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A Flash of
Inspiration
Life can change in an instant.
Sometimes it just takes a while for that instant to arrive.
I had put my son in his stroller, and
headed down on to the hiking trail that surrounds Austin’s Town
Lake. The five-mile walk around that section of the lake had become
my daily ritual. I loved watching the rowers glide across the water
as the sun rose higher in the eastern sky. I loved the backdrop
provided by the tall buildings downtown, and the subdued hum of
traffic on the bridges. Even now, at the beginning of autumn, I
could smell new mown grass and follow along pathways sheltered by
tall deep green foliage. An occasional fisherman would look up from
his place on the shore and wave me good morning. From time to time,
Matthew would extend his little arms and call out to birds searching
for their breakfast.
My time was my own now. A year and a
half earlier I had left my job in a public agency and opened my
own consulting business. I had been writing grants for years, and
with my expertise in affordable housing, I soon had a few clients.
Among them was the developer of an apartment complex for senior
citizens. I was excited about the project, and enjoying the
challenge of helping the developer put it together and convince the
city government to provide funding. Because I believed in the
project, I accepted minimal upfront compensation, with the rest of
my fee contingent on securing the grant we were seeking.
Money was not pouring in, but I was
making a living. I had a group of wonderful friends, a comfortable
apartment, and a dependable car. I had been devastated when
Matthew’s father had left before he was born, but I was recovering
and building a life on my own terms.
Matt is my “second family.” Twenty
years earlier, I had been a single mother with two small children,
and life had been a constant struggle. It took me years of part
time classes to finish my degree. Even working two and sometimes
three jobs at a time, I barely kept food on the table. I can’t
remember how often we lived without a phone, or lights or heat.
Worst of all, I never seemed to have enough time to just enjoy my
older son and daughter. I was often deeply depressed, and only my
devotion to my children kept me moving forward.
During those twenty years, however, I
began what has been a lifetime of spiritual study. I started
writing down my vision of the life I desired. I made “treasure
maps” with pictures cut out of magazines. I trained myself to focus
on the aspects of my life for which I was grateful, and not to dwell
on my troubles. The results were gradual. I hadn’t experienced a
dramatic change in my circumstances. It was more as though I had
been gradually ascending a staircase, with each step bringing me to
a happier, more prosperous level.
That day, walking around the lake, I was
thinking of the various challenges presented by the senior housing
project, and the ways I was going to overcome each one. I’m a
project person, and my creative juices were flowing. Perhaps it was
a confluence of the exercise endorphins, glorious nature all around
me, and the creative high, that generated the perfect moment for
that flash of inspiration. I only know that suddenly, with an
almost physical force, an idea came into my head.
I could create a housing project
for single parents and their families, and I could get a grant to
make it happen.
The idea was so stunning, and so
completely new and unexpected, I had to sit down on a nearby bench.
I was literally unable to stay on my feet. Thoughts began swirling
in my mind. Throughout my professional life, I had worked with
women and children, and I knew firsthand the difficulties faced by
low-income single parents. I was a counselor, and I understood how
to provide social services. I was in fact the correct person to do
this project. And most importantly, I knew how to get it funded.
After that, things began to move
quickly.
I found an apartment complex in
foreclosure, and convinced the bank that owned it to accept $500
earnest money for a long term option on the property. I found a
contractor who agreed do the necessary renovations. I stayed up all
night weeks at a time, developing plans and writing financial
projections. During the final couple of months before the funding
decision was made, I started running out of money and even applied
for food stamps.
I was obsessively devoting myself to a
single endeavor, working with tunnel vision. To some of my friends
and family, it looked as though I had stepped off that staircase to
prosperity. They worried I was putting all my eggs in a single
basket, and wondered what would happen to me if the funding was
denied.
After six long months of hard work, the
day of decision arrived. I sat in City Council chambers, waiting
for the vote that would decide my future. Several hours passed as
Council Members discussed road development and benefits for City
employees. Important, of course, but not the reason I was sitting in
that audience, my hands clasped tightly together to hold them
still.
Finally, the Mayor looked down at the
agenda, and began to read the names of the proposed affordable
housing projects. The first two were approved. Two others failed.
Then he requested a vote on my client's senior housing project.
Yes, it passed!
I was grateful, but still shaking with
anticipation. I couldn't help wondering, what if my project was not
approved? Where would I go in my life? Would I lose my one big
chance to have the future I had dreamed of, and written about in my
journal, and affirmed to myself every day?
Then I heard the Mayor ask for a vote on
Friendship Place Apartments. One by one, the Council Members
responded, then the Mayor added his own, "Aye." By a unanimous
vote, my project was approved.
A few weeks later, I had a check in my
hand: a 100% grant to close the purchase and pay for all the
remodeling.
I
owned Friendship Place for eight years. During that time we served
several hundred low-income families. We provided a childcare
center, counseling groups, and referrals to job training. I was
able to spend time with Matthew, while helping other mothers and
children.
Of course, I moved much further up that
staircase of abundance. I eventually remarried a wonderful man, and
today we have a beautiful home and a joyful family life. We work
for ourselves; we travel and do the things we have both always
wanted to do.
Prosperity is a process of asking for
and believing in and accepting our good. For most of us, prosperity
does not happen all at once. What often does happen in an instant,
when we’re ready, is that flash of Divine inspiration. Then it is
up to us to take inspired action.
To learn more about how you can access
government real estate grants and low-cost loans, check out our
program, The New American Land Rush: How to Buy Real Estate with
Government Money."
www.NewAmericanLandRush.com
by Jillian Coleman Wheeler
2008 (c) by GrantMeRich.com.
All rights reserved
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