MY LIFE'S ROAD by Country Music Singer, Songwriter FINCH WILLIAMS

The early spring of 2002 was a major turning point in my life. My second marriage had just collapsed and laid smoking on the ground back in Michigan. I had been married for ten years and felt as though I had wasted most of my life in an abusive relationship with someone, who had been diagnosed with a personality disorder. I lost everything including my son and my old guitar I had since the army. She had sold it. For the first time in ten years I felt free to do what I had always wanted to do - be a country music star!

I was born in December under the Sagittarius zodiac, the adventurer, so a new life and a fresh beginning to me were very much exciting. I welcomed it with an open heart and mind.

Directly in front of me was a road sign on highway 17 South that said ‘Phoenix 72 miles’. Now most would think that a fellow with big dreams of being a country music singer would go to Nashville Tennessee, but there was something inside of me, a still small voice saying, “Arizona! Go to Arizona!”

I did not question this inspiration even for a moment; I just went with my gut feeling for the first time in years. As a result, there I was in Arizona. I had nothing with me, no suitcases of things, except a small brown bag with a couple of things in it. I did not know a single soul there, but for the first time, as I was dropping in elevation towards that Desert, I felt at home like no other time in my life. It was a very strange feeling but a good one. I did call ahead and made arrangements with a man, who owned a hotel, for he was in need of a plumbing repair. Unfortunately, when I got to town, he had changed his mind and I had no place to stay. Well, step one was not working too great, there I was 2000 miles from home and homeless.

I pulled into a corner gas station to cool down and get something to snack on. The lady at the till started talking to me and asking questions, so I began telling her my story. She was horrified. “Oh my God!” she said, “What are you going to do?” I answered that I had no idea, but even then I believed everything will be just fine. Just then a local man walked in and she said: “Steve, you are a single guy, right?” He nodded in conformity. Then she said: “Listen to this guy’s story.” I told Steve my story of how I came out to Arizona for a new start, about the hotel and the man who ran it and the fact that I had nowhere to stay.

When I finished, Steve said that his place was a very tiny one, he had a pop up camper on a lot just down the street, but I was more than welcome to stay in his new “Jeep”, where the seats reclined. Finally, I had somewhere to stay, I had a home. I used his bathroom everyday to clean up and shave. Life was good. I lived that way for about three months. Later I found a place of my own. Steve helped me when I was most in need, even though at that time he did not know me at all. He was also a musician.

After moving into my new home, which was Steve’s Jeep, I landed a job as a plumber the next day and the Phoenix valley was booming at the time. With the job came benefits and a van…. A bigger home! The van was supplied by a company; it was a plumbing van, with a door on the side. Each night I would lay a piece of plywood on the floor in the back, with a pad and a sleeping bag that Steve gave me. At last I was able to lay flat and stretch out.

On my first payday the inner voice came again saying that it was time to buy a guitar. I had played guitar since 1984 while in the army. I used to write songs as well. So my supervisor from work took me to his favourite music store, introduced me to a few people and I walked out of there with my first guitar of my new life. I felt truly wonderful! I poured my soul into that guitar and began writing songs about my life.

Soon afterwards I met the President of the Arizona Songwriters Association, Mr. Jon Iger. I met him at a Nashville Star competition in Phoenix. After I played my song there, they took a break from the judging, and then Jon asked me if I wrote the songs myself. He then gave me his business card and asked me to get in touch with him. I did exactly that and since that day he has been one of my good friends. I felt as if fate had guided us together, because before that particular competition I had to stand for three long hours in the hot Phoenix sun in order to get in and play my songs. Well, it was worth it!

I do not know what it was that Jon had seen in me, but he tucked me under his wing and began introducing me to various people in the music world: producers, record guy’s that would fly out to Phoenix. It was a great thing, however, my songs only worked for me, as these guys were looking for songs for guys that had already made their mark in the music industry.

A few years had gone by and life just kept on rolling by day after day. About three years had passed. I worked as a plumber from time to time, until it began interfering with my music. So I did side jobs to survive and played music out whenever I could. I had given up the plumbing trade to pursue music on a full time basis.

Now remember, I had nothing. Nothing!! When I arrived in Phoenix, I had a brown paper bag and couple of things inside it. One night I was at some friend’s house playing music in their backyard at a big barbeque they were having when I was approached by a fellow with beer on his breath telling me he had a friend who was best friends with the guy named Johnny who recorded Leann Rimes “Blue” and “Unchained Melodies” albums. He told me he really liked my songs and my sound and that I had a voice, which should be heard. My good looks and great personality helped as well. He thought Johnny would like my music as well.

A year had passed by pretty quickly. I found the woman of my dreams, we got married and I was living life with my best friend. She is spiritual, fun to be with; she has high morals and seriousness about the things she does. She is happy and secure with herself, tall and drop dead beautiful. We keep one another’s lives more exciting! After we got married, we got our own home. My wife is a nurse. We have been married for over five years now.

I was telling her the story about the barbeque party and the guy, who told me about Leann Rimes Producer. My wife then said: “What did the guy say about your music?” I told her I heard nothing from him, because I had never sent him anything. She then said: “Why not?” She then told me I needed to send him a copy of my CD to get his opinion on it at least. So naturally being the man of the house I did what she said. I felt great following her advice; it was something I had always wanted to do. I wanted to settle down in my career as a country musician and have a normal life. I believed I could succeed. With my wife’s belief and support I could conquer the world.

I sent my CD to Mr. Johnny Mulhair in Clovis, New Mexico, and then started pacing the floor wondering what he might think. I questioned myself whether I was good enough. There were just a few of the thoughts that ran rampant through my mind. Johnny called me about a week and a half later from Clovis, New Mexico: “Is this Finch Williams?” I said it was. Then he said: “I got your CD. Did you write those songs?” I answered positively. He then exploded: “You are one song writing son of a gun!” This comment of his blew me away.

Johnny agreed to produce my first album “My Life’s Road”. I went to Clovis, recorded the album of ten songs and came back home to wait for the finished product. The Recording took about three weeks; the mixing took a few months. We had our album complete and in hand in six months, ready to sell! I felt on top of the world.

I could not believe what was happening to me, my whole life was in the process of a change. I actually had attracted a Multi-Platinum producer into my life! I was dreaming of the right person to come along, who would believe in me and be honest and trustworthy. My dream finally came true!

The album was a huge project. The album was going to be expensive and I did not have much money at that time. I don’t know why I said this to Johnny, but I told him that I was a plumber. He then said: “Oh, you’re a plumber! I need a plumber to look at my daughter’s house.” It needed to be totally re-plumbed, so we swapped labour. I still had to pay for the musicians, and so folks around us here in Arizona and back home sent us sponsorship money.

I needed help, I looked for help and people one by one began to emerge. My neighbour, Pete, was a website guy and graphics designer. He jumped with both feet into the project; he developed my website, my whole album, cover, inside stuff. All of it!

I then started promoting the best way I could. I sent my album to many places and people. I sent the album to the folks who put on one of the biggest country music festivals in the Midwest. The National traditional country music association (NTCMA) loved my album and invited me to come and play it at their festival. While there, I was awarded “Americana Album of the Year 2009”! It was something I least expected and something that paved a path for my music career. By the way, we have done all of this without the help of a major label, and it keeps getting better as time goes forward.

Since this has happened I have received airplay on FM stations all over the place and on the World Wide Web. I have been invited to play for the St. Judes Radiothon, Professional Bull Riders (PBR), various events, folklore and blue grass festivals, I joined the Americana Music Association, and my fan base keeps growing stronger every day.

Above all, I have touched other people’s lives too, which means more to me than any amount of money. I have touched people in various ways. I have had people come to me crying after a show, saying it felt like I had followed them their whole life, my songs helped people grieve for lost loved ones and I have inspired many people no matter what age that it is never too late to follow your dreams. I am forty five now and I am having the best ride of my life!

Finch Williams
Country Music Singer/ Songwriter
Phoenix, Arizona, US
www.finchwilliams.com

Copyright © Jolita Kelias, August 2011
All Rights Reserved

A Very Short Letter...

A beautiful story written by my dear friend of 14 years in response to my story Helpers From Abroad

http://jolitaasmara.blogspot.com/2011/08/helpers-from-abroad.html

Reading this article took me back in time and made me think back again of all those sweet moments, Jolita ! Basically we shared most of this, but this is how it seemed to me at the time:

Having grown in a very small Berber village surrounded by nice mountains and valleys, even continuing your normal studies might seem absurd. My parents were illiterate but all of brothers and I and one sister got sent to school. My parents would always say “we never got a chance to go to school, now we give you that chance, so do your best!” We were five brothers and a younger sister, we all went to school but only three made it through university. I grew up speaking many different languages at a time, since I was a very young kid I had to speak both berber and Moroccan Arabic, right after getting to school, I had to start learning classical Arabic and then started with French after three years of primary school. My first classes of both new languages were so much fun and I enjoyed that so much. After finishing primary school, I was deprived of my right to go to a boarding school even if I succeeded with the best grades in my area.

Normally the government provides scholarships of encouragement for students like my case but I was an exception! My parents spent the whole summer thinking of where I could go and the clear thing and easy thing was that I was gonna stay home and herd sheep as most children who leave school do. Three days before school opens again, my parents got a letter from an uncle of mine saying that he would host me and I will be able to continue studying where he lives ( a nice city named khouribga). As a boy of 14, leaving family and home was such a hell of a challenging experience! People in that city speak no berber which is the language I used to use with friends back home. I was able to speak Moroccan Arabic fluently of course but had a berber accent in my Arabic and that was something every kid or even adult would make fun of me for. This taught me something; listening so carefully to the difference in sounds and accents and try to go around it so no one would know I was berber and I would get rid of the everyday struggle with discrimination. Being laughed at everyday for your accent was never and easy thing for a boy! I succeeded finally to be able to hide my berber accent and was able to speak the way people in that area do. Anyways, I started my studies there, my class had a lot of people who had studied in private primary schools where they had better education and better chance to learn languages but I was way better when it comes to speaking and writing in French languages that I got asked my French teachers several times if I studied in a private school.

After finishing my three years of middle school I had to go to high school. There I started learning a whole new language. With all the excitement I had for it, I was able to make very quick progress and started speaking the language quite well right after the end of the first semester. At the end of my first year in high school, I had to take a test to study the next year as an English language Option student. The test was ok and I made it among the ten first students in the whole area. At the end of the last year in my high school, I started thinking of ways to improve my English, and my brother had a couple addresses for a couple German penfriendship magazines. I sent my request to be posted in and so it was.

Few moths later, I started receiving letters from different parts of the world, some in French and a lot in English, but I was more excited about English language ones. I got letters from Korea, England, USA, Canada, a looooot from Lithuania, but one of these letters was from Jolita Kelias, a very short letter with basic English but that was a huge thing for me. It took me a short time actually to write back since it was the first letter, just saying I was happy to be penfriends and introducing myself and country and sort of things. Letters used to take quite a good time going back and forth and one person was very punctual and excited among all my penpals... Jolita was always the one to write right after receiving my letters. Things started with a one page letter and continued until we got to a point where six pages letter was not even enough to say all we had. I remember that at some point both of us could not wait all the time between letters so we decided to start writing two letters successively so as not to wait for news too long. Oh! That helped a lot improving my English and knowledge about different cultures and beliefs and sort of things.

As a result to this; I was highly qualified to get a job teaching people from other cultures the Moroccan Languages and the aspects of life and work in Morocco. Jolita and I started calling each other on occasions, but there was a huge problem of communication in English that she would pretend she didn’t hear at times just to get rid of embarrassment trying to speak a few words with this Moroccan guy calling! ;) Our penfriendship lasted for years, it started in 1997 and continued until we could get in touch through internet, I don’t even remember when that was. But it is still continuing and let me tell you, I do feel way more comfortable now talking to you, Jolita, then I had even been before trying to get any point through with all the gap in communication. We basically shared everything: thoughts, beliefs, culture, pains, news on careers, everything... Everyting!! But coincidences are a lot in what happened in both of our lives and that would be our secret not be shared, sorry!

Now I am teaching the language that was everything in my life, I am doing my best to make kids love it because I do love it and love all what came through it!!

Hicham Aitouaarab
Morocco

Copyright © Jolita Kelias, August 2011
All Rights Reserved

I CLAIMED IT

My dreams have kept happening up to this very moment. They are unfolding so to speak. They are basically a living reality for me. All the things I ever needed or wanted happened and maybe now it is not a dream any longer, but a living reality.

Each of us has a dream as big as the world, yet most of my dreams were as simple as wanting an apple. I was raised not to ask nor to beg, but to claim the things I wanted in life.

One instance I clearly can remember when I was still a teenager, I was watching the southern night sky while riding on a bus on my way home. I looked up to the southern part of the sky and saw stars that marked the location of Australia - the southern cross. I confidently spoke within my mind and said, "One day I will be visiting Australia!" My wish materialized a few years later. Since then I have visited Australia three times. My air ticket was free, courtesy of Qantas Airways, due to being one of their hard working interns during the early '90's.

I have had quite a number of dreams related to ambitions and desires, which came into being. They were not much different from other people’s dreams, because I believe that we all have the same desires and hopes, we just express them differently and at different times.

Another dream that came into being was when I was watching a local TV show that had my favourite actress as a guest. I stood up from my seat and stepped forward a little closer to the TV monitor and said to myself, "We will get the chance to see each other in person and talk", which happened during my intern year in the airline. That very same actress approached me asking questions regarding some airline matters. We had quite an interesting conversation for a moment. This happened on her departure and again on arrival when she came to look for me at the passenger terminal. It was something unbelievable! I was thrilled! I was thankful.

One more interestingly strange, but breathtaking, dream that came true was during my college days when I was just eighteen years old. I had a dream of going to America. I am originally from the Philippines, South-East Asia. I made a plan to visit the US Embassy in order to submit my application with the strong intention of getting there. Actually, I had nothing to show, except the very application form. I had no supporting documents with me to prove my capability to travel. As a result, I was denied entry twice. It was on a second occasion outside of the US Embassy when I stood up and spoke calmly but confidently within myself, "I will come back on the third time and you will give me an entry visa", then I left.

I allowed a few months to pass and later I returned to the US Embassy under the same condition - no supporting papers just the same application form and wearing only t-shirt and jeans. I waited in a queue inside a huge waiting hall for my number to be called for scheduling an interview with the embassy officials two months ahead. Basically, all the people inside that room had nothing with them except application forms. That particular line was exclusively for scheduling only. Then, suddenly from the room where application forms were being received one man with a tie came out with a megaphone loudly asking if there was anyone in the room, who wanted to be interviewed right away. I immediately raised my hand. Then I looked around and noticed that I was the only one to show an interest. There were more than three hundred people in that hall and yet I was the only one to raise my hand. The guy holding the megaphone asked me to come over, which I did. Next he asked to see my papers. I gave him my application form and followed him inside his office. I asked if he needed anything other than the form. He told me that he did not need anything else. I was asked to wait at the window while he looked at my application form. The following moment he stamped it, gave me a blue slip and wished me a happy trip. I was absolutely amazed with what was happening. I could not believe my own eyes. It was equal to magic! Getting an entry visa for the US was one of the toughest things to undertake under normal circumstances. Rich and famous alike sometimes get turned down. And here I was granted an opportunity to receive this wonderful gift, which I will cherish always.

Here is what I have to say to you who dream and yet doubt, - claim it as if it already belongs to you. But make sure that it is exactly what you really want!

Anthony A. D'Jesus
D' Jesus Enterprises
San Francisco, CA USA

Copyright © Jolita Kelias, August 2011
All Rights Reserved

HELPERS FROM ABROAD

“Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.”
Marsha Norman

Since my early childhood I always wanted to learn English language. I imagined myself speaking and writing fluently and being able to communicate with others effortlessly. However, at that time I did not consider the length of journey I would have to take to accomplish my dream.

I found it truly challenging to learn English language at school. During lessons whenever I tried to speak or say something in English, classmates would laugh and make fun of me. They did the same with others and encountered the same attitude towards themselves as well. It was like a vicious circle I could not get out of. Also often the English language teacher would speak in Lithuanian because others could not understand a word she said. My English teachers were good teachers, just, unfortunately, surrounded by a majority of sluggish and ignorant bunch of pupils. The ones who truly wanted to improve their English language skills found it very hard because of distractions and noise coming from their fellow classmates. For that simple reason I disliked attending English lessons for I did not feel as if I was getting anywhere anyway.

There were children at school, whose parents could afford private English lessons and so their skills improved constantly, whereas my sister and I could not have that opportunity due to our poor financial circumstance. But that did not discourage me nor my sister, instead it pushed us to become more determined and creative when pursuing our dream.

One bright beautiful day in early spring my dear sister Diana came up with a very good idea. She suggested finding people from abroad with whom we could become pen pals. We felt it was the best way for us to make friends and also to improve our English skills. I felt very excited and overjoyed. My sister went to the library and searched through the newspapers she could find there looking for possible contacts. At that time we did not use computers yet and we knew little about the internet. So she found a few contacts on special pages created for people who wanted to expand their friends’ list and learn more about other countries, other people, their culture, traditions and, of course, improve English skills. She immediately showed it to me. I could not believe it was that easy. We decided to write our first letters to our new friends abroad. They were all between 14 to 18 years old.

It took us the whole day to write our first letter in English. We were incredibly enthusiastic and thrilled with our new venture. Later we rewrote the same letters to others as well making sure we put correct names. I contacted my new friends in four different countries: Mexico, Japan, Morocco and Ghana. To my great surprise within a month I received letters from all of them expressing their interest in making friends with me, and so our communication began.

It was very challenging for me trying to express my thoughts and opinion in a foreign language, especially when I had so little knowledge and experience, but I was happy. Nothing could discourage me. I armed myself with patience, perseverance, dictionary and various English language books which taught how to write sentences correctly, explained the complexity of grammar and gave plenty of various examples, which I used for my letters.

At the beginning it used to take me the whole day to write just one letter. I studied with patience and pure dedication. I had lots of fun with it. I enjoyed every minute of it. My sister joined my side as well and we helped each other to read the letters we received from abroad, to translate them and to answer as well as we could at that given moment. Very quickly that became our hobby. Whatever I learned new I immediately shared with my sister and whatever she learned or understood new, she shared with me. That way we grew and learned together. After a few months I was able to write longer letters in a shorter period of time and to express myself more fluently. Nonetheless, my speaking skills were very poor. Already then I knew I needed to go abroad, where I could practice English on a daily basis.

I was eighteen years old when I finally completed a twelve year program at secondary school. The same year I entered college in the capital Vilnius, where I studied tourism and hotel administration management. English became compulsory then and I had to attend four to five classes a week and sometimes even more. My writing was better than my speaking. My English teacher spoke only in English with her students. It was very challenging for me, as I could hardly understand her. She lacked patience especially for students with weak English language skills. However, I did not blame her for that. My poor English skills were my own responsibility, and her duty was to make sure I pass the entire program successfully. She pushed me to study hard, she expected me to complete various homework tasks and to learn to speak well. I was shy; everything was totally different to me. It took me some time to get used to a new teacher and her ways of tutoring. I tried my best. I studied as much as I could, I showed interest in speaking and communicating with my teacher that way also hoping to improve my pronunciation and I did my homework by myself without anyone’s help. Even so, I did not seem to succeed. One day I reached a point, where I actually was scared to attend her classes and sometimes I intentionally missed them. English was still a tough nut for me to crack; but even then, I still kept in regular contact with my pen pals abroad and exchanged letters via post with them on a monthly basis. That helped me to keep my hopes up and to progress further no matter how slow and painful that was.

Sadly, after three years of college I was still far away from speaking English fluently. I felt very bad about myself. I became even more desperate to learn this language. I could not allow myself to quit or give up. I knew that in order for me to learn it, I needed to feel it as if it was mine, and the only thing that was left for me to do was to pack my stuff and go abroad.

Six months after graduating from Vilnius College just before Christmas I packed my little suitcase and went abroad. I was planning to travel for a year, hoping it would be enough for me to experience a breakthrough, and then return home with my dream fulfilled. While travelling I encountered all kinds of people. At the beginning it was very challenging for me to understand them or to express my thoughts. However, soon my shyness began to disappear and I finally began to speak one word, one sentence at the time. By then I was able to express my thoughts much better and have easy conversations, but yet I did not feel the language. It felt as if I was banging my head against the wall.

Then one day after a year of intensive travelling around Europe I landed in my dream city London in United Kingdom. That very moment I knew my life had changed for good. I felt a magical connection to the land, to it’s people and the language itself. My English skills began to improve rapidly. My work colleagues and managers helped me a lot as well. I encouraged them to correct me whenever I pronounced a word wrongly or said something that made no sense whatsoever, which actually happened pretty often.

Fortunately, to this day I keep in touch with one of my pen pals from abroad, but this time we stay in contact with the help of internet and emails. I feel as if we grew up and matured together. Fourteen years passed since. Throughout the years we learned a lot about each other and created a history between us as distant, but true friends. Many things have changed since I wrote my first letter in English to my friends abroad. Now I can write with ease or simply give a call and have a lovely chat without any difficulty.

Days, weeks, months and years passed. Within time I reached the point, where I could sit in front of my computer and pour my thoughts out without the help of a dictionary or have proper discussions with others in fluent English whenever I wanted, no matter what the subject. To be frank, I still have difficulties pronouncing certain words or expressing myself in the best way possible and I am not sure if I will ever be able to speak and write and express myself as well as English people, but I am fine with that. English language has become a big part of me and my daily life. At long last, I can feel this language and to me it is already mine.


~Jolita Kelias

Copyright © Jolita Kelias, August 2011
All Rights Reserved

LIFE'S STRUGGLES BEARING TRUE REWARDS

I got married at a very young age. It was a love marriage and I truly wanted to create my own family, bear my own children and be happy. I was twenty one years old at that time looking to the future with the dreams filled eyes... However, reality struck me harder than I expected.

First, I had to face a jobless situation and had to deal with constant in laws interference in our marriage, as we were living with them. It is quite common in India for parents to live together with their children even after they get married and have families of their own, even though we were living in Nairobi Kenya at that time. My husband’s parents lived there and my husband wanted to move to Africa as well, where he got a very good job.

So life did not look so beautiful to me any longer... Eventually I realised that I could not avoid suffering, for it was part of daily life. It really depended a lot on how I coped with it at every given moment.

After a year of marriage I came to know I was unable to conceive a child, so I went to a doctor for a check-up. In India a couple have to conceive within a year of marriage. It is believed that children are the important bond between the couple. My doctor was surprised to receive me, because in his opinion I was too young to even worry about such things. But the pressure from the family drove me to do all the tests regarding my fertility issue. I had to undergo HSG procedure, where they injected liquid through the vagina that allowed them to see clearly in the scan if the tubes were blocked. It was a very painful experience for me. Another one was Laparoscopy. It is a minor operation, where they inserted a tube with a microscope into my stomach to see if ovaries (eggs) were fine and whether it was getting released on time. I was pumped with a special medicine, which was supposed to produce more ovaries. Soon, due to fertility treatment I started gaining weight. The time came when I literally had to let go of everything. I needed to take a break from various tablets, constant pressure, emotional turmoil and continuous disappointments, as it was not doing me any good.

Then suddenly my husband became sick with Rheumatoid arthritis, though it was just in one finger joint. Doctors prescribed medication hoping it would help. It began as Gout and only later doctors found that it was a Rheumatoid arthritis. At that time my husband needed to take very strong doses of various medications and during that period we were not allowed to try for a baby. So his health became our priority and conceiving took a back seat.

Later in the year 1995, when he had a break from his medication, we again tried for a baby with IUI method, where doctors injected the sperms directly into my uterus during the fertile period. We tried this for a couple of months, but yet we were getting nowhere.

Treatment for my husband’s illness continued, but unfortunately the RA progressed faster than expected and due to the medication, within two years, his kidney got seriously affected. Then he had to undergo a biopsy to take a sample of the lining from his kidney which was sent to the laboratory to assess the damage. News was not good. In order to reverse the kidney condition, steroids were administrated. By this time his RA picked up, he lost movement on both the knees and all the joint movement was damaged. The damage could be fixed only through knee replacement operation.

My husband could not perform his engineering duties any longer. He was working as a General Manager in a paper mill, where he was in charge of the production and maintenance. He had to resign due to his disability. We went through a very rough period then. Everything was hanging by a thread for us. Fortunately, his elder brother supported us enormously; he was like an angel sent to us by God.

We wanted a change so badly, something had to be done with our situation, we could not continue like this, especially at such a young age. So the idea was for my husband to do some computer course, for it was the only thing, where he could work sitting in one place. However, he had no interest in computers whatsoever, so I had to convince him to consider this possibility seriously and take a chance. I encouraged him every way I could until he finally agreed to give it a try.

Sadly, my husband’s health was not getting any better. His younger brother, who lived in Atlanta, USA at that time, invited us to come. We left for USA in the year 1998 with whatever little savings that we had. We lived with his younger brother until my husband got a job as a programmer. Our new beginning was challenging, but we were truly grateful for everything. We were able to pay our bills and could rent an apartment and finally be on our own. Also medication he received helped him enormously, which made my husband’s life much easier and more comfortable.

By that time we were already married for nine years. During that time I got involved in daily meditations, which helped me to release stress and worry. By then I desired peace more than anything else in my life. I wanted to heal, to calm down and rethink my life. Meditation helped me immensely. In December 1999, my husband and I decided to pay a visit to the doctor again to see if by now I was fine enough to conceive a baby.

The tests were done all over again and, unfortunately, it came back to us as a rude shock. Due to medication taken over the years the sperm count had deteriorated and only IVF (test tube baby) treatment was possible. The cost of it was more than ten thousand dollars, which yet did not guarantee my dreamed pregnancy. We had no such money and so this possibility was out of questions for us. That’s when I began questioning life itself. I desperately wanted to know, what my soul’s purpose was after all, why I was here and where I should go from here. My struggle was far too great for me to want to carry on like this. I felt sad and hopeless. Once more the doctor prescribed me medication and asked to wait for six months in order for it to work. He also advised us to come back to see him again in June 2000.

One day while meditating I had a vision of a baby boy on my lap. Baby’s face very much resembled my brother’s looks and I was totally taken aback by this amazing experience. It was so great that I was afraid to even talk about it. On the same day my husband told me that while meditating he had a vision of our son. I felt numb and shocked to even say anything. Later we exchanged our visions. It was extremely uplifting, but yet we tried not to think about it too much. However, deep within our hearts some kind of hope lingered on...

I began taking doctor’s prescription at the end of Jan 2000. I felt very apprehensive about it; however, I was willing to give one more try. Two months were full of tension and constant observation, but then suddenly in the month of March deep within me I felt that this month was going to be very different. I shared this prediction with my husband, but he just laughed at me not wanting to believe. However, I was right! Soon after I decided to buy a home pregnancy kit, and the result was positive. I was pregnant!

We simply could not believe this miracle. The doubt still lingered, we had to wait and see. I missed my period and yet could not believe that maybe I was really pregnant. Finally, the doctor asked us to come for a scan without delay. We felt extremely nervous and afraid in case we were wrong, but our doubts soon were eliminated, once the doctor confirmed our hopes. I was finally pregnant! There are not enough joyous words to explain how we felt. I thought my heart was going to burst with joy and tears rolled down my cheeks. I was so thrilled and grateful.

Then immediately the question arose, will I be able to go through the nine months of pregnancy safely? My doctor instructed me what to do and what not to do. Besides, my doctor was truly amazed by this case, because there was almost no chance for me to conceive naturally, and yet it did happen.

I listened to his instructions, I was very careful throughout my pregnancy. The experience of carrying a child inside me was amazing. A living being was growing within me; it is something that every woman should experience in order to understand. I went through the nine months with patience and enjoying every moment of it. We took pictures every month to record the progress and how I looked. Each month was magical and full of joyous wonder.

Eventually, the final day for delivering a baby approached. We were nervous and excited at the same time. Finally, at nine in the evening I delivered a healthy baby boy, 7.2 pounds and 21 inches. The amazing part was that he really looked the way I saw him in my vision – very much like my brother. His son and my son resemble so much that they can easily pass for brothers.
To my great joy and relief my dream did come true. At some point I almost lured myself to believe that I will never be able to conceive. I feel truly grateful for life proving me wrong. It is a true blessing.

Now my son is nine years old and we have a fantastic bond, which cannot be expressed in words. It is just there. In addition to that, after two years a bonus miracle happened, because I became pregnant all over again and delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl, weighing 7.2 pounds and 20 inches. I am happy and whole heartedly grateful to be blessed twice with beautiful children.

In 2001, my husband underwent a major operation, where both his knees were replaced and he was able to walk without pain. Now he is on a special medication, but is able to lead a normal life. Also he excelled in his job as IT programmer and became an Associate Vice President in one of the leading computer companies. My husband has come a long way to achieve the designation due to hard work and persistence. Within the short period of ten years in the IT industry he proved that you can change your profession anytime in life and you can succeed with hard work and dedication and with the support of the family.

~by‘Namrutha Rao’
Delhi, India

Copyright © Jolita Kelias, August 2011
All Rights Reserved

TEQUILA AND SALT

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror, where one could read it every day… You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.

2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.

3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.

4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.

5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.

6. You mean the world to someone.

7. You are special and unique.

8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.

9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.

10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.

11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

Always remember... When life hands you Lemons, ask for Tequila and Salt and CALL ME OVER!

Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I'm here than a whole truck load when I'm gone.

Happiness keeps You Sweet,
Trials keep You Strong,
Sorrows keep You Human,
Failures keeps You Humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
But Only
God keeps You Going


I LOVE YOU :) Yes, I do ;-)

CRAVING FOR SUCCESS

MY DEAR READER,

Please allow me to share Inspirational Stories with you that I have collected from people like you from around the World. I hope it will move your beautiful Soul, it will awaken you, it will inspire you, it will open your eyes to the fact that you can be and have anything you choose.

Love you, Jolita Kelias

My dream was to become a successful person, to feel different from what I had and where I came from and to feel special. Let’s go back twenty five years to the past to see the beginning of my life’s story.

I was the first born in my family. I was born in 1979 in Cairo, Egypt. Later my younger brother and younger sister joined us as well. When I was four years old, my Dad decided to move the whole family from a big city to his birth place, which was a very small village, to open his own pharmacy there.

I spent ten years of my life in that village on the East side of Egypt, where very often we had run out of water and had to store it in tanks or in many cases to manually pump it out of the deep ground. Access to electricity was often a big issue and great luxury. Life was a true struggle without these important necessities.

All his life my father worked as a pharmacist and my mother performed a physician’s duties. My brother and sister are also very much following this medical background. My father can be very demanding; I am his oldest son and in some cases he made me feel as if I was an unsuccessful one. Sometimes he did not trust my capabilities or my way of thinking.

My father was always a very well disciplined person and he always made sure to be a good example to us. He taught me to appreciate small things, pay attention to the detail and foresee the worst possible outcome. He said it is always good to have a plan B in case plan A fails. He always wanted the best for his children, for his family no matter what circumstance. He is a wonderful father, he always pushed us to the limit to reach our real potential, his loving care and support were of great value for our success as a family.

My mother was always very loving and neutral. When I was four years old, she began teaching me how to read and write. She helped my siblings and me a lot through our years at school. We were her top priority, even if that meant she needed to get up early in the morning to make breakfast for us or assist us with our homework or care for us when we were not feeling well. She was always there. My Mother is an extremely wonderful person and I love her dearly. I learned from her how to be dedicated and disciplined, to enjoy helping others and sacrifice whatever precious for the sake of people you love.

These two precious people have built a strong foundation for me and for the future ahead of me. To this day I remember their teachings and turn to them, whenever I need help or advice.

My primary and secondary education I received in the same village, where teacher’s education often reached only high school. We had only a few teachers in the village who had university degrees. A class had more than sixty students all sitting in the same room. In order to learn more, my parents paid for my private lessons taught by the same teachers at their homes. The private class usually had more than thirty students at a time all sitting on the floor in the small room. It was humiliating and very poor.

Moreover, we had a small television, which broadcasted in black and white and received only two channels. However, in the most cases the signal was very weak. Often I felt completely disconnected from the rest of the world and it frustrated me. Deep within me I knew I could do much better than this. I made a decision then to move out of that small village whenever opportunity presented itself to me and to do my best in creating a better life for myself and my family.

We also had no phone lines; we had to walk for around twenty five minutes in order to make a phone call in case of emergency and then rush back home as fast as we could to provide assistance. This part of my life was rough and sometimes scary.

However, a hard beginning made me a stronger person. Every day I became more and more determined, confident, adaptable to any conditions, creative, especially when looking for the best solutions regarding tough matters and certain issues. Focus on my future goals developed rapidly and helped me to strive to accomplish whatever I set my mind on. I could not allow myself to fail, and as a result I always chose not to accept no for an answer.

During my years at the secondary school, my father received an invitation from a multinational pharmaceutical company to attend a meeting specially arranged for pharmacists. It was BMS (Bristol Myers Squibb) pharmaceutical company, which during that meeting introduced a new drug. I think I was a thirteen year old boy then. I saw medical representatives and sales managers of the company passing me by, going around in their nice formal dressing. During presentation of a new drug they used a slides projector. I remember watching the way they were talking and presenting their material. On that particular day I decided to be a successful person and dreamed of being one of these company’s executives who get a good pay, use luxury cars, travel all over the world and have a good life.

Years passed and eventually I joined a faculty of pharmacy, where I studied pharmaceutical sciences. I was based in a small town close to the village where I grew up. One day during my fourth year in the college I was informed that executives from some pharmaceutical companies will be visiting the faculty soon and interacting with the students. Once more I saw them coming in their nice formal clothes and luxury cars. I felt a strong nudge in my mind saying that this was a way for me to pursue. I studied hard making sure not to lose focus of my goal.

In 2001, I graduated from the faculty of pharmacy with a Bachelor Degree. The same year I joined The Egyptian army for one year. In Egypt it is obligatory for all males to join the army after a completion of their university degrees. One day I was reading a newspaper, where I found an advertisement about BMS. It was looking for new pharmacists to work as their medical representatives. I applied for a job, even though at that time I still had two more months to complete the military service. To my great joy, a hiring process was delayed for exactly the same amount of time. I received an invitation from BMS to attend an interview that had many different stages, which explored applicant’s personal capabilities, communication and presentation skills, way of thinking and anything else they could get a hand on.

I succeeded! After completing my obligatory military service, I finally joined BMS, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies worldwide, where I worked for two years. However, the salary that the company offered was not good enough for me to fully pursue my dreams. I wanted to continue my studies and to develop myself more and more. For that reason, I decided to relocate to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

By chance one day a relative of mine told me that Wyeth (Wyeth Operations) in KSA was hiring new medical representatives. I applied for a job and got it. After few months I began my Master degree in Business Administration. The cost was very high, but I still managed to cover it, even though I faced many problems then. My job was extremely demanding and I had to coordinate between work and studies. It was very exhausting, but I was determined to succeed and make it no matter what. Later I received my MBA Degree from the University of Hull, a British university through distance learning.

In 2006, there was a job posting for a management position in Wyeth, which was outside of KSA. Wyeth is a leading multinational pharmaceutical company with a huge portfolio of drugs and nutritional products. I applied for the job, attended the interview but I did not get it. I felt really disappointed, as I felt confident of possible success.

Nevertheless, in the beginning of 2008 there was another job posting for a new management position inside of KSA. I made sure to grab this opportunity and in June 2008 I was promoted to the position of Brand Manager-Nutrition, where I was in charge of managing the marketing function of Wyeth, the nutritional portfolio in KSA. However, I performed those duties for just over a year because in December 2009 I received an opportunity to move to GlaxoSmithKline as a product manager.

Currently I am working for this huge company as a product manager, where I am responsible for the marketing activity of some vaccines produced by GlaxoSmithKline. I work in some projects specially designed to raise the public awareness of the need and the importance of vaccination, I deal with the ministry of health trying to make a knowledge shift convincing it’s key officials to include some new vaccines at the mandatory vaccination program and, of course, I design various marketing programs targeting the health care professionals in order to raise their awareness and level of knowledge about our products. I develop the whole marketing strategies and campaigns for my products and ensure the execution through the following up with sales teams. By now I am thirty years old and I manage projects worth millions.

During the past two years I visited many countries from East to West, stayed in the most luxury hotels and travelled Business class. It was always my dream to earn good money, to travel around the world, to meet new people, to establish fine relationships, to learn about other cultures and develop myself as much as possible. To this day I can remember those miserable days when I slept in the darkness because electricity was off or when I was joyful to get some fine food from the nearby city. Whenever I ride my luxury car, I remember moments when I used to walk roads covered in mud and dirt and being afraid of the wild dogs when going to school. When I use my smart mobile phone, I remember those frustrating times when I had to walk more than twenty minutes just to make a phone call. I remember it all. I don’t think I could ever forget it.

I am happy; I feel I have realized a dream to create a better life for myself. I am proud that I was able to overcome all the challenges on my path towards success. Somehow I always understood that it is all about setting an objective and then putting all your focus and efforts to reach it. I do not say I am stopping now. I truly feel it is only a beginning and something much greater is still awaiting me.

To me, money is security. It helped me to succeed; it helped me to get my MBA and to be a well educated person. Money is very important while pursuing my dreams in the business world. Luxury gives me the power to be more and more successful and success motivates me to accomplish even more, to create even more success.

Success to me is being a different person, to be looked at in a different way, to get recognition from others and to receive more rewarding opportunities in my day-to-day life.

Life is a dream. Dreams are the ones that are taking us to explore the unexplored, to walk paths that never were walked, to reach and overcome limits that were thought to be impossible and to prove over and over again that everything is possible.

I learned a very important lesson throughout my life... Regardless of conditions you are in right now, some day you shall succeed if you just believe and focus on your vision. Everything is possible!


Abdelhamid Dessouky
Cairo, Egypt

Copyright © Jolita Kelias, August 2011
All Rights Reserved