One day I was going to visit a friend and being a chimney sweep.
I couldn't help but look at every chimney I saw.
As I was riding my bike to his house (which I have never been to before) I noticed he lived in a beautiful apartment surrounded by many more apartment buildings which were all identical.
There must have been at least 40 of them with each having 8 chimneys on each roof.
I thought to myself "I just hit the jackpot"!! If there was any way at all I could get in contact with the right person and try to sell my skill to them I could really make a lot of money cleaning every chimney in this complex.
I wasn't sure where to start with finding the right person to talk to so I asked my sister if she could help me as she has experience with this kind of stuff.
I was extremely nervous but I wasn't going to let that get in the way of me trying to secure this big chimney job.
I was able to get in touch with the right person and I put my best foot forward.
I let them know that I am a chimney sweep and I would love to be the one that they use for all their chimney needs.
They asked me how much I would charge because they were not particularly happy with the company they were using.
They didn't want to mention any names which I respected but they did tell me how much they were paying the last company to do their cleanings.
I was so excited because I really thought this would make me enough money to start the chimney company I have always dreamed of, so I told them I would do it for 10% less then what they were already paying.
If you know anything about condo associations then you know that everything has to be voted on before a decision is made.
He did tell me not to worry, that he would do everything in his power to get me this job.
The anticipation killed me but I know good things come to those who wait.
I waited patiently and sure enough I got the job!! I was floored when I got that phone call.
Even though he told me not to worry I didn't think I was lucky enough to get a chimney job that big.
After that I decided to try to get more jobs just like it.
I had been wanting to start a business but I always thought finding work would be so hard, but with a job like this I feel like I can't fail.
This was really a dream come true for a chimney sweep and I didn't want to stop there.
I love doing chimney work as it is my passion to keep people safe and teach them about fire protection and safety.
I am hoping my story inspires some people out there to chase their dreams even if they think it is out of reach.
The moral of the story is you will not succeed if you do not try.
If you do try and fail (which I have done a few times already) just dust yourself off and try again.
Don't ever give up!