How A Father Found The Strength To Move Beyond Grief And Adversity with special guest Eddie L. Johnson

Our thoughts and feelings massively influence our experiences in life. I take this one step further and believe that the energy of the universe supports us, and that faith, whatever that looks like for you, will carry you through hardship.

It’s a belief personified by Eddie L. Johnson, breakthrough expert, speaker, author and founder of E4 Inspiring Motivations. He supports leaders to live meaningful and authentic lives on a personal and professional level.

Bursting with energy and faith, Eddie is no stranger to adversity. Sadly, his three-year-old son Kendall was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 2003; and in 2017, Eddie was made redundant from his leadership role after 20 years’ dedicated service.

I recently chatted to him on the Goals Do Come True podcast because I wanted to find out how he found the motivation to move forwards.

Eddie told me that even in his darkest hours he could find comfort.

The battle was not mine

Eddie: “On my last day at work, I drove home from the office and within five minutes ‘The Battle Is Not Yours’ by gospel singer Yolanda Adams came on the radio. I pulled over and I broke down in tears at the side of the road because that was the song that kept playing on the radio when Kendall was first diagnosed.

I believe I heard that song play for a reason: it reminded me that whatever I am facing, it’s not my battle to fight. I knew at that moment that, whatever happened, I would find a way forward, and I would be okay.”

Eddie’s determination to face challenge and loss with dignity is humbling. Shocked to have suddenly lost his job (and with no career strategy), he was invited to join a group discussing legacy and purpose. It was a defining moment.

A new beginning

Eddie: “The group enabled me to dream bigger. If a dream is too small, it’s just a thought, but if the dream is big enough, we can conquer the world; even just going after it means we are accomplishing something worthwhile. I look at goals as a big picture; the greatest artwork you can create is a picture of you accomplishing your goal. Looking at that picture every day helped me set up my new business so I could live out my life’s purpose.”

Eddie’s decision to take decisive action and not dwell on his redundancy helped him focus his energy on his next step: founding E4 Inspiring Motivations. He also felt called to write a book about faith, and although initial feelings of inadequacy held him back, he committed to the process (I share ways to overcome feelings of inadequacy in the blog here).

One step at a time

Eddie: “I’m not a minister or a pastor and I really struggled to get past the first or second chapter, so after running away from the idea for a long time, I set myself a goal: to get organised. I had written notes on my phone, my notebook, iPad and napkins! They were everywhere.

Once I was all together, I realised I had lots of great stuff to share, so I started to write. I was so focused on the one chapter that I was working on I didn’t feel stressed about where to find an editor or what the cover design might look like.”

I’m impressed that Eddie had the willpower to stick with one task with such a high level of focus. When my mind is all over the place, I benefit from writing lists and breaking goals down into smaller steps that will feed into the bigger goal. I wanted to know what other strategies Eddie used to take charge.

Eddie’s philosophy

Eddie recommended five principles:

• Faith: trust that, whatever the outcome, you will find a way to cope.
• Attitude: stop focusing on the problems and adopt a positive attitude.
• Patience: don’t try to force a situation (that’s when mistakes happen).
• Quiet time: find time to be present.
• Listening: ask the universe/God what you should do, and listen for the answer.

Eddie’s success is testament to his faith and determination to set his life on a new trajectory no matter what. It demonstrates the power of goal setting and a strong mindset.

If you’ve got a big goal you’re working towards, I’d love to hear about it.

Email me at doug@dougbennett.co.uk, and if, like Eddie, you want to set up a service-based business, you’ll love my new and updated book coming out this month, Think Simple, Win Big; How to Build the Business of Your Dreams With a Few Simple Goals.