7 years ago, when I was 24, my wife was killed in a horrible car accident, leaving me (in complete shock and grief) as a single father to our 2 kids (at the time they were 1 and 3 years old).

I didn't have any post high school education and was working as a construction worker. Before my wife passed away, we both worked full time and were able to rent a small but nice house.

But as a single working parent, I could hardly make ends meet and had to move in to a tiny apartment.

That Christmas, when I didn't have enough money left over to get my kids the gifts they deserved, I really knew I had to do something.

I started taking college classes at night while working 2 jobs, and after five long years, I graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering and got a job making 6 figures. I bought a nice house with a huge yard for my kids to play in, built them a treehouse, and have enough time off to spend plenty of time with them. Last week, I took them on a camping trip in the mountains.

It's not until now that I really let myself believe that I actually did it.