He’d start a business to share these quotations with others, No pressure, and no diamonds.

Mary Case

The road to success often travels through adversity. Just ask entrepreneur Dave Bruno. In the 1980s, Bruno worked his way up to national sales manager for a medical equipment company. He and his wife, Marlene, and their three young children lived in a lovely suburban home in Milwaukee. Things were looking good.

But in 1984 Bruno lost his job. And several months later – while still out of work – Dave Bruno was driving home at night when his car veered off the road and crashed. He suffered massive injuries, including collapsed lungs, broken ribs, a bruised heart, a ruptured spleen and a lacerated liver.

The doctors didn’t know if he would live. Bruno himself thought he was going to die.

After tenuously clinging to a life support system for three days, he was miraculously in the clear. Bruno felt like he’d been given a second chance.

While recovering in the hospital, he started to think about what he would do with his life. Prior to the accident, and indeed for most of his life, he had collected motivational and inspirational quotes. He had learned as a youngster the amazing power quotations could hold, as his mother had a habit of strategically placing them throughout the house and on the refrigerator. They always lifted his spirits and provided direction. Suddenly, he had a flash of insight about what to do.

He’d start a business to share these quotations with others, so they, too, could be inspired. But he didn’t have a clue about how to do it.

And after he got out of the hospital there was more bleak news. Because of astronomical medical bills and the inability to work, Bruno had to declare bankruptcy. He and his family lost their home and moved into a cramped apartment.

Yet Bruno would not give up on his dream. He pushed onward, with a positive attitude and relentless determination. Over the next few years, he took jobs where he could learn about marketing and printing. He was always looking for a vehicle for his quotations.

One day, an idea hit him like a ton of bricks: He’d print the quotations on credit card stock.

Later that evening, he was watching TV and saw a commercial for a credit card company’s “gold card.”

Even better, he thought. Print the quotes on metallic gold cards that people could take with them wherever they went. So, he created a series of quotations on topics such as attitude, leadership, persistence and courage. He called them Success Gold Cards.

Five years after leaving the hospital, Dave Bruno sold his first Success Gold Card. And, I’m happy to report that he’s now sold more than two million of those cards!

Dave Bruno turned a tragic accident into an incredible triumph.