Inspirations for Better Living June 2025 | Page 5

met. He invited me to come and stay with his family during my first Spring semester break before the start of the Summer semester. His wife, Carol, instantly took a liking to me, and by the end of the two-week visit, I found myself unofficially being adopted into the Wisdom family. Later that fall, Ben modified his Asia business trip schedule to include a visit to my family in Melaka, Malaysia.

He wanted to let my parents know that he and Carol are happy to step in as surrogate parents whenever I need assistance during my stay in the U. S., assuring my parents that everything will be safe from a parenting perspective. Little did I know Ben’ s presence in my life was God-sent. He visited my family six months after my father’ s passing to ensure my mom and sister that I would be looked after accordingly and also updated me with the latest news from home. As a middle-class family, my return to Malaysia for the funeral would have been financially challenging. My mom made the decision not to inform me until after the funeral. I found out about the sad situation in a letter I received from my sister a month after my dad’ s passing.

The third father figure in my life was Nick Carter. He and his lovely wife, Eleanora, were my host family in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Nick, originally from Iowa, was a retired professor of Agricultural Engineering at LSU. He was a gentle and engaging man, always smiling and seemingly finding joy in everything. Since I arrived on January 4th, he and his wife immediately acclimated me to the Winter weather and the local living and social protocols in the ensuing weeks and months.

I still recall a conversation we had in his woodworking workshop, located in the backyard of his house. While he was working on handmade Christmas gifts for his granddaughter and grandson, Nick told me,“ A house is a place where people live. A home is where people gather to share their lives.” I experienced the latter every weekend during our Sunday Dinners and their various family holiday get-togethers.

I met Frank Miller when I was 22. He was the owner of Miller Properties, Inc. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a franchise operator of Waffle House restaurants in south-central Louisiana. I needed a job to pay for college, and he needed someone to manage one of his five restaurants. Guided by Faith and Hope on my end, with Trust and Support from his end, our 18-year age difference creates a perfect working synergy. What started as a job quickly evolved into an eighteen-year career in the restaurant industry for me.

Over the years, I helped build a foundation that launched Miller Properties into a company of 25 restaurants with over 600 multi-generational employees. The success came about because Frank allowed me to manage his company as if I owned it. He is the franchisee, and I am the Chief Operating Officer. That vote of confidence empowered me to assemble an impressive management team that shares our corporate family culture, which emphasizes that leadership is about leading people and managing situations effectively. This approach helped us achieve a growth pace of 2 to 3 restaurants per year.

Each year, on Father’ s Day, I am reminded of how these men, Baba, Ben, Nick, and Frank, have influenced my life’ s journey. Thanks to their collective influence and support, they helped shape me into the man I am today.

As a final note, please celebrate your achievements and accomplishments to date. Let the beautiful energy of success help inspire and empower you to your next point of gratification!

www. FromMyMamasKitchen. org

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