.
I know this is a huge post but I am just about finished...
From the day I turned my life around I realized that I could make a difference in peoples lives one jesture at a time. I live my life with the belief that if I wake up today I have one more day to change someones life no matter how small that change is.
I will not give a starving man a dollar but I will take him to a restraunt and pay for his meal. You may wonder why I would not give him a dollar.
I was there and I know that he will not buy food and I know what he will buy.
If I die tomorrow I know that I have done my best to make someones life better and that person may just be the one that helps to make your life better at one point.
Now you know who Jim Mann was and who James Mann is. You know that I will also do everything in my power to make your life better and in that way I have made my life better.
The life I have now is simple and some times complicated and I do have days that I get down, but I don't stay there.
I have a beautiful wife (married 20 years this past April) and a 17 year old son that never had to go through the steps his father did.
Stephen is a 17 year old and I must say we pampered him so he some times still acts like a little boy but he can grow up later for now he is home with us and most of the time he is happy.
That is my story and it has never been told before today. It is meant to help anyone that reads it realize that any one can be anything they decide to be.
And that is my quest for success... I am now clicking the submit button.
