Jillian and Doug, a married couple from Washington, began embracing Eckhart's teachings after their world came crashing down.
For years, Jillian, Doug and their children enjoyed the luxuries many people dream of. "We had a beautiful 5,000-square-foot home," Jillian says. "We had a beautiful pool and a spa, and we had beautiful cars. We had a Russian au pair who lived with us and took care of the children. We had a gardener. We had a housekeeper. Essentially, everything that needed to be done, we hired someone to do it."
Then, in 2007, Jillian says they lost 60 percent of their income and could no longer afford the lifestyle they'd become accustomed to. "We lost everything," she says. "When we knew the home was going to go into foreclosure, the bank came out and put locks on the garage doors."
Doug and his wife of 22 years were forced to file bankruptcy. "At some point, I had to admit to myself that I had failed," Doug says. "I'd lost our dream home, our dream cars, the dream job, the dream business."
Though millions of people go bankrupt every year, Jillian says it's different when it happens to your family. "It's humbling," she says. "It just strips you bare."
