Three years ago, I finally made the decision to make a lifelong dream of mine come true. Although I had been working in a nine to five corporate position for thirteen years, that had never been my true passion in life. Instead, I had always wanted to open my own restaurant. Food has always been something that has played a huge role in my life (although I keep myself in good shape through proper exercise, I absolutely love getting to try new foods), and even though I have never received any formal training in the kitchen, years and years of practice have resulted in me being a very good cook.

So, one day around three years ago, I decided that I had to pursue this passion. I was getting more burnt out than ever before on my day job, and I knew that if I didn’t make a change, it was only going to continue to get worse. We all only get to have one life to live, and the last thing I wanted to do was regret sacrificing my happiness for so long when I was looking back at my life thirty years from now.

After a lot of personal thought and discussions with my wife (who is such an amazing and strong woman for agreeing to support an idea that so many people said was crazy), I met with my boss and told him I was planning on resigning. Although he said I was going to be missed, he understood that I was leaving to pursue a true passion of mine.

Once I no longer had the responsibilities of my day job, I put one hundred percent of my energy into making my dream come true. Now, I will be the first to tell you that making your dream come true is anything but easy. I was working at least twice as long as I had been at my day job, and in many cases even longer (fifteen to eighteen hour days weren’t the exception; they were the norm). However, the big difference was I was doing something I loved, so those endless days didn’t feel like grueling labor.

It took nearly a year and a half, but through persistence, dedication and passion, I was able to get my restaurant to the point of profitability. This was such a proud time in my life, and one that I will never forget. For the next year, my restaurant continued to grow and flourish, and I felt like a proud parent who was watching my child rack up numerous achievements.

However, things took a dive when the economy took its massive downturn. Regardless of how hard I worked, the numbers just continued to fall. I was absolutely devastated, and I was so sick over the idea that I could lose my restaurant.

Fortunately, I sought out a commercial mortgage refinance. Although getting a commercial mortgage refinance wasn’t a magic solution, it was the financial instrument that allowed me to keep my restaurant afloat. Things definitely aren’t back to the way they were before the economic downturn, but they are much more stable than they were prior to getting my commercial mortgage refinance.