I do. What is Tom Thumb? Good thing you asked…because I almost forgot to tell you. :)
This is a can of pork and beans that I have had for a long time in my soup cupboard. The brand name is a generic one…Tom Thumb.
Alright…so why this post about Tom Thumb?
It is a lesson in humility that we all need from time to time. In my case, there was a time a little over 12 years ago…when life was not this great…definitely not as good as it is now. During that time, myself and my family started to run low on food once.
And out came Tom Thumb.
That can, plus a loaf of bread, was about all we had to eat that night. It was a pretty sad situation. But…that moment made me realize something…
“Holy smokes, I need to go out and do something about this.”
Why was I in this situation? Well, a couple of months prior to that moment, I had gotten laid off from a car dealership where I worked the parts counter. We had some savings to get by, but at this moment, we were way past draining them. We were literally moments away from having to get on the food line.
But this was my first lesson in success as well. I felt this gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach, a pulling feeling in my chest, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t look my family in the face and say:
“We are going hungry tonight.”
So I didn’t let that happen. I had, up until that moment, had some set backs in getting another job to support my family. But staring Tom Thumb in the face made me reach deep down and “suck it up.” The feeling I had inside of me now was one of invincibility…I could not be stopped…
I got a job the next morning…walked in the office…sat down for an interview…and did not leave until we were filling out new hire paperwork.
From that moment on, we have never faced that type of adversity in our lives again. As a matter of fact, life is filled with a richness I cannot describe, only feel.
It is the end of 2007 now, and since that moment we are completely humble and Tom Thumb still resides in our cupboard (we had to eat the original Tom Thumb, so we bought another).
Tom Thumb is still in our cupboard to remind us of that humbling moment…and I vowed to never allow him to the front of our cupboard again.
To this day, he is still hiding there in the back…reminding me that there was a time when it wasn’t this good…
Which motivates me to help others reach their goals…and along the way I will reach mine too.
It has worked for me, to a very successful degree, so far.
Do you have a can of Tom Thumb in your cupboard?
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Contributor's Note
Joseph Ratliff is a professional copywriter, internet business growth strategist, and creator of The Straight Line Internet Marketing Program.
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