Mark Cheairs was born in Baton Rouge Louisiana on June 8, 1955. He was the youngest of three children. His sister and brother were six and five years older. Mark's family lived in a modest 1,500 square foot home in a blue collar section of town. His childhood years were spent with family and friends. There was always something to do and somebody to do it with. In the fall it was endless touch football games at the school yard. Winter brought endless basketball games there. The spring gave way to the endless baseball games. The summers were for family vacations and sitting under a tree to wish fall would hurry.
The seasons seemed to roll one into anther with no measure of the years that were passing. Before Mark could realize what time had passed he was graduating from high school and off to college. This was a transitional time with new friends and new activities. It was very thrilling to be in the college ranks. Mark had sat on the basketball court loading his brother's camera's and watched "Pistol" Pete Maravich )truly one of the greatest to ever play the game) play his college ball. He had spent many hours in the L.S.U. library where his sister worked. This was very exciting for a 14 year old to wonder thought the buildings at L.S.U. Now he was at college. As exciting as it was there was a vein of fear that he would not measure up to that level. His brother and sister were both A and B students. Mark was not as academically driven.
The four years at Southeastern Louisiana University SLU came and went much like Mark's child hood. He seemed to float through the years with the adding of many what were to be life long friendships. It had been his fathers dream for all his children to have a college degree. This was what drove Mark - to walk away with a college diploma. In December 1977 he did just that. There will not be any historic records of this event but Mark had a degree and had spent four and 1/2 years having more fun than the law allowed.
The only sad note in the four and 1/2 years was his brother Calvin lost his battle with C.F. on 5/30/1976. This was an event that Mark had known all his life would come someday but that someday came too soon. As in so many other times in his life Mark found a way to move forward and make the best of reality.
After graduation came the realization that just because he had gone to college he was not going to have the world beat a path to his door as he had been told by his professors for the past four years. This was another big reality check. Mark eventually went to work for Sears for a short time handling complaints in the delivery department. Then on September 6, 1978 an event that would shatter Mark's world happened - his Father died of a massive coronary. His dad was the hero of his life. As with his brother two years earlier Mark was at his father's bedside at his death. Mark reflected that he and his dad had just gotten to the phase in life where his dad was able to be a friend as well as a dad. This had lasted such a short time and now was lost forever.
All the lessons his dad had taught him were now up to him to put into action in real life. As Mark reflected over his life for the last fifty years, he was keenly aware that he was at least in part a reflection of his father. This is continually comforting to him as it means his father has never really left him. Still, thirty years later in everything Mark does every day, he hears his dad's voice telling him all the lessons over and over again. Mark smiles knowing that his dad is just a thought away.
As his dad had taught him it was time to grow up and be a man. So Mark took the first full time job that came his way after his father s death with the State of Louisiana. Even in this his dad had a hand. One of his dad's old friends happened to see Mark's name on the hiring list and interceded. Mark never planned on staying over a year until something better came along. The something better would be 9 years off. However he did stay, made friends and enjoyed the work. The hardest part was accepting the fact that he made only half of what his friends were making who had gone straight to construction plant work. One of Mark's adoptive dads told him "Son, just keep doing your best and you will pass those guys up by the end of the race" and it is a long race.
In 1986 with seven years in the field of rehabilitation and two years as a worker's compensation adjuster for the state of Louisiana opportunity came knocking. It was not a booming knock that would knock down doors but rather a quiet tap that most people would miss if not observant. This opportunity came when Mark was asked to attend a return to work meeting at one of the state's facilities. This was just anther meeting for everyone in the room but for Mark it was a life changing event.
As Mark sat and listened to the dialog of the meeting he realized that he knew how to solve the problems and address the issues that seemed so impossible to everyone else in the room. It was at this point he started to look at vocational options outside of state government and within a matter of months he was hired by a large insurance company. Mark rose through the ranks to supervisor in a short time. As a supervisor he was required to put his name on his subordinates work. Mark demanded that if this was the case he would have final edit authority. After six weeks the company refused to allow this, so Mark left to start his own business. His father had always told him "Don't put your name on anything you can't be proud of".
So on January 3rd 1989 Mark stated Glenn-Mar with a partner, a $10,000 loan and no promise of income or generating business. Mark believed in himself enough to put everything at risk. Through hard work and good money management the small firm doubled in size each year until 1996 when Mark's business partner chose to seek other options. At the time having 36 employees and a monthly overhead of $100,000 didn't seem to be the higher road. It certainly was not the light load.
Mark was involved in a serious auto accident on 4/2/1997 that broke every bone in his face, his left arm in four places and shattered his left leg which later developed a staff infection. So in a matter of a few months he lost his health, business and was bed ridden for twelve weeks with several months of rehabilitation to follow.
So at age 42 he found himself having to start over in almost all aspects of his life. After taking inventory Mark came to the realization that he would have to start over but this time he could do it his way under his own terms. He is a vocational rehabilitation consultant by trade, so he used what he had been teaching others to do for so many years now in his own life.
Today Mark has rebuilt his business, is happily remarried and enjoys half of his time in a second home in the North Carolina Mountains. His physical health is still a daily challenge as there are no pain free days but who in life has those? In “CARRYING LIGHTER LOADS TRAVELING HIGHER ROADS” you will encounter the wisdom and style Mark used to rebuild his new life.
I hope my story will give you the insight to walk the higher roads and carry lighter loads in your own life.
