How A Multi-Millionaire Stays Ahead of the 'Curve'

CBN.com Gary Heavin, founder of Curves International, flies his own personal jet, has President George Bush as his next-door neighbor, and owns a nice ranch in Crawford, Texas. Even more amazing, Gary and his wife, Diane, give away 80 percent of their income. No one would have ever guessed that this multi-millionaire was once bankrupt.

"The great lessons in life come from suffering," says Gary. "When you've suffered sufficiently, then God can get your attention. As a young boy at age 13, my mother had been suffering from depression and high blood pressure. I woke up one morning to find that she had died in her sleep. She had just turned age 40, and my two younger brothers and I were the only ones at home. I had to gather them in my arms and tell them, age 9 and 7, that mother had died and gone to heaven.

"As a teenager," Gary continues, "I had the problem of a father and stepmother that didn't really want us. I left home at a really young age. Being self-sufficient and being focused on survival by the age of 26, I had six health clubs and a million-dollar financial statement.

Four years later, Gary was bankrupt.

"I literally lost everything I ownedthe airplane, the nice homes, and the nice carsbut those things really have no significance," says Gary. "I lost the home with my children and found myself alone and destitute and without anything to comfort me or for me to find pride in. That was the lowest point."

In his darkest hour, Gary decided to humble himself before the Lord.

"I finally got on my knees and said, 'God, I lived the first half of my life by my will and it's a mess. I'm going to turn the rest of my life over to You.' I had to need Him so desperately that I was willing to put Him as the priority in my lifeand mean it. Youve got to realize I was saved at 13, but it wasnt until I was 32ish that I took my salvation and made it a commitment. Its one thing to be saved; its another thing to give yourself over to Gods plan for your life, so I had to do that."

Gradually, Gary began to rebuild his lifethis time on the foundation of Gods Word and something else.

"The 700 Club was a great resource for me," notes Gary. "One of the things The 700 Club taught me was the difference between relationship and religion. God designed us to be in relationship with Him. I began to read His Word and spend time seeking that relationship that He had for me."

Eventually, Gary met and married Diane. Diane remembers their initial struggle just to make ends meet.

"We had to start from probably worse than scratch, a brand-new start," Diane recalls. "It was very tough, but God gave us the strength."

Then in 1992, Gary and Diane opened the first Curves Fitness center in Texas. Today Curves International is the largest fitness center franchise in the world.

Diane also she does the Curves workout.

Says Diane, "I work out about three times a week with my mother, who has a very neat Curves success story. She has lost 60 pounds and has kept it off for nearly three years."

Theres now a Curves fitness center for every two McDonalds in America, and a new Curves opens about every four hours.

"One of the great resources that I drew upon in those early years was Pats book The Secret Kingdom," Gary explains. "Even today I talk about those biblical principles that I had placed as the foundation of my business and can attribute those principles as the key to our success. One of those principles is the law of integrity. What does that mean? You tell people the truth. And the law of unity, you cant have unity without integrity, but if people can count on what you say, they can believe in you and you can work together. Today we have over 5,000 franchises. Together we are meeting the needs of over two million women. Thats the power of unity."

The Heavins cherish the simple pleasures of family life. Because they know where theyve been, they never take Gods abundant blessings for granted.

"God has blessed my wife and I because of obedience," Gary says. "The truth is were all a mess, but Christ has paid a price. He has cleaned us up if weve accepted that gift so that God can use even me."

Adds Diane, "We listen to God. We pray first, we listen, and He gives us the answersnot all the time, not when we want them necessarily. Then were obedient."

"God has shown Himself faithful to me in the worst of circumstances," Gary concludes. "I trust Him. When you really realize who God isand this is a neat thingwhen you realize that God is so powerful that He literally spoke everything into existence and yet He loves us so much that He paid the price through His Son for us to have redemptionwho He is and how much He loves ushow in the world can we not live lives of significance?"

Give to CBN and receive your copy of A Life of Miracles, a CD of Pat Robertson's teachings about miracles and a special DVD collection of 12 miracle stories of God's divine intervention!