In chapter five of the book, *You Owe You, *Eric Thomas talks about his mom buying manure to help nurture her garden. "She was paying top dollar for premium crap," Thomas says. "Crap is what makes things grow. To produce vegetables you need water, light and crap. That's the formula. It's the same in our lives. The stuff that nourishes us is sometimes awful."

After I read this, a huge light bulb went off in my mind. That's why it's important to read books and learn from another person's life story. There is always something you can take away that will make your life better.

It's the awful stuff that pushes us to go to the next level. A level you would never have risen to if that crap did not happen in your life. The manure of life helps us to fight more fiercely for our why. The hardest moments in our lives are the ones that make us stronger.

I can personally attest to this.

After 30 years of exemplary service for the federal government, I was bullied and harassed for nearly two years at the height of the pandemic. It almost broke me, but I vowed to be unbreakable. I even developed a resource to help other WOC going through this exact situation.

EACH FAILED ATTEMPT

Each time you fail at something, it pushes you in a new direction. That failure is the manure of your life. A garden cannot grow without manure. You cannot grow without setbacks in your life. Each failed attempt is manure. You need it to grow. Embrace the manure, inhale it and learn to fall in love with it.

EACH NO YOU HEAR

Every time you hear the word NO, it is the manure of your life. The people who tell you NO are strategically put into your life, much like a puzzle piece in order to push you in a new direction. These NO people are needed so you can have certain life experiences that will propel you to pursue your passion. NO people are the manure of life.

You must meet these NO people before you can write your successful life story.

These NO people are not aligned with your purpose. They are not meant to help you on your journey. They will have no part in your success. They cannot. They must say NO so you can steer your life to the beautiful light fantastic.

The people in your life that bullied and harassed you had no other choice but to do that. They are manure. They were pieces put into your life to make you better. Embrace the manure, inhale it and learn to fall in love with it.

Every relationship that didn't work was manure. You learn from it and you move on and make yourself better.

YOU OWE YOU

There are so many other gems you can find in Eric's book, but this one jumped out at me and I had to write about it. If you haven't picked up his book, do yourself a favor and please do so because you are the only one who can change your life.