Hey @aficionado
Don't look now, but you're motivating yourself!!!! Yay! Go you!
Sorry, but I had to write that. lol 
Knowing you're not the only one and a GM was also treated badly, makes all the difference eh? Take emotions and 'what-if's' out of the equation and everything makes sense.
There's a book by Robert Kiyosaki called; 'Rich Man, Poor Man' (not the novel by Irwin Shaw) and another called; 'If You Want to be Rich and Happy, Don't go to School'. Yeah, a mouthful that one. He's written around 15 or 20 books, but I've only read these ones.
His inspirational writings are from experience where he acknowledges how valuable every individual within his companies are no matter their station. In essence, he puts people before profits. (Gasp! from Wall Street lol) If you want to save money and read one or both, I understand there's free downloads, though I'm unclear on the details.
In 2012 he applied for Bankruptcy and critics went bolistic. If they look though, President Trump did this twice! Ha! My guess is Kiyosaki spent too much time writing instead of taking care of business. I might look up details when I get a chance.
Inspiration and motivation come from unexpected sources sometimes. His books were given to me by a friend when I wasn't interested by business in the least. However, his style, credo and passion struck a cord with me. Who would've thought there's a CEO out there encouraging employee's to seek promotion, do what there good at instead of whatever's going, improve themselves through higher education and provide quality training to complement their aspirations and needs of the company?
He says; "What's the point of putting someone with exceptional numbers skills in a physically laborious position? Identify their best qualities and find a job that suits, that way everyone benefits." This makes total sense. He insists that large companies have a financial and moral obligation to their community. Yeah idealistic, but so refreshing to read.
The key words for me were 'passion' and 'skill'. My new business allows me to express both. I'm glad I thought of this today. Feeling a bit scared at present, it's getting closer.
I really needed to write this. I hope you get something out of my ramblings friend.
Till next time...
Hope xo 
(BTW, please don't apologise ok. Identifying triggers is an experiencial process. You didn't do anything wrong. hug..)