Human life is unpredictable. Life always takes its own course, irrespective of the plans we make. While this is true, another aspect of this is that people who take every situation in stride and make the most of it are the ones who are truly successful. Steve Holbrook is a classic example of someone who has risen above all adversities that life presented him with.
An entrepreneur, leadership trainer, recruiter, mentor, and a life coach, Steve Holbrook had a very tough life growing up. At the tender age of two, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. While this was a hard fact of his life, he didn’t let his illness define him or his life. However, his chronic condition had a major role to play in what he eventually became.
He had been in and out of hospitals and treatments owing to his illness. When he was attending high school, he was selected for a sailing trip around the world. The 10-month long journey had to be cut short when by the seventh month he had a collapsed lung and was airlifted home from the boat. Steve had contracted a lung infection which had to be treated through surgery. It took him the next three months to recover.
Slowly and steadily he held on his strength and hope and was soon back on his feet, he went on to pursue a Bilingual Bachelor degree in Commerce, from the University of Alberta. He specialized in international strategy, marketing, and business law.
Steve never found any excitement in doing a regular salaried job. Instead, he always aspired to be an entrepreneur and start something of his own. He wanted to build a business which would help people and become someone people could rely on and turn to in times of need.
While he was building his insurance business, he had undergone several hospital stays, surgeries, and medications. Within three years of starting his agency, he underwent major surgery, removing his colon, rectum, and part of his small intestine.
Such situations are indeed traumatic. But being the born leader he is, Steve had built a team, although of 10 people, who took his role ahead while he was recovering. He used this crisis situation to shape his mental approach and help him develop into a stronger and powerful personality. He learned to see opportunities in the worst situations and took on every challenge that life threw at him. Every time he would fall sick, Steve saw this as a game where he would have to win.
He used his experience of undergoing colostomy into mentoring patients who have gone through similar surgeries and helped boost their morale. He reached out to young men and helped them get through the pre-surgery mental preparations. Steve even visits hospitals and helps people who are suffering from something similar. He motivates them into opting for surgery rather than surrendering to death. His life coaching ideas boost the self-esteem and confidence of the patients.
As they say, opportunities present themselves in myriad ways. And Steve Holbrook is a classic example of someone who turned the worst situation of his life into the best opportunity. By standing tall against all odds, he carved his niche as a successful and accomplished individual and a professional.
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