The Inspiring Story of an Achiever

“And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.” – Luke 1:80 Globally, the economy has not given many a reason to smile. However, we should not forget; there will always be challenging times; even as we strive to become great, rich and wealthy. I believe that this young man’s trials, processing period, and emergence will bless, encourage and challenge you. Please enjoy.My name is George Essien. If you live in the Southern part of Nigeria you probably may have heard my name somewhere. You either have heard my radio program, watched me on Television, read my article on a national daily or attended one of my seminars. I have been a motivational speaker since 1999. I actually became a professional speaker in 2005. By that I mean I started earning from speaking engagements from that year.My story is actually an interesting one and I would like to share it with you, hoping that it will inspire you to also pursue and persist with your dreamsIn the year 2007, I raised N1,000,000 to begin my media,training and publishing business. I was 25 years old, just out from the University, and bustling with enthusiasm and zeal. I plunged into business with a lot of hope and expectation. I worked very hard. The unfortunate thing was that barely 1 year after I had raised N1 Million, I was bankrupt and indebted to the tune of N 1.5 Million. It was a very humbling experience for me. I saw myself constantly running away and avoiding my creditors. I was behind on my bills. I couldn’t pay my office rent. I was owing the staff that I employed. As a matter of fact, at one time I had to squat with a friend because I could not pay for the flat I was staying. My girlfriend , the one I had promised to marry, left me. I had gone as far doing an introduction to the family. Certain people started saying that I needed to pray, that I needed serious prayers, that how could I be so intelligent but not make progress? They even offered special prayers.My contemporaries were moving forward. You know that awkward feeling you have seeing your contemporaries getting married, buying cars,having children, even building houses and you seemingly staying in one spot? That is how I felt. A certain pastor even once told me that my life was in a mess. And I almost believed him because he was such a popular pastor in my town and one who had a great influence in my life. It was a challenging period of my life.It is really funny how people literally desert you when you go through valley experiences…This story continues in another post.