DREAM! BELIEVE! ACHIEVE!: From Wall Street Secretary to President of a Public Company

By Katherine Mirrer

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798369414897

Katherine Mirrer

When I was a teenager, my dream was to become a teacher and share my knowledge with the students. The dream never left me, and when I was offered a one-year scholarship to Oswego Teacher's College, I couldn't wait to tell my parents the good news after school. They were very happy but reminded me I had never been away from home and would probably miss my family as we were all very unified. As a result, I turned down the opportunity to attend Oswego Teacher's College.. As the years went by, the thrill and longing to teach was uppermost in my mind. I started working for my husband's law firm as a secretary at which time, he had purchased a Hewlett Packard computer. I remember commenting to him that the instruction manual was very intimidating in size while use of the computer was new to the public. I decided then and there to devote many, many after hours to try trimming the instructions and create a smaller book with fewer pages. It took me months and months to accomplish and also get a feel for this new equipment. After about 6 months, I put an ad in the newspaper providing computer training. That was the beginning of the BEST TIME IN MY LIFE because I became a teacher without a teaching degree. That’s what the book is all about!! If I could do it, anyone can do it! You just need passion for whatever you seek to achieve.

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Copyright © 2024 by Katherine Mirrer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/05/2024

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

857011

CONTENTS

Foreword

Thank You

Chapter 1   My Beginnings

Chapter 2   School Days

Chapter 3   Growing Pains

Chapter 4   On The Job Experience

Chapter 5   Work Environment Challenges

Chapter 6   Marriage And Turning Point

Chapter 7   Building A Business

Chapter 8   Going Public

Chapter 9   Creating A Win-Win Situation

Chapter 10  Down Turn In Stock Market

Chapter 11  Invaluable Lessons Learned

Chapter 12  Looking Forward

FOREWORD

In my dealings with people I have worked with over the years, the suggestion had come up often that I write a book outlining my experiences in business. It has taken me a long time to put my feelings into words and create this book. For the longest time, I could not bring myself to think of many of the unfortunate occurrences in business and tried keeping the thoughts locked up in the inner chasm of my soul.

The time is finally here to release those thoughts as I have come to realize that every single occurrence in our lives shapes us into what we have become. When we rise above the unbearable moments of sadness and bewilderment, we find out so much about ourselves and that our inner strength and wisdom supersede our perceived inequities of Life. FOR IT IS IN OUR RESPONSE TO THE PERCEPTIONS OF LIFE THAT WE CREATE THE REALITY OF WHAT WE HAVE BECOME.

As a high school graduate, I never conceived of the idea of one day becoming the President of a public company involved in computer training and support services. My greatest accomplishment was not in the title I held, but rather in the inspiration I derived from the hundreds of students who trained with our company. Time and again, I saw the look of hope and promise in their eyes which created an indescribable enthusiasm to meet the challenge of undeniable belief in the human spirit with proper training, and, ultimately job placement! I start with the beginning of my journey into this great planet we call Earth until present day.

I hope to motivate and inspire the reader to uncover the hidden treasures from within and realize YOU ARE YOUR GREATEST ASSET!

THANK YOU

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank my husband, Ray, for giving me wings to fly and always encouraging me to follow my dream. His belief in my perceived mission was always unwavering even when my faith in myself was slowly declining.

Sincere thanks to my sister, Helen, who took excellent care of me as I was growing up, while our parents were both working in our family’s business.

My heartfelt thanks to the wonderful friendships I cultivated along Life’s Journey. Sharing laughs, good times, and not-so-good times strengthened our alliances and created friendships which will last a lifetime.

I extend a warm thanks to Doris, a friend of over 40 years, who saw me through some hard times, particularly in business, and never once discouraged me from pursuing my goals. She was the rock which I leaned on through many trying moments and who has left a great impact on my life.

A warm and fuzzy feeling comes over me when I think of Diana, a wonderful friend of 25+ years, with whom I shared many fun times which will always put a smile on my face. Although our paths have led us to different regions of the country, Diana and I are in touch by telephone and share a bond which is unbreakable.

Carole is my friend for over 40 years who I met while traveling to our jobs at the same company. She and I worked on the same floor of a textile house and had lots to talk about at the end of each day. Although Carole was married at an early age, she and I are in touch with each other over the years.

Thanks also to the many acquaintances I have met along Life’s path. I have learned so much about myself through their eyes and through their words of wisdom. Although we did not form lifelong friendships, their words were invaluable and could never be measured in terms of material wealth.

Thank you World for giving me this opportunity to present my story and hope it reinforces the thought in you that:

YOU ARE YOUR GREATEST ASSET!

CHAPTER 1

My Beginnings

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a

superstition. It does not exist in nature.

Helen Keller

I was born into a closely-knit Greek family in Brooklyn, New York – the day after Easter Day in the Greek faith. While my parents were enjoying their Easter dinner the night before, labor pains were slowly building to a climax and reached a crescendo. My Dad rushed my Mom by cab to Brooklyn Jewish Hospital where I was born in the wee hours of the next day.

My Father was Bill and was born in Romania of Greek heritage, one of 5 brothers and 1 sister. My Mother was Jean and was born in Cephalonia, Greece and had 2 sisters, Tessie and Polly. Her name in Greek was Stamo which has no name equivalency in America. At the time she arrived in the United States, Jean Harlow, the actress, was at the peak of her movie career. My Mother, who was 13 years old at the time, had seen Jean Harlow in a movie and was so captivated by her beauty that she convinced her parents to re-name her Jean. My Father and his brothers came to America in their twenties and my Mother and family came to America in her teens.

My Mother would get teary-eyed whenever she saw or heard about the Statue of Liberty as it represented a new life and freedom beyond compare for her and her family.

That was the beginning of my journey here on Earth. My Mother brought me home for the first time from the hospital to our apartment in a heartfelt and friendly neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. She would say over the years that upon introduction to my new living quarters, the neighborhood was filled with joy and laughter. The neighbors wanted to hold me and had many observations, like she’s adorable, look at that – she has so little hair; can I hold her?, why is she crying? and so on. My sister Helen, who is 5 years older than me, celebrated this lifetime event by becoming my surrogate Mother whenever the opportunity arose.

Our family were tenants in a two-bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor of a 3-family house. The landlord lived on the main floor and another family lived on the 3rd floor. This tenant would later become my Mother’s soulmate to the chagrin of the landlord who made our lives miserable during the time we lived there. She did not want to see any camaraderie between tenants and often tried to pit one against the other.

As a colicky baby, I had periods of inconsolable crying which lasted for hours at a time. Needless to say, this problem kept my parents up during the night and feeling exasperated during the day. Eventually I grew out of it and, through much trial and tribulation, was finally considered a good baby.

We eventually moved to a two-family home in Brooklyn which my parents co-owned with my Aunt Tessie and Uncle Socrates who had 2 children, namely Mary who was approximately my sister’s age, and Nick who was a year older than me. They occupied the upstairs apartment while we lived downstairs. Helen and I shared the same bedroom with one small closet between us. Since neither of us had an inventory of clothing or shoes, the closet was more than enough to meet our needs. Our home had a basement which was rented out to make ends meet.

We had several tenants over the years and one particular tenant remains in my mind forever. She was an elderly lady named Mae who rented the basement for herself. Mae introduced us to her son and his family. He told us to make sure to take care of his old lady! This struck us harshly as we were a unified family and this comment seemed cold and callous. I would go down to the basement often during the week and visit with Mae who always thanked me for paying attention to her. One day, we smelled smoke in our apartment and followed the scent to the basement. Upon unlocking the door, we found Mae on the ground overcome by smoke inhalation. The oven door was open and the oven had been turned on.

We immediately called her son who came to the apartment shortly before the ambulance arrived. He asked us what had happened and we related our observation. The ambulance then took Mae to a nearby hospital and she returned to her apartment a day later. She said she felt so alone and that her son treated her abusively during her stay with him. Mae went on to say that he told her she was no longer of use to him and that was the reason why she tried to commit suicide and end her life. My Mother’s words still ring in my head when she told Mae that only God decides when our Mission here on Earth is completed and no mortal has a right to make that determination. I remember seeing Mae’s eyes fill with tears as she held my Mother’s hand and thanked her for her kindness. Slowly in time, Mae