Thin IceSometimes you see people and you think to yourself that they have the perfect life – looks, money, fame, etc. But here’s what I know: Everyone has been through something really terrible.

As perfect as things look on the outside, everyone has had challenges – and probably more than one tragedy.

Carol shares some very personal stories in a recent article on entrepreneur.com, “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.” She begins:

“Being an entrepreneur is challenging in many regards and one of them is managing the ups and downs that come from starting and running a business. It is not uncommon for entrepreneurs to become deflated or depressed and feel like they have nobody to turn to.

Since mindset and dealing with adversity is so critical to success, and given recent horrific events that have happened here in the U.S., I am compelled to share a very personal experience with you.

My senior year at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania was a grueling one, to say the least. I had been interviewing for investment banking and other jobs for about five months straight — about 75 different companies in total — before accepting, in mid-February 1995, an offer to work for investment banking firm Montgomery Securities after graduation.

So, when my boyfriend at the time, Justin, suggested that I join him and a few friends in Florida for spring break in early March, it didn’t take me long to relay my answer: “No way.”

I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was go to my dad’s house in the north suburbs of Chicago and relax for a week. I was always independent and didn’t feel the need to be attached to my boyfriend for Spring Break, so I sent him on his way to Florida with his friends and returned back to Chicago.

A few days into the break, the phone rang at my dad’s house.”

You will definitely want to read the rest here.