Can I tell you a 7 month strange secret?
Can I tell you a 7 month strange secret?
-3 years ago I was working in the sun at $2.25/hour and employed at $9.05/hour at a store in the evenings. I had only made around $12,000 that year in total. Most of that went to my college expenses to continue my education, financial aid was out the window, and I was making small payments for my $13,000+ academic debt. I had switched my major twice by then, and it seemed that the only thing I really had control in my life was my body. Just another guy who worked out to try and forget the problems.
-2.5 years ago, my girlfriend was always asking me what my secret was to still smile. I kept saying that hard work was always a step towards the future, and that sooner or later, everything would be ok. But as the months progressed, and then a year, my debt never changed… it got worse. The interest was WAY more than the minimum payments I could make, and my tuition forced me into a peanut & tuna eating lifestyle, plus extra loans to continue school.
-In Fall 2012, our family lost my grandmother and I felt like a complete failure. I chose to work on the day she passed, and I kept having nightmares about how I was becoming another workaholic who was heading down the wrong path by putting anything that gave me money over family. It seemed like money was the only way out.
-Last February, my brother almost lost his life in a fire accident. I was scheduled to work on the day of the incident, and for a split second I was worried about not showing up to work. That’s when it clicked. I had to do everything possible to get out of that rut, there HAD to be another answer.
-In the 7 months from Fall 2012 to May 2013, I had paid off all my debt. All my loans. I had enough to attend a major university full time, and it felt like a dream. Especially since the month after, I was in Las Vegas when I made a final payment for tuition, room & board. I’m not even kidding when I say this: my life felt strange, like a happy ending in a movie. Except life isn’t like a movie, there are no credits, and it keeps going.
-3 months ago, I took my girlfriend on a cruise, the entire ship reserved for 3,000+ leaders who had similar, if not worse, life stories and beginnings. We all earned a check in the middle of it, too. This is starting to sound crazy, but it’s 100% true.
-This month, we’re headed to Las Vegas to meet with a larger group, share a few martinis, put in a few workouts, and enjoy the company of people who finally started putting the right priorities in order, helping others and family being in the top 3.
You want to know the secret that made this all possible? Here it is: We are no different than you. I had a lot of debt, had two jobs, and attended college full time. Others had a mortgage, college debt, and four children to raise. It wasn’t until we took a step back and asked ourselves, “Is this what I really want for my future? My family? To keep putting money over everything?”
You know, there’s a saying that goes like this, “If you keep putting happiness at a destination, you’ll never be happy where you are.”
I kept putting my happiness at a dollar destination, and the harder I tried, the longer I strived, the farther it looked. Then I started focusing on other people, the present moment, praying, asking God for forgiveness and guidance because I didn’t know what to do. I started putting family first, and then began to learn. Soaking up books about change, family, God, and helping other people become the best they can be. Then I started doing what I was learning, turning positive thoughts into massive action.
As I look back on the past 3 years, I feel like I’ve lived a whole life. Like a grandfather telling his children that it took decades to learn from a life full of mistakes. Except I’m 22. I successfully run a global business, speak at all grade level schools, and mentor 18-60+ year old members to succeed farther than I ever could. I don’t think it’s bragging, because I think helping others is… well… what God wants us all to do.
Then there’s the compound effect. Those 7 months that led to the “happy ending” feeling? That foundation multiplied everything in life. It multiplied my free time, income, ethics, leadership, and ability to guide those who are living a life like the one I used to be in, or worse.
Some people who used to know me back then, and a few people who stumble across my company sometimes assume that I “got lucky” or “must be blessed from birth”. I think we are all lucky. That we are all blessed. Like I said earlier, we are no different than you. And guess what? I used to say the same thing when I saw others living a “too good to be true” lifestyle. I always envied they were the “gifted” in the world. But once started losing family for money, I went from being jealous, to asking how they did it. I left my old personality in the past, like the baggage of a bad relationship, and started focusing on the present, while planning for the future.
I want to leave you, the reader, with a piece of advice I often give to someone that books me for a private event:
When we assume that there are only a few people living a happy life, we also assume it is not ourselves. But if we ask the right questions, we find the life and rewards we were meant for… from the leader within us.