The Motivational Speaker

Trigger warning: suicidal ideation

James sat down thinking about how his life was seven years ago. He was at the bridge about to jump down as a passerby held him. It still felt like yesterday. His wife had put to birth a few days ago, and he was present at the hospital to welcome his new baby. Tears rolled down his cheek as he looked at his son. “Imagine if I jumped off that bridge, imagine if I had died? What would be the outcome?" he thought to himself.

He knew all he went through, from losing his job to becoming a homeless person. He begged for food on the street and felt life was meaningless. He hardly got money to buy food. He would stay all day hungry. That faithful day, he decided to commit suicide. That passerby ran towards him and held him and told him something he could never forget.

 “why do you want to kill yourself?” he asked. James explained to the passerby that life was meaningless and there was nothing fruitful as the days went by.

"I was once like you," replied the passerby man. I lost my job. It looked like everything ended for me. But I tried many other jobs outside my field to earn a living. I worked at grocery stores. I was ready to sacrifice more to make sure I could eat. It was never easy, but it was worth it. I was able to go back to school, and I also learned a skill which has helped me today," replied the passerby. He brought out Hundred dollars bill and gave it to James "when you think things are falling apart, remember suicide is not an option. You would live to tell the story," the passerby said.

A few years before James lost his job, he had issues with his parents. Due to some disagreement with his mom and dad, he left home for his apartment, which he rented days before the disagreement. He always reported to work early and never missed a day. one day, he was absent, which resulted in him having a problem at his work, he ended up getting fired. He applied for different jobs but could not get any.

Unable to pay his house rent, he decided to stay homeless. He always wanted to go back to his parents, he had not spoken to them for a while, but he just could not. He felt so ashamed and took suicide as his last option. It’s been a while since James's parents' set their eyes on him. They still had hope that he would return.

 Months before James got married to his wife. He decided to go back to his parents to seek their blessings before getting married. They were so surprised to see him as they could not control their tears. “welcome home," his dad said. His mom was the happiest person. They gave him their blessings. James's family planned to visit him some days later after getting to know his wife had put to birth.

He came back from the hospital with his wife and thought to open a page encouraging people not to give in to suicide and not allow their present situation to be the reason to give up. He wanted to let them know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Also, to help those struggling to forget their past life, he wanted to let them know it is part of life, and everyone keeps growing, everyone is open to mistakes, and no one is perfect.

James worked for an IT company- after listening to the advice of the passerby. He decided to take a computer course as well as learning another computer-related skill. He was able to secure a job at one of the largest IT companies. He met his wife in the same company, and they got married. Since then, she has always been his biggest cheerleader and has helped him realize he might not forget his attempt of committing suicide instead it should be a source of motivation to him.

 He started his page James-cares, which is not just a motivational page but also a page that seeks to help provide food and clothes to the homeless and those who have thoughts of giving up. He had a designed inscription on the free T-shirt he also gave out to the homeless people, to encourage them. It read "suicide is not an option. you will live to tell your story," his page got millions of supporters and different people donating. He got featured in a magazine as a philanthropist of the year. But he didn’t let that get to him. He felt it was his duty to help these broken people because he was once like them.

He also had people share stories on how they ruined their lives in the past and could not get over it. He continued to encourage them that everything that happened is in the past, and it should not let it define them. He let them know that whatever mistake should serve as a lesson to them in becoming better persons. Each day he posted different pictures of people struggling with a motivational message encouraging them to keep pushing.

 James got to meet with the passerby a few months after starting his page. He found out the passerby ran a motivational page too. Now he got to understand why he saved his life that very day. James kept thanking him for saving his life. It was something he would never forget. James decided to pay a visit to the bridge, where he almost took his life. He took pictures and posted them on his page, letting people know this was where his life almost ended. He planned on extending his foundation outside the United States. On getting to know that James didn’t just run a motivational page, but also fed homeless people. The passerby decided to start his foundation to partner with James-cares in providing for the homeless.

 With James's wife and his baby by his side, his parents’ encouragement, God, and people’s donations James- cares foundation was able to reach out to millions of broken and homeless people around the world.