Tears streamed down my face as I once again said goodbye to my soul mate. I had cried often and long in the past five years but this time the tears were in celebration, born of a commitment I made to my husband, Gerry, on the eve of his passing, my commitment that I would honor him by writing a book about his own amazing strength. I was standing on a stage, listening to a beautiful song, dedicated to him, surrounded by twenty-one of my co-authors along with family and friends. We were celebrating the birth of our amazing book, Unwavering Strength. We did it! I did it!

It was a celebration in more ways than merely the launch of a book. It was the first time I remember ever stepping into my own light. It was the first time I’d stepped onto a stage, without panicking or wanting to run in the opposite direction. I’d spent my entire life as an introvert, avoiding attention at almost any cost. Yet, here I was basking in the attention, reveling in it, and I truly didn’t want it to stop. Although this surprised my friends and family, it surprised me even more.

In less than five years, I had lost my soul mate, Gerry, my mother Rita, Gerry’s sister Evelyn Mills, another of his sisters, Marlene Long, my daughter’s best friend, Carrie Ough, and my dog, Snickers, all to cancer. And, in the middle of all this, I lost my corporate job that I’d had for fifteen years.

To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I remember the moment I realized I would be sitting at an empty table, with none of them alive to share breakfast with at our long-standing Saturday morning ritual. I felt a myriad of emotions, but the overwhelming feeling was of loneliness. At perhaps my lowest point, I made the decision that I would not bury myself in my loneliness but instead I began to pour all of my energy into sharing my story with others who were also facing challenges. Surprisingly, I found that sharing my story helped others with their own healing, enabling me to grow, heal and transform as well.

Did I have a choice but to accept what was happening in my life? Resisting wouldn’t change it and somehow even though I had lost so much, I needed to find a way to carry on. The commitment I’d made to Gerry to write a book to honor his own amazing strength, motivated me to do this. I needed to find a way to face my moments of fear and to be okay with them. To overcome my challenges and find what worked best for me.

Here’s a simple exercise that ultimately helped me face my worst moments of fear. I would look up at the marquee and then in my mind say the word “courage”. Not just once or twice, but a minimum of five times slowly. What I discovered was that I only needed about twenty seconds of courage to get past the initial fear, and I knew I could do anything for twenty seconds. I would say out loud, “I can do twenty seconds.” Then holding the word “courage” in my mind I could move on. The energy of the word “courage”, coupled with the “zinger knowledge” of only twenty seconds needed, empowered me and propelled me forward.

It was a simple process: look up, repeat the word courage at least five times, remember I only needed 20 seconds, and then walk forward.

This process helped me move through the waves of grief, allowing me to continue moving forward in my desire to help others. This resulted in the creation of the Unwavering Strength books. All stories of real people who faced serious loss and painful adversity but did much more than live to tell about it. All of them found the strength and courage to carry on and in the process, each uncovered a source of inner strength. This inner strength is what I call unwavering strength. It is about facing even our darkest hours and remaining strong.

One of the amazing Ambassadors that I came across is Michael Jordan Segal. There is no doubt that Michael overcame all odds and found his own internal strength to beat the odds. He shares his story of how being in the wrong place at the wrong time forever changed his life. After being shot in the head in a random gas station robbery, he was told that his life as he knew it, was over. But with extraordinary strength and perseverance, Michael went on to graduate from college with the highest of honors and now enjoys a successful and fulfilling career as a social worker, author and popular inspirational speaker. Michael says, “Succeeding in life is not vital – TRYING is!”

Dina Proctor shares her story of how she courageously overcame major depression and alcoholism, teaching us that sometimes our lowest points can turn into tremendous gifts that lead us down our own road of personal transformation. She learned that anything she wanted to create in her external world was easy to achieve if she worked from the inside out. She developed a meditation technique that enabled her to transform every aspect of her life. And it worked.

Peggy McColl found herself at the lowest point in her life and shares with you the tools that saved her: tools that allow her to continue to live the life of her dreams. She explains in great detail that she began with constructing a power life script. She then decided to track her results using a journal and followed with writing a mission statement. Next step in her journey was writing her first goal card. When she had really applied these concepts to turn her life around, they helped her to create the life of her dreams. Now she wants to help you create the life of your dreams.

Knowing my husband is watching over me and cheering as I move forward to overcome my deep feelings of loss and almost paralyzing fear is a precious gift. When I focus on helping others, I simply cannot be focused on my own loss or loneliness.

Judy O’Beirn

Judy’s hope is that as you read the stories it will warm your heart and you can hear us whisper, “yes you can – and here is how.” It is her hope that we will show you a way to move forward and live a happier, more fulfilled life.

Judy O’Beirn has spent the last seven years helping hundreds of authors become bestsellers in her role as president of Hasmark Services. After rising up from unimaginable loss in her own life, Ms. O’Beirn created this special book series with the intention of guiding others who’ve experienced loss to a peaceful place in their lives. Unwavering Strength, Volume 2 Stories to Warm your Heart and Soul is yet another moving collection of inspirational stories from 35 gifted authors. See more at: http://unwaveringstrength.com/book/promotion

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