Parvati remembers one of the largest fires that swept through her small community in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. IT was a year when mother nature delivered very little precipitation to the foothill areas and this set the stage for forest fires that year.

According to Parvati, it was a County vehicle that started the fire. Once started, winds accelerated the spreading of the fire and made the situation even worse.

The experience of this fire was a reminder that people are more important than things and right actions bring victory.

Parvati found out first hand that patience and wisdom with an attitude of never giving up was the set of ingredients that helped her small community in the Sierras recovery from such a devastating fire.

Being mechanically inclined, Lowe Robinson began learning to run all the machines in woodshop and that experience directed him into auto shop. Lowe would take as many as four old vehicles per year to his school’s auto shop, fix them and sell them. He learned how to fix cars by doing just that, work on the cars.

Lowe pointed out that learning can be accomplished by yourself, in a school program or even at a local auto shop. Just go in and tell the business owner that you want to learn how to fix cars and you’re willing to do any kind of work in the auto business. Lowe even offers this in his business today.

Learning by getting involved is the best way to adapt into a new business. Lowe sees resourcefulness as the first step to finding opportunities to learn. After that, you just learn to adapt yourself to fit within the new learning experience. It really works.

Growing up in a family of six, Jerry Lawrence remembers the tension in his home as a young elementary age boy.

Although his father tried to support his family, and he was an honest person, personal wounds of his father’s upbringing created a tapestry of emotional and dysfunctional behavior. Jerry’s morning preparations for school were so chaotic that his walk to school usually made him sick to his stomach.

Jerry’s response to dealing with this situation translated into the development of a highly motivated youth who found employment that helped him and his siblings afford the most basic needs of life; needs that would not have been available, otherwise.

Jerry was able to cultivate a high level of tenacity that developed a self-reliance in him that achieved a wonderful life of family, community and professional successes.

Anita Wald-Tuttle, her husband and four children diligently worked towards the family’s ambitions, the American dream that each of us most certainly relate.

Exhausted from home duties and moving her home to an area that asthmatic patients place at the bottom of the list of desirable neighborhoods, Anita found her life in physical turmoil. Her childhood allergies had developed into serious episodes of asthmatic attacks. One evening her husband came home to a find Anita the color of blue. She was rushed to the emergency room.

For a day and a half doctors and nurses tried to help Anita, but at one point her heart stopped and she died.

The good side of this story is Anita came back to life and is with us to this day. The greatest part of this story is her realization that relationship; with each of her family members and society, at large, is the most important part of life.

Sitting in his dining room, Paul Laufman recalls two huge opportunities that presented themselves in his life. One situation required that he say “no” because his long-term vision posed a greater and more realistic success.

His second opportunity came at the age of 56. This time he said, “Yes, I’m going to do this!!” and he did.

His contributions in the aerospace industry have been felt in virtually every space shuttle launch in the program’s history.

Life doesn’t let you know the outcomes when you start out. Paul feels that the most important attribute that he hopes everyone applies is a great attitude. A positive attitude attracts successes that you never thought possible.

We have all heard that Money doesn’t buy happiness. Savitri knows. She experienced life in college with many who were in the super wealthy class but not happy.

Savitri always offered a hand of genuine friendship. It was so sad to see such sadness.

In her words, money is a lot like electricity. It can light up a room or cause a fire. It depends how it is used.

She also feels that life is about balance. It’s most important to observe and think about what really brings happiness into our lives.

General Motors was the employer for multiple generations of Bob York’s family. As a developing adult, Bob told his father that he would never work for General Motors. Bob’s five years in college were completely focused on the health sciences, not car building.

Well, a unique opportunity occurred at General Motors that required a healthcare specialist. Bob’s Dad suggested Bob visit the human resources department and, guess what, Bob got the job. He and his father ended up not only working for the same company but working with each other on the healthcare project.

Bob learned that being open, taking risk of failure and letting go of where you think you’re going can guide you to your most satisfying personal and professional path.

Threats or unforeseen problems yield new opportunities.

Marcella lives in Nevada County, California, a beautiful forested landscape in the Sierra Nevada foothills. On this sunny late winter day, I sit in the living room of Marcella Hart’s home and sip on a hot cup of tea.

Marcella is about to share with me memories of her early years as a child and how her mother demonstrated so many good attributes, attributes that Marcella has always tried to apply in her life. The Dust Bowl was a horrendous situation for many in Oklahoma but Marcella, her Mom and sister endured.

As you will hear, Marcella recognizes tolerance and humility as active ingredients in her personality. These attributes empowered her mom to weather the challenging time periods that showed up in her life.

May Lawrence grew up in Maine with five sisters and a curiosity of practically everything.

Surprisingly, her parents didn’t have much education. Life was a hardship in those days. If you got through high school, you were considered highly educated.

Education was promoted in May’s family because her Mom and Dad were avid readers. They were self taught in all kinds of topics.

As May reached college age, she quickly recognized that education is a team effort. Educational successes were manifested because family members, including her five sisters worked together to help one another achieve their college degrees.

Norm Westmore and his wife live a life of fulfillment in a sleepy little town tucked in the Sierra Nevada mountains. You would never know that Norm’s successes as a mechanical engineer and family man were born from a difficult upbringing on a farm with no father to guide his development.

As a youth, Norm contributed to the farm by doing every job that was necessary. He developed an inner strength that farmers glean from attacking, head on, the many problems that need to be resolved to avoid bankruptcy caused by failed crop harvests or the many other surprises that always show up on a farm. Your life depended on it.

Norm fell back on these experiences as he later became a very successful professional in the telephone company. He would take on problems that many would avoid with the attitude of “Doing what it took”.

Recognizing the importance of these experiences, he has become a “good listener” and encourages people that it’s ok to take risks in life. Become curious how you can solve the challenges that present themselves and never give up, just do what it takes.