My Story by Terri Bowersock

Once upon a time a third grader stared at the alphabet chart, trying to figure out what the letters meant. What I remember most about school was red-pen markings all over my papers with remarks like, "poor work," "lazy," and "did you read your homework?" I was afraid to give people something I'd written because they would assume I was dumb. My fifth-grade teacher used to play pool on my head and said I was “dumb as a cue ball.”

So they took me to a specialist and the diagnosis was dyslexia. What's that? The left side of our brains – the side that organizes letters and numbers in sequence - misfires when we try to recall how to spell a word, read or do math. My mother tried hard to help me learn, but actually I coped by relying on my outgoing personality (and cheating on spelling tests). I'd also tap into my intuition, and what today is called “universal knowledge.” Somehow I made it through school!!

Then it was time to fill out my first job application. I got halfway through and realized I could not fill it out, so I snuck out of the interview room. I called my dad in Kansas (Mom and I moved to Phoenix, Ariz., after my parents divorced). I said, "Dad, I don't know what to do. I can't get a job." He replied, "Come out and visit me and I'll help you." During the visit with my dad, I found my future! I met two ladies who owned a store called “The Clearing House” that sold stuff for other people. I thought to myself, "I can do that!" So I went home and drew up my business plan. I mean, I literally "drew" my plan using colored pencils and crayons. I called Mom and said, "We're going to be rich!" She replied, "Oh no, now what?" I explained that we were going to sell gently used furnishings. She said, "You mean we're going to be Sanford & Son?" I replied, "No… well, I don't know for sure. I just know I can do this." So in 1979, we borrowed $2,000 from my grandmother and with my mom's living room furniture and my childhood bedroom set, we started Terri's Home Store, and eventually built it nationwide.

So, how did we do it? Well, I got really good at marketing and advertising. I noticed no one had ever put used furniture on TV; used cars were frequently advertised, so why not furniture? So I did just that. Within months of our TV-ad debut, we doubled our business. Mom was a pro at selling and decorating, so we were a great team. Unfortunately, in 1986 she met a charismatic man named Taw Benderly, and we began to have trouble. She told me to either buy her out or let her buy me out. I ended up buying her out and continued the business on my own.

Now on my own, I set out to nearby Arizona State University (ASU) to learn to spell and read. Very quickly I told them, "You don't teach this in a way that makes it easy for dyslexics to understand." I then set out to develop a right-brain phonic mapping book. Within a year I had completed my book, called "The Spelling Map," which has won many awards and is used in schools all over the country. Now, with better reading skills I was ready to go for it. I got a team together. With a chief executive officer, a chief operations officer and a chief financial officer on board, I started franchising.

I became nationally recognized with 420 articles and 25 local and national awards.

I started giving speeches in schools and universities, to chambers of commerce and entrepreneurial groups nationwide. Then came the day that changed my life.

Oprah. I'll never forget the night before the show. I stood outside and looked up at our Arizona desert sky and said, "I'm going to be on Oprah. Thank God it's not the Jerry Springer show." With my grades, it could have been. Then I took a deep breathe and realized how life-changing this moment was for me. I just wanted to show my friends, family and teachers that I was smart. The next day, I was on Oprah’s show featuring “unexpected millionaires.” Wow, she really is all that, and more important, her people were so proud and happy - and that tells a lot about who Oprah is as a person and leader.

After the show, I went back to work with a new pride and determination. I wrote another book, "Success, It Can Be Yours," so I could inspire others to live their dream.

At the age of 36 I still felt I needed to cure my dyslexia. I had tried everything from wearing glasses with colored lenses (the theory was that the white page was distracting, making it difficult for the brain to see) to a sound wave hooked up to my brain to even out the misfiring, but nothing worked. So when a chiropractor said he had the cure, I said, "Great, I'll be smart." Then with one hard push, and his thumb in my mouth, I heard a loud crack. He had broken my sphenoid bone and induced in me a stroke-like effect. This led to a series of treatments with a long line of medical doctors, followed by sessions with spiritual healers and alternative healing practitioners. It took 14 years for me to get the headaches and ringing ears under control, but I never gave up. I worked by day and iced my head by night. It was hard, but I learned so much about life, spirituality and God, and how to better accept and appreciate everything.

By 2004, I had developed into a great leader with a lot of heart and soul. I had written a total of five books, including the secret to Terri's Home Store success, "The Furniture Blue Book." My blue book, much like the Kelley Blue Book for automobiles, is how we teach consistent pricing to Terri's employees. Business was good. Life was good.

Then, in 2005, Mom was murdered and her body hidden in the desert. I knew I had to find her, to know the truth and find out who killed her. So day after day, aided with a team of volunteers, I combed a 100-mile by 100-mile expanse of sandy desert. With the power and prayers from everyone, and incredible perseverance, we found her remains 13 months after her disappearance.

In 2006, I returned to work, only to find that entrusting my business to my former executive team had disastrous effects... A member of the executive team had stolen the corporate books for the Terri’s chain of consignment stores had left the company $2 million in debt. Once again I found myself sitting outside underneath the desert sky at 4 a.m. At one point I felt my soul wanting to leave my body. And then I suddenly “got it.” When compared to eternity, what is $2 million? What's three years of devastation? All the pain and losses were lessons to make me stronger, to make my spirit more connected to love, forgiveness and compassion.

In 2007, with the power of positive thinking, and relying on the manifestation mentality of the book, “The Secret,” I developed a unique concept to truly “go green” in a business environment. My idea is to recycle everything from wood to glass, leather to plastic, in the form of everything from fashion to furnishings.

And the best part of recycling through consignment is, as my mother said, "the fun of finding a treasure for your home.” Ever the consignment queen, my mom loved to play a game we called "guess what I paid for this?"

I love our planet. And I'm looking for people to join me and build a chain of stores where we recycle the precious resources of our world. I want to help like-minded people own their own stores and build their own successes.

Thank you and God bless.