My wife, Julie, lost her mother at ten, following a long illness.
At eight-years-old, Julie was calling doctors, arranging ambulances, taking her mother to hospital. At eight-years-old, Julie was taking care of her brothers and sisters. She just learned to be resilient, to make things happen.
There’s not a day that Julie doesn’t think of her mother. Even today, when Julie talks of her mother, her voice cracks and tears roll down her face.
If my life ever depended on someone, I would want it to be Julie.
Julie Builds an Orphanage
Julie once built an orphanage for 150 babies in Indonesia – with no money.
She visited construction companies and begged for materials. She would wait outside the offices of the owners and managers, sometimes all day. When they finally agreed to see her, she would tell them, “I’m building an orphanage. I don’t want your money. Give me whatever timber, bricks, window frames, doors or paint you can spare.”
The villagers gave their labour. Julie supervised the construction. Julie wasn’t part of any international aid organisation. It was just Julie, all four-feet-eleven of her.
She would visit pharmaceutical companies and beg, “I have a lot of sick children. Please give me whatever bandages, antiseptic, formula, drugs you can spare.”
Sheets for the cots? She cut them from second-hand sheets, donated by local five-star hotels.
Julie built and stocked an entire orphanage without a cent.
Julie Publishes Worldwide
Julie became my publisher in 1995. She said, “Andrew, we’re going global!”
She knew nothing about publishing.
Thanks to Julie, my books are now in 48 languages.
What made her unstoppable?
She will say, “Growing up without a mother. It was hard but it made me stronger.”
Circumstances she didn’t choose turned Julie into a force of nature.
No one is born extraordinary. We BECOME resilient, extraordinary, unstoppable by conquering challenges we didn’t choose.
See 2 min Video:
