Published:
12/21/2010 02:55pm
Second Chances - Business Ethics Speaker Chuck Gallagher's new book is released
Second Chances shows you how to make better first choices. It is one of those rare books that effectively bridges the gap between personal accountability and business success. Read it. Heed it. Apply its lessons.
Randy G. Pennington
Author of Results Rule! Build a Culture that Blows the Competition Away
For those who would like a sneak preview…here’s an excerpt for your reading pleasure…
CHAPTER ONE – Excerpt One
This book is not about white-collar crime, theft, or lying, though I was guilty of all of them. More important than the crime are the prisons we can find ourselves in, most created by our own actions. The real challenge is how we escape those chains that bind us. How do we move past negative behaviors and create an environment that reflects true success?
When I was forced to admit my crimes, some four years after they began, that started a new and very different chapter in my life─one that I am living today. That chapter didn’t unfold to success immediately. Rather, the process of change was long and arduous. I was blessed with many teachers, most of whom cut me no slack, but all of whom saw more humanity and value in me than I obviously saw in myself.
One of my first teachers was a businessman in my community who gave me my first job after my career as a CPA had been destroyed by my self-inflicted sabotage. To this day, I am not sure why he took the risk. On a spiritual level, I believe that everything happens for a reason. He accepted the role of mentor, teacher, and earthly angel. He believed in me when few around me would.
There were no handouts. He cut me no slack. Quite the contrary: this angel was tough. In fact, I’d say he was the toughest person for whom I ever worked. Yet he and two other mentors, along with my
family, allowed me to make full restitution to those from whom I had stolen money. The act of honestly admitting what I had done and accepting the consequences of those actions was critical to making any worthwhile changes. While paying people back was significant, it didn’t change what I had done and the pain I had caused. Those scars are permanent.
Time in prison seemed to move in slow motion, as if to allow me all the time necessary to evaluate my actions, my choices, and my behavior─and learn. If I had to be there, surely there should be an
outcome worth the time. While I didn’t know what that outcome would be, one thing I was committed to was remaining open to believing that God’s plan for my life could rise from even this lowly place, if only I were willing to learn, grow, and receive.
The act of honestly admitting what I had done and
accepting the consequences of those actions was critical
to making any worthwhile changes.
