An Easy Yoke and My Turning Point

During a five mile run one day on the Commonwealth in Boston, I stopped to take a glance at a statue. Running I felt helped me to discard the alcohol in my system. On the statue was an inscription that read, Dream dreams and write books; Aye but live them first.

The year was 1985 and seeing the inscription that day I felt was a call to write a book, a book about sales skills. God had something else in mind. There is a bible verse that reads, "Man makes his plans and God directs his steps." That day, I believed that financial success would give me the happiness that I had longed for following a divorce fifteen years before.

It is often said that the definition of luck is "when preparation meets opportunity." After quick research, I found a less inspiring description of luck. It read, "Luckily, no one was killed, but that's due to luck, not their intention." CBS News 23 Mar 2026

Preparation does seem important, and motivation and drive tend to stimulate preparation. I had many reasons for wanting success. I had grown weary of feeling failure and the failures had mounted up, most of them were the result of thirty years of addiction. Money, I thought was the answer. Conversely however, the more I earned, the more I drank.

One morning, out of nowhere as I looked in the mirror, what I saw was not a pretty picture. Suddenly I received a heavenly call, a line in the sand. That day and the next few days after that were amazing. Jesus promised that He came for everyone. That I discovered even meant me. If you ask Him into your life, He will come for you too.