DEFY THE ODDS: Success Despite Your Circumstances

By Deann Patterson, Raymond Aaron and Loral Langemeier

It is time to start telling yourself you can instead of telling yourself it will never happen. You have the ability to defy the odds and create an amazing life for yourself!

Defy the Odds is an uplifting book that will help you to know your worth, and to know what you are capable of. The world around us is so busy that, a lot of the time, we get mixed up in our own daily routines and forget that sometimes we want more. In this book, author Deann Patterson shares her journey with you, and explains how she created success in her life instead of waiting for it to happen for her. The key is to find your inner strength and ignore the negativity around you. The more positivity you bring into your life, the more good things will come back to you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781772774986

Book preview

Chapter One

The End in Mind

1

I went to elementary school in Jamaica. My school was located in the parish of Saint Catherine. Back then, before the seventies, it was called Tulloch All Age School. In those days, I did not consider myself very bright in school. I was shy and timid, though I would question everything. I remember how I used to sit at the back of the class; I was so shy.

Teachers would always pick on me to answer questions, but for some strange reason, I was always able to answer the questions despite the fact that I did not consider myself very bright at all. I did not think too much of myself in my very early years. Maybe that was due to my upbringing, or possibly just my inner thoughts. I always had the right answers; however, I would just believe they came to me, and did not think it was due to my having the actual knowledge.

I grew up in an household of five; with two younger brothers, my mom, dad and myself (I was the only girl aside from my mom). Back then, I used to think it was a curse to be the only girl in the household, and always by myself. Now looking back, I think the complete opposite, and believe it was a blessing.

I did not realize it back then; however, I was someone who stayed inside my head, and because of this, I was able to embrace precious, quiet, serene and tranquil moments with my inner self. I believe that these terrific moments of thoughts helped me to grow into the person I am today. I am who I am because of that little girl in wonderland. As a matter of fact, my mom often referred to me as Alice in Wonderland.

I discovered that little secret when I was growing up. It is something I have not really shared with anyone until now. When you are alone or when you have no distractions you can really discover and create yourself, and magnify who you are truly meant to be. I reluctantly realized that I am really a special force. There are so many specific events that I plan to share in my next book. Why? because I often used to see events before they happened, and would travel in my mind to places, before I physically travelled there.

My late Indo aunt Mary saw this in me and made reference to my mother way back then. In my teens, I started to shy away from my gifts because I was afraid, and did not want to be associated with the spiritual or supernatural world. I remember staring at myself in the mirror quite often, and speaking to myself.

I would communicate with the universe, and would ask for improvement in my life. I would ask to progress and to find enlightenment to better myself. I would ask to be more desirable in the way I looked, in the way I felt, and in the way I thought. I would beg for knowledge, ideas and wealth. Ultimately, I was asking the universe for wisdom, and to be on a higher level than I was.

My struggles were deep, not because of lack, but mainly because I was a girl. Females in my mom’s eyes were not expected to amount to much of anything. In my adult years, I forgave her for this, because she had picked this up from the traditional old Chinese culture, by which she was strongly influenced. Now, I am appreciative of my extended Chinese family, the Chins and Chyh-Lyns, an addition to and influence in my varied past.

Even during Christmas holidays, my parents sent me away at as young as about three years old. I remember I had to spend the holiday with my grandparents, and that’s when I felt the agony of loneliness. I felt it, and I spoke to myself, and that is when I was comforted because the universe revealed to me that I am nothing and everything at the same time. I, in this body, am just a fraction of the universe .. expressing emotions, taste, smell, love, disgust, fatigue, gratitude, sympathy, tolerance, passion, and joy.

On one hand, the negative is to experience deception, and envy from others. Then again … is this negative? Or, are we just programed to react or add meaning in this manner?

Experiencing oneness with nature, desiring to be blessed with prosperity, health etc., can certainly be attained; I must emphasize, though, that one should define their own wealth and not compare themselves too much with the definitions of others. When I made my first million dollars, I felt like it was nothing special. After all, I did it with no help, and completely on my own. When we compare our accomplishments to the designation of people that do not matter, we can become complacent and too content, and at times generosity and overspending without any real plan can result in a setback. Success comes from determination of the mind, despite our environment.

While attending Shortwood Teachers’ College, my associates considered me a rich girl, despite my parents’ economic status. My classmates would always borrow money from me, and never paid me back. Some even took items from me without my permission. This is when I began to realize that I was a unique soul. I never sweat the small stuff, which has made me the calm individual I am today. I am sure that one purpose of my existence is to experience gain and loss, but more so gain in my opinion.

Of course I have had setbacks along the way; however, when I have overcome those negative situations, I come out on top. I come out much better than I was before getting into these unfortunate situations. Several parents in my neighborhood encouraged their children to use me as example, and be as ambitious as DeAnn.

One year, for example, I passed eight subjects at once and there was big headline news in my district about it. Nobody had ever done that before, and they had thought that the computer made a mistake. Some even went on to say that they wondered if I had been working with witchcraft to be able to have