There has been a great deal said over time regarding the theory that excessive stress can in time edge a person toward heart disease and ultimately a heart attack. As a teacher that loves teaching I really never thought much about the stress associated with teaching. In fact there were times when I heard the theory of excessive stress, heart disease, teaching and heart attack all in one sentence and I would laugh it off as a joke.

What I found the last few years of teaching is that when you work of a school system that refuses to provide for teacher support in the area of technology and necessary minimal books required to provide creative and exciting education for student the stress can be overwhelming and dangerous over a period of time. What I found was that no matter how much I loved the profession of teaching and working with kids sometimes administrative incompetence outweighs the passion for teaching.

Since that day when I realized that if I wanted to live a full life and I had to make an immediate change and literally walked away from something I loved with a passion, I realized that I had to find something that would again peak my passion for working.  Since October 7, 2009 I have been searching long and hard looking for that special occupation that will not only challenge me on a day to day basis, but provide me with the passion for success once again.

There are some that I have spoke with that says stress of any kind is bad for the heart attack survivor or for that matter people that might be prone to suffering a heart attack. For most of my life be it the The Pride of Rockford, Late Night Basketball League, Greater Rockford Little League, The Good Times Theater, or even the idea of getting on a non broke horse I have learned to control stress levels. It’s not that I have nerves of steel or anything like that, but I love the idea of entrepreneurship and all its trappings. I love the challenge of marketing, sales, customer service, and good physical activity. There are some out there that would never understand that entrepreneurship is a passion and in my opinion not necessarily stressful, but rather a emotional release.

I would suggest that all heart attack survivors find that occupation that provides a level of passion for you to pursue. Determine what makes you happy, and realize what you feel your better at than anyone else alive. There will be those that love you with a passion and for all the best reasons might try to sway you away from your possible entrepreneurial passion, but realize they do it from their love for you as a survivor. That being said… follow your passion and pursue your entrepreneurial dream.

Over the last 25 years I have almost continually read books about Walter Elias Disney, Walt Disney World, Roy Disney, Michael Eisner about the master knowledge of Walter E. Disney and how to create and operate a successful business. As I work on the process of purchasing The Broken Wheel Ranch of Southern Illinois I can only hope that business is successful enough to afford the week long education that takes place at Walt Disney World.

Patrick Fox

Tags: American Heart Association, aol.com, cardiac arrest, cnn.com, google.com, Heart Attack Risk Factors, heart attack stress, The Widow Maker Heart Attack at age 48, USA Today, Walt Disney, Walt Disney World, WED