Have you ever been so close to death that you almost didn't make it back?

I have. I almost died in February 2016 due to double pneumonia that progressed to ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome). My lungs gave up on me and I was put on a ventilator and heavily sedated into a medical coma that lasted for 3 weeks.

I can never get those weeks back and on top of that it will take me many, many months to get back to normal again, if I'm lucky enough to get back to normal.

I miss being able to sing the most!

I wanted to share my story with you because my journey brought to reality something that I've known and taught for years...

That you and your child have no choice!

You MUST create something on the side that produces passive income for yourself.

Why?

So you can survive the hard bumps in life!

When I fell ill, I couldn't work. That meant I couldn't earn money for my efforts on an hourly basis...and I didn't qualify for any social financial help...that meant there was no one to pay our rent or groceries!

That's scary stuff!

Not only couldn't I pay for our monthly expenses while in the coma, but I would have months and months of rehab to get to a point again when I would be physically able to work for pay again!

BUT!!!

I HAD built up passive recurring income over the past few years...

What does that mean?

It means that I was able to earn money even while I slept in a coma!

Now that's financial freedom if I've ever seen it!

It wasn't enough to cover everything, not even close, but it showed me something that I've been teaching over the years and proved to me even more how incredibly important it is to get to work building passive income.

Why?

Because bad things happen! Rain falls!

And if you know how to build up passive income on the side, then when that rain falls, you will see those seeds finally bloom into beautiful flowers and be able to take care of yourself and your family when it seems that nothing else can.

Another lesson that I learned during my illness was the abundant love of others; the compassion and outpouring of help and support.

We are involved in our local theatre groups, they gathered donations to help us pay our bills and one of our very best friends started an online donation campaign to help us as well.

All in all, they were able to raise enough money to cover our expenses for the many months that I would need to fully recover. (As I type this, I am still in recovery and waiting to get into the respiratory rehabilitation program to help me breathe well again, and possibly even get well enough to sing again!)

Now, I was not alone, I do have a wonderful life partner.

Unfortunately, she lost her job after being loyal to the company for over 10 years. It was a tremendous hit to her emotional psyche. You give your all to a company, never even taking a sick day, and when a new boss comes in and doesn't like you, you're out. It's a very hard reality.

But it is a reality, and it is also another reason I am so determined to teach our children, our youth, and you, their parents, about money and how to make your money work hard for you so that you are not only bound to your job and your health in order to pay your monthly bills.

It worked out well for us in that my partner was able to be home with me to help me recover, which meant I was released from our hospital weeks sooner than otherwise. All I wanted was to be home with my love and my kiddos. I had missed them so much! I woke up from my coma absolutely desperate to see them and be with them.

Love surrounded us, groceries and meals were left on our porch... and the amount of flowers, cards and other sweet gifts were overwhelming.

Trust me my eyes are cleaner than they've ever been!

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