This is Chris, 44. Conqueror of 9 near-death experiences. Has a rare hereditary condition that predisposes him to tumors and cancers throughout his life.
Yet here he is, looking good, alive and fulfilled in every way. I am one of the lucky hundreds of Filipinos working for him right now. He’s employed close to eight thousand since he started his BPO company in 2007.
He’s amazing. I say so not because he’s my boss, but – hello there. Wouldn’t you think the same if someone were this invincible?
I write about Chris in a time of much disbelief and grief over the sudden passing of friends and colleagues, not yet forty or fifty years of age, leaving family, young children and infinite possibility behind.
Why is he still alive when others have lost after just their first or second battle with illness?
Easy to attribute his fortunate situation to wealth and living in a first-world environment that provides easy access to world-class care. I thought so too in the beginning.
But as I got to know him better, I’ve realized there’s so much more to that.
Here’s me entertaining possible thoughts running through your head right now:
Maybe he’s got so much to live for.
Yes. He’s got a wife and two young boys he loves very much. He can afford anything and everything he wants. But my own mother, who loved me and my two sisters very much, died anyway from the first major illness that struck her at age 48. We weren’t as wealthy, but not exactly poor either. She could’ve lived longer. It still breaks my heart to this day.
Maybe he’s a cheerful, optimistic person with a strong mindset.
Yes. But a friend my age who died this year was also very cheerful, optimistic and strong-minded. She was very spiritual. Yet she too died too soon.
Maybe he watches what he eats.
Kind of. But he started a more restrictive eating regimen only this year when he was diagnosed as a diabetic, after a long time of bad eating when he’d binge, lose weight, then binge again. So it wasn’t just his diet.
Maybe he’s just lucky, PA-Q!
Yes and no. Chris is a successful entrepreneur who believes in numbers. There is a structure and a science to what he does and what keeps him alive.
For you to understand how he’s not only kept himself alive but grown stronger with each new adversity, you have to get inside his head and heart. Leave your judgment by the door and wear it again on your way out if you like. I did just that and my view of life, of health and wellness, of the deeper reasons behind what truly keeps us alive, was given better illumination.
I think he’s amazing and I really think his story might help stop all my friends and young people all over the world from dying too soon and leaving people like me cursing in shocked disbelief each time.
PS: For the past year, I’ve been helping Chris write his autobiography. We’ve finished the first draft of his book and put up a website (www.justkeepgoing.com). We are currently in the middle of the book feedback process from friends and strangers alike.
PA-Q World 