I wanted to share this story with you about the power of Faith and Attitude.

I had a friend who was down on his luck. His business had turned sour, his creditors were starting to pile up. He started drinking heavily and spending a lot of time in nightspots trying to drown away his problems. Because of his actions, employees started to lose confidence in the business. They started to look around for new employment options. Their attitude and worry also affected customers who started to shy away also.

I spoke to him about the  power of Faith and the importance of having the right Positive Attitude. He still went on his downward spiral. One time he was trying to sober up and analyze his life situation in a clearer perspective, he met his rich former classmate. They started chatting and reminiscing about old times. His classmate confided in him that he had inherited his father’s wealth and that he was looking for investment opportunities. My friend excitedly grabbed the opportunity to start talking to his friend about his business.

He started to passionately explain the tremendous potential of his business. He spoke excitedly that with new funding, the business could generate so much. His friend listened attentively, and started to nod his head in agreement. They struck a deal. If my friend could present a clear business plan, he would come in and fund it 100% for a 50% share in the profit.

My friend became very optimistic. He felt positive that he could not only revive his business, but once again turn it into one of the leaders in its field. He started meetings with his key employees, motivating and focusing them for the task ahead. He initiated negotiations with his creditors and suppliers, and was able to get concessions from them that would allow the business to resume normalcy. He called on key customers offering them better deals, in order to get momentum going again.

My friend became very busy. He threw all of his energy into righting his business so that he could write a nice business plan to show his friend how much potential the business had. Time flew by very fast, his business had not only recovered but had caught the right timing.  He was able to ride a boom in the demand of his products.

A year later, he had not only recovered but had grown his business to triple its size. He started to reflect on what happened. He remembered his friend. He had become so busy that he had forgotten to write the business plan that would allow his friend to invest. He realized that his friend’s faith in him and his faith that his friend would be there to invest had given him a whole new positive  attitude to the business. By banking on that faith, He became positive about the whole situation and did something about it.

He started to look for his friend. He prepared a handsome sum as a thank you for his friend. But he could not find him. He no longer lived in their family’s big house. He did not seem to hold office in the same place. Confused he searched out more old classmates and asked them for his friend’s whereabouts.

When his classmates would ask why, he told them about the story of his friend’s offer to invest and how it had helped him get back on his feet. They would shake their heads and say no more. Until one old classmate finally broke the news to him, his friend had committed suicide.

It seems that his friend did not inherit any  wealth. In fact, his friend’s father had lost all of their family wealth gambling. His friend had become an alcoholic and was mired in disbelief and depression. His friend had taken his own life almost a year ago.

My friend was stunned. He searched me out and started to talk to me about the power of faith and attitude and how it had done wonders for him and his business. I agreed but I asked him. “Was his Faith true?” He looked at me quizzically and did not understand. I pointed out that his faith was premised on a lie. His friend did not have the money to invest and had no faith in him or himself.

Faith is important, Attitude is critical. But what is it really that we have faith in? We need to be sure that our Faith is true and not a lie.  1 Corinthians 2:5 “So that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at stirspecialist@gmail.com ,  or visit  www.stirspecialist.com