So who am I and why would you believe anything I write or speak about? I’m just like you. In fact, I’m just like every person reading this article.
And why would you believe me? For the simple reason, that I’m not perfect. I’m just a human being with many challenges in my life. I have faced these challenges head on and I have emerged victorious on the other side.
“At the Top,” “King of the World,” “Master of my Universe” – I was all of those things at one time. I was happily married to a beautiful woman, with three incredible children, living a fairy-tale life. I lived in a fabulous, nine-room prewar, Upper West Side apartment in New York City – the kind they rent these days for more than $8,000 per month. I owned my own business with a full floor on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, and travelled all over the world.
So why would you listen to me? Because I have also been at rock bottom. I went through a gut-wrenching divorce. I’ve had to declare personal and corporate bankruptcy, and had to collect unemployment just to put food on the table. I’ve had to live in my brother’s basement, alone. I suffered through anxiety that spiraled into a deep depression.
The most painful part of it all wasn’t my financial issues or my living situation. I’m the type of dad who loves spending time with my children. I used to take them down to the bus every morning and put them to bed almost every night. I treasured our special time together, when I would lay with them and we’d go over the day’s events.
After my wife and I had separated, I could only see my children once a week and on every other weekend. My kids had been my air. Without my time with them, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Nothing has come close
Emerging Victorious
After falling from the top, an ordinary man finds the power in himself to thrive
By Red Katz
to replacing that time with them. Nothing.
So how do I wake up each morning with a smile on my face? Why am I so happy and why is my life wonderful? Why am I filled with passion?
I can write all this today because, these days, I am more peaceful, more grounded, more successful and very happily married to a wonderful woman. I have an incredible open and loving relationship with my kids (pictured at right). I am living the dream.
I began to turn my life around after making some realizations. I began to realize that my vulnerability wasn’t my weakness; it was the source of my biggest strength. The fact that I cry when I’m sad, makes me powerful. The fact that I acknowledge and embrace my shame is empowering. The fact that I feel makes me human. The fact that I’m passionate means I’m alive.
I began to live consciously. I stopped blaming other people for the problems in my life. I stopped blaming the economy on my financial issues. I stopped blaming my customers for being mean and only caring