Do what makes you happy and you will have the strength and courage to face unimaginable odds

This video is in Korean with English subtitles. I’ve included it because Sung-bong Choi’s story touches very deep places.  Wikipedia gives this biographical sketch:

Abandoned in an orphanage at the age of 3, Choi said that he ran away from the institution when he was 5 years old because of having been beaten often. He lived in stairwells and public washrooms and sold chewing gum and energy drinks to survive. He also delivered milk and newspapers in addition to working as a laborer, beginning at age eight. Choi said that very bad things happened to him as a child and that he was sold to someone. However, he met a woman who ran a food cart outside a night club. She gave him the name “Ji-Sung”. She also encouraged Choi to take the Korean equivalent of a GED (General Educational Development) exam so that he could complete his elementary and junior high curricula in order to enter high school.

He graduated from Arts High School. Choi stated during the audition that he had attended the high school. He also mentioned that there were no teachers to give him vocal training at the school since he did not have the financial resources to pay for it.

He worked at a delivery service to earn tuition and money for lessons, but it resulted in a traumatic fall during his 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift. Choi subsequently received medical treatment at Kun Yang University Hospital. Prior to the fall, as a child, Choi had two car accidents for which he did not receive proper medical treatment for many years. When Choi got admitted at Kun Yang University Hospital due to other medical issues related to the earlier car accidents, he voluntarily performed a recital for four students who needed the financial aid for schools during his in-patient stay.

He initially considered dropping out of high school, and his high school music teacher noted that Choi was often absent from classes due to his difficult situation. Choi could not continue with post-secondary education due to his limited financial resources. Instead, he worked as a construction worker with the type of work similar to that of a day laborer.

Choi told the judges that even though he didn’t think he could sing very well, he sang because it made him happy.  Sung-bong Choi’s story is one of tremendous courage.  Despite discouraging circumstances all around him, he kept pressing forward towards what he wanted his life to become.  

In the midst of the discouraging circumstances of what’s going on in your marriage, I want you to know you have access to the same inner resources, you can tap into the same reservoir of strength and courage.  Keep going.   Keep holding in your heart, your vision of what you want your one precious life to be.  And one day, you will find it is coming to pass.