From -$53k To $1.5 Million In 2 Years (My Story)

Summary

The speaker shares a personal journey from being $53,000 in debt to amassing a net worth of over $1.5 million. Despite a challenging upbringing and setbacks including a failed college experience, multiple job losses, and a criminal record, the individual found success through self-help books and entrepreneurial ventures. The story highlights the importance of perseverance, self-education, and the power of taking risks. It details the speaker's ventures into clothing design, web development, and eventually, a successful YouTube channel, demonstrating that with dedication and hard work, anyone can overcome obstacles and achieve financial success.

Takeaways

• 💰 The individual started with a significant debt of $53,000 but managed to turn their financial situation around to have a net worth of over $1.5 million.
• 📚 They grew up without special privileges, living in a single-parent household that relied on government support, demonstrating that success is possible regardless of one's background.
• 🚀 The person's journey involved setbacks and failures, including dropping out of college, failing businesses, and even a criminal record, highlighting the importance of resilience and perseverance.
• 🧵 The initial business venture was a clothing brand inspired by trends from an employee catalog at H&M, showing how personal circumstances can spark entrepreneurial ideas.
• 💼 They invested their entire savings into starting the clothing business, which resulted in a profit and served as a proof of concept for their entrepreneurial spirit.
• 📉 The person faced a major turning point when they were accused of theft at their job, leading to an arrest, which became a pivotal moment for self-reflection and change.
• 🔨 After serving community service and not graduating from college, they took on various jobs and started multiple businesses, demonstrating a willingness to explore different avenues for success.
• 🌱 A key turning point was the realization that they could leverage their existing web development skills to earn money online, leading to a shift in career direction.
• 📈 They experienced exponential growth in their income once they started focusing on WordPress web development and creating content for YouTube, which eventually led to substantial financial success.
• 🏠 Financial success allowed them to invest in real estate, pay off debts, and improve their living situation, illustrating the potential for financial freedom through online entrepreneurship.
• 💪 The overarching message is one of determination and the belief that anyone can achieve success if they are willing to work hard, learn from failures, and never give up.

Q & A

How much debt was the speaker in two years ago?

The speaker was in over $53,000 of debt two years ago.

What was the speaker's net worth after making significant changes in their life?

The speaker's net worth is now a little bit over $1.5 million.

What was the speaker's background like growing up?

The speaker grew up with divorced parents, lived with their mother who relied on food stamps and government support, and didn't have any special privileges.

What was the speaker's initial investment in their clothing brand?

The speaker initially invested around $1,000 in bulk t-shirts and a GoDaddy service to build an e-commerce site.

What was the name of the speaker's clothing brand?

The speaker named their clothing brand 'PIGS'.

How much profit did the speaker make after selling the initial batch of t-shirts?

The speaker made a profit of $500 after their initial $11,000 investment.

What happened to the speaker at their job at H&M?

The speaker was accused of theft, arrested, and later had to serve 40 hours of community service. This led to the loss of their job and inability to access the H&M catalog for their clothing brand.

What was the turning point for the speaker after their arrest?

The turning point was during the 40 hours of community service where the speaker listened to self-help audiobooks, which renewed their motivation and confidence.

What was the speaker's first successful online job?

The speaker's first successful online job was building a website for $5 on Upwork.

How much income did the speaker make in their first full year on YouTube?

The speaker made a little bit over $600,000 in pure income in their first full year on YouTube.

What is the speaker's message to the audience about accomplishing goals?

The speaker's message is that anyone can accomplish anything they want, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and not giving up, as demonstrated by their own journey from debt to success.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 From Debt to Wealth: A Personal Transformation

The speaker shares their incredible journey from being over $53,000 in debt to amassing a net worth of over $1.5 million. They emphasize their humble beginnings, growing up in a single-parent household on government support, and having no special privileges. The speaker also discloses their initial embarrassment about certain aspects of their past but decides to be transparent to inspire viewers. Their transformation began with a deep dive into self-help books during their college years in North Carolina, which led to a newfound belief in their potential for success. The speaker's passion for learning and self-improvement was ignited by books like 'Think and Grow Rich' and 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,' which ultimately changed their perspective on life and success.

05:01

👕 Launching a Clothing Brand: Trials and Triumphs

The narrative continues with the speaker's venture into entrepreneurship by starting a clothing brand while still in college and working part-time at H&M. Inspired by the upcoming styles in an employee catalog, they invested their entire savings into bulk t-shirts and an e-commerce website. With the help of a professional sewer, they learned to sew and created a line of paisley pattern t-shirts under their brand 'PIGS.' Despite being in significant debt, they were driven by their belief in the business. After selling most of their t-shirts on platforms like Etsy and eBay, they managed to turn a profit, which validated their entrepreneurial spirit and gave them a sense of accomplishment. However, their success was short-lived as they faced a significant setback that they had been hesitant to share publicly.

10:02

👮‍♂️ A Turning Point: Legal Troubles and Humbling Experiences

The speaker recounts a pivotal moment in their life when they were accused of theft at their part-time job at H&M. They were confronted by the store manager and the loss prevention manager, who claimed they had intentionally failed to scan an item during a transaction. Despite it being an accident, the speaker, fearing a $4,000 restitution fee, falsely admitted to the accusation. The situation escalated to the point where they were arrested and charged with misdemeanor larceny. This event led to public humiliation, the loss of their job, and the inability to graduate from college. The speaker also had to complete 40 hours of community service to avoid a permanent mark on their record. This period was one of the darkest times in their life, but it also became a turning point that set the stage for future growth and transformation.

15:04

🎧 Self-Help Audiobooks and a Renewed Sense of Purpose

During their 40 hours of community service, the speaker had an opportunity for introspection and learning. They spent long hours listening to self-help audiobooks, which helped them consume a wealth of knowledge and feel rejuvenated. This period of service, although challenging, turned out to be a transformative experience, allowing the speaker to emerge with a renewed sense of purpose. After completing their service, they worked at various jobs, including a used car dealership and a staffing agency, while simultaneously starting multiple businesses in an attempt to find a viable path forward. Despite the hardships, including increased debt due to marriage and multiple business failures, they remained determined to succeed.

20:04

💻 Embracing Web Development and Multiple Ventures

The speaker discovered WordPress web development, which they believed could be a lucrative skill. After intensive self-study through online videos, they quit their job and started freelancing on Upwork. Initially, they faced slow progress, but their first $5 job marked a significant milestone, instilling hope and motivation. Over time, they increased their earnings to over $1,000 per job, working two to three jobs per week. Alongside web development, they ventured into various businesses, including a website template business, real estate wholesaling, and content creation on YouTube and blogs. Despite the struggle, they managed to save money, pay off credit card debt, and purchase their first home. The speaker's passion for entrepreneurship and relentless pursuit of success remained unshaken.

🌟 Becoming a Successful YouTuber and Continuous Growth

The speaker's determination culminated in the launch of a YouTube channel, which became a significant part of their journey. They invested in a new studio and committed to creating high-quality, consistent content. Initially, the channel grew slowly, and the speaker often doubted their ability to succeed. However, they persevered and eventually achieved a breakthrough with a viral video that garnered over a million views within a month. This success transformed their channel, leading to substantial monetization and a significant increase in income. In their first full year on YouTube, they made over $600,000, and in the following year, they surpassed $1 million in earnings. The speaker's story is a testament to the power of persistence, hard work, and the belief that anyone can overcome adversity and achieve success.

Keywords

💡Debt

Debt is an obligation that an individual or entity owes to another. In the context of the video, the speaker was over $53,000 in debt two years prior, which was a significant financial burden and a turning point in their life. The speaker's journey from debt to financial success is a central theme of the video, illustrating the power of perseverance and smart financial decisions.

💡Net Worth

Net worth is the value of all of a person's assets minus the liabilities. The speaker mentions that their net worth is now over $1.5 million, which is a stark contrast to their previous financial state. This term is crucial as it represents the culmination of the speaker's financial turnaround and serves as a motivational goal for viewers.

💡Self-Help Books

Self-help books are literature designed to help individuals improve their lives through advice and guidance. The video references several self-help books such as 'Think and Grow Rich' and 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People', which played a pivotal role in the speaker's personal development and transformation. These books symbolize the speaker's investment in self-improvement.

💡Investing in Self

Investing in self refers to the act of dedicating time, effort, and resources to personal growth and development. The speaker became obsessed with this concept, which led them to read self-help books and ultimately to start their own businesses. This concept is a key element in the speaker's narrative, highlighting the importance of self-education and personal development.

💡E-commerce

E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, as well as the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. The speaker's first business venture involved creating an e-commerce site to sell custom t-shirts, showcasing the power of online platforms in enabling entrepreneurship and the potential for financial independence.

💡Student Loans

Student loans are a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education. In the video, the speaker mentions being $35,000 in student loan debt, which is a common financial challenge faced by many individuals. This debt was a significant obstacle for the speaker, adding to their financial struggles and motivating them to seek alternative paths to success.

💡Community Service

Community service is a form of unpaid work performed by a person or group to benefit the community. The speaker had to serve 40 hours of community service as part of their legal punishment. This experience, although challenging, became a transformative period for the speaker, allowing them to consume self-help audiobooks and gain a renewed sense of purpose.

💡Web Development

Web development is the building and maintaining of websites; it includes aspects such as web design and web publishing. The speaker discovered WordPress web development as a means to generate income and eventually quit their job to pursue it full-time. This keyword is central to the speaker's financial recovery and subsequent success, demonstrating the potential of learning new skills to change one's circumstances.

💡Serial Entrepreneur

A serial entrepreneur is someone who founders, starts, manages, and then sells one business after another, often moving on to a new business venture after the previous one has become successful. The speaker identifies as a serial entrepreneur, starting multiple businesses such as a subscription-based presentation template website, real estate wholesaling, and YouTube channels. This concept encapsulates the speaker's relentless drive and innovative spirit.

💡YouTuber

A YouTuber is an individual who creates and hosts video content on the YouTube platform. The speaker's dream was to become a full-time YouTuber, and after a year of consistent effort, they achieved significant success with their channel, making over $600,000 in their first full year. This keyword highlights the modern opportunities for content creation and monetization, as well as the importance of persistence and quality in building an audience.

💡Persistence

Persistence is the continued effort or insistence in spite of difficulties or opposition. Throughout the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of never giving up, even in the face of numerous setbacks and failures. Persistence is a central theme, illustrating that consistent effort and determination can lead to eventual success.

Highlights

The speaker was $53,000 in debt two years ago but has since turned his life around with a net worth of over $1.5 million.

He grew up with no special privileges and his parents divorced when he was less than a year old.

He was inspired by self-help books such as 'Think and Grow Rich' and 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People'.

He started a clothing brand inspired by upcoming styles in an H&M catalog while working part-time there.

He invested all his savings into starting the clothing brand, which included buying materials and an e-commerce site.

He learned to sew from his girlfriend's grandmother and made paisley pattern t-shirts himself.

He named his clothing brand 'PIGS' and sold t-shirts on Etsy, eBay, and his own website.

He made a profit of $500 from selling t-shirts, which was a significant confidence boost.

He was fired from H&M and faced a $4,000 restitution fee for alleged theft.

He served 40 hours of community service to avoid a misdemeanor Larceny charge on his record.

He failed to graduate from college and faced multiple job losses, adding to his financial struggles.

He started a subscription-based presentation template website, showing resilience in the face of adversity.

He discovered WordPress web development and taught himself the skills through online videos.

He quit his job to pursue web development full-time, despite having no guarantees of success.

He started earning significant income through web development, reaching $2,000 to $3,000 per week.

He became a serial entrepreneur, starting multiple businesses including a website template business and real estate wholesaling.

He paid off his credit card debt and bought his first home, demonstrating financial recovery and growth.

He pursued a full-time YouTube career, consistently improving his content and eventually achieving viral success.

His first viral YouTube video led to a significant increase in income, earning over $600,000 in his first full year.

He emphasizes the importance of perseverance, stating that his success is a result of never giving up.

Transcripts

so about 2 years ago I was a little bit

over

$53,000 in debt but a lot has changed

over the past 2 years and I've done a

lot of different things to completely

change my life and my net worth is now a

little bit over $1.5 million and growing

really quickly now I want to preface

this video by saying something super

important okay I am no different than

you like I didn't grow up with any

special privileges nothing was ever

handed to me in fact my parents got

divorced when I was less than a year old

and me and my two brothers lived with my

mom who was on food stamps and

government support and so you could say

that I technically got dealt a bad hand

and that statistically speaking I

shouldn't even be where I am today and

there were certain things that happened

to me on my journey that I have never

ever shared before because honestly I've

been kind of embarrassed about it but in

this video I want to be completely

transparent with you about how exactly I

got to where I am today because I hope

that my story will prove to you that

anybody can do what I did okay despite

your hard circumstances despite how you

grew up and all the obstacles in your

way anybody can accomplish anything in

life and I know that that sounds super

cliche um but I'm okay with that because

it's the

truth now my story goes back further

than just two years ago this story

actually starts when I was attending

college here in North Carolina like a

lot of people I got suckered into the

concept of going to college in hopes of

being able to graduate get a decent job

and live a decent life and I'll be

honest with you okay I hated College in

fact I've literally always hated school

in general I've always hated learning

useless things that I knew for a fact I

would never use in real life I hated the

way that my teachers talked down to me

and made it feel like I wouldn't be able

to accomplish anything in life I hated

all the different clicks and just like

groups in school that I never truly felt

a part of I mean I've always hated

everything about school and the worst

part was that by my fourth year of

college I was already 35 $5,000 in

student loan debt but anyways I remember

that in my fourth year of college my

very last year I got really deep into

self-help books I read Think and Grow

Rich uh The Seven Habits of Highly

Effective People Rich Dad Poor Dad as a

man thinketh I bought this box set of

little books and within that box set one

of the books was called the way to

wealth by Benjamin Franklin I mean I

really got deep into this concept of

like investing in myself and building

myself up so that one day I could build

my wealth up like I became obsessed with

this concept and this was the first time

in my life that I really felt like I was

able to accomplish anything because I

would read these books and these books

would tell me that I could accomplish

things so much so that I basically took

it to the extreme like I stopped going

to classes I stopped doing my college

assignments I stopped hanging out with

friends I basically locked myself in my

college apartment read self-help books

all day went to the gym came back and

just continued pouring into myself and

thank thanks to today's sponsor audible

you guys can start investing in yourself

the same way that I was able to whether

it's listening while you drive work out

at the gym or do chores around the house

audible truly offers an incredible

selection of audiobooks and podcasts and

I recommend starting with one of my

all-time favorites The Seven Habits of

Highly Effective People after listening

to that audio book you'll develop an

increased understanding of how to be

just more successful in life how to be

more productive and overall just be

inspired to actually take action on your

goals it was the first book that truly

changed the way that I saw success you

see audible is the home of Storytelling

and when you become a member you'll get

access to the latest titles in every

genre and you can choose one title per

month to keep forever from the entire

catalog including new releases and best

sellers all you have to do is just use

my code Mayo at checkout or click on the

link down below which I'll leave in the

description and the pin comment and

thank you so much again to audible now

at the time in addition to being in

college I also worked part-time at this

retail store called H&M and most of you

probably know what that is and I

remember we would get these like

employee cataloges that would show the

new styles that were coming into the

store like in a month or so and so one

day I'm sitting at work and I remember

it was a really slow day at work and so

I was just flipping through this catalog

and I randomly had this idea spring on

me what if I started making clothing

based off of the upcoming Styles in this

catalog and I remember during that time

the pop style that was kind of trending

was like Paisley and I remember just

staring at this catalog looking through

all these different Paisley t-shirts and

thinking to myself I could make these

and so I went back to my college

Department that night and just began

doing research on what it would take to

start a clothing brand and I was so

excited because I would read about these

clothing brands that started from

absolutely nothing and Rose to be

multi-million dollar Brands just through

sheer hard work and so that night I

didn't go to sleep at all I literally

stayed up all night just researching how

I was going to make the clothing like

Source the materials build the website

and just get sales in general and I

ended up spending around $500 on bulk

t-shirts that night so that I could

start making these paisley pattern

t-shirts myself I also ended up spending

around $500 on this GoDaddy service to

essentially have them build an

e-commerce site for me and the crazy

thing about that is that $1,000 that I

spent that night was basically like all

of my savings from over the past year of

working at H&L and so not only not only

did I now have basically 0 to my name

but I was also around $35,000 in debt

for my student loans but I was willing

to spend that money because I truly

believed in this business and I remember

going over my girlfriend's grandmother's

house like a couple of days later and

she was a professional sewer and so she

taught me how to sew and when I say to

you that I went completely all out with

this business I mean I even went as far

as to go open up a business credit card

so that I could go buy a sewing machine

and all the different different like

sewing equipment so that I can actually

begin sewing these t-shirts myself and I

began making these Paisley t-shirts with

accent pockets and sleeve cuffs and I

ended up naming my clothing brand um

pigs it sounds really stupid now but at

the time I was like yeah this is this is

great and so I would spend like hours

upon hours days upon days just sewing

these shirts together and I remember I

actually kept a couple of those t-shirts

because I knew I just knew that one day

I would want physical proof of this

business that I could share with people

and so let me go get those t-shirts

really quick hold on okay and so you can

see this is one of the shirts it's a

gray I had 33 gray with the blue Paisley

I had 33 white with the pink Paisley and

I had 33 yellow with kind of like this

brown and blue Paisley okay and I mean I

stitched these shirts myself you can see

the sleeves are stitched um the pockets

were were stitched you can even put

stuff in it I mean I was this was the

real deal like I was really going all in

with this business and these are high

quality stitches like if I try to pull

this look that's not coming off and

what's funny is that the product images

for these shirts were literally just me

taking pictures in my college apartment

and then using Photoshop to cut out the

background to make it white after just a

couple of months of selling these

t-shirts on sites like Etsy eBay and my

own personal pigs website I ended up

selling 99% of the t-shirts minus the

ones that I kept for $15 a piece and

netted $1,500 which meant that I

profited $500 after my initial $11,000

investment and when I tell you that this

was so exciting for me I mean this was

like this was a game changer because it

gave me proof of concept like it was the

first time that I was actually able to

go start something from scratch and

actually make money from it and so this

made me so so excited and after selling

those initial t-shirts I just went that

much harder and I remember my friends in

college asking me Joshua why did you

stop going to class like you you know

they're going to fail you right and I

would literally say to them I don't care

because I'm going to be a millionaire

one day and so none of this even matters

and so my plan was just to continue

making clothing based off of the

upcoming Trends from the H&M catalog

that I had access to because I worked

there and I was going to use all of my

profits from the first batch of clothing

to buy even more in the second batch to

make even more of a profit and just

continue scaling this thing that much

bigger and because I did it successfully

the first time I just knew for a fact

that I could do it again but then things

took a very drastic turn for the worse

and uh we get into the part of the story

now that I've always been very very

hesitant to share and I'm still even

hesitant right now so I went into work

one day at H&M and I remember I was so

excited that day because it was the

start of a new season which meant that

we were getting new cataloges in and so

I planned on just looking through the

catalog to figure out what I wanted my

next um design to be for my clothing

brand and so I'm sitting there behind

the cash register and all of a sudden

the store manager um alongside the loss

prevention manager the lp manager uh

they walk over to me and they say Joshua

uh we need you to come with us and I

remember they had another employee there

who was going to kind of like take my

place at the cash register and so I knew

something wasn't quite right okay and so

they took me into the back of the store

and then they took me into the lp the

loss prevention room right and this was

a room that literally nobody ever went

into to all the different monitors you

know cameras pointed at every cash

register every corner of the store

covered with a camera and it could all

be seen from this room and we're sitting

there for a second and the lp manager

sits down in the table in front of me

and I remember he had like this you know

he always wore this like really crisp

black suit and he just looked like an

FBI agent and he's sitting down in front

of me looking down at some papers at

some files and he looks up at me and

looks at me dead in the eyes and says to

me Mr Mayo uh you're in in some serious

trouble and at this point 20-year-old

Joshua at the time is completely Shook

and so I said to him what did I do and

he said back to me don't pretend to be

stupid you know what you did and if you

don't admit to us what you know you

already did we're going to take you to

court and you're going to have to pay a

$4,000 restitution fee now don't get me

wrong okay $4,000 even now is still a

lot of money but at the time 20-year-old

Joshua had never seen $4,000 ever okay

and so the thought of having to pay a

$4,000 fine absolutely terrified me and

so finally I said to him okay fine fine

I'll admit it I've been giving out my

employee discount to my friends and so

when I admitted to doing this um the lp

manager kind of sat back and looked at

me sideways and said no that's not what

I'm talking about we don't necessarily

encourage you to do that but it's not

against the rules and I said to him oh

well what did I do then he then pulls

out this like plain vanilla folder

places it on the table opens it up and

within the folder are three different

pictures of me standing behind the cash

register checking out a customer and he

slides all of the pictures over to my

side of the table and he points at one

of the pictures and says do you see that

red shirt right there you never actually

scanned that t-shirt you just placed it

into the customer's bag without actually

scanning it and I said to him oh okay

but that was an accident though I didn't

mean to do that and he said back to me

well we don't believe you we we think

that you did it on purpose and if you

don't admit to it if you don't admit

that you did it on purpose and that

you're guilty of doing it we're going to

take you to court and we're going to

charge you a $4,000 restitution fee and

so you know I me not having a lawyer

present me not knowing anything about

the law I was terrified of the thought

of having to pay $4,000 and so I finally

said okay fine I'll admit that I was

guilty to putting the t-shirt in the

customer's bag on purpose and so when I

said that he looked over at the at the

store manager and they both kind of like

did a small nod at each other and the

store manager leaves the room and the lp

manager looks at me and he says okay the

police are going to come and they're

going to arrest you and you're going to

be charged with misdemeanor Larsen and I

my whole entire world crumbled it's

almost like time froze at that moment

because I'm thinking Mr meor Larsen like

I don't even know what that is like am I

about to go to prison shortly after that

two police officers walked into the room

and they told me to stand up they put me

in handcuffs and they walked me out of

the store now keep in mind it was a busy

super busy Saturday evening and it was

so busy in the store and so here I am

handcuffed being walked out of the store

with two police officers everybody's

just staring at me it was the most

humiliating just like demeaning thing

that ever happened to me and so they put

me into the back of the police car and

they drive me downtown to the police

station and something happened at the

police station that completely changed

my life forever so in the police station

they take you into this kind of like

waiting room this this waiting cell um

before they actually book you okay and

there's other people in that room with

you and everybody's still handcuffed and

I remember I was sitting there and my

head was down and I felt somebody walk

up to me and so this guy walks up to me

and I look up at him and he's just

staring at me and he says to me the most

stereotypical like classic thing ever he

says to me what are you in here for and

I just I just looked at him and I looked

back down cuz I was just ashamed I felt

ashamed and I said back to him I don't

belong here and I just remember he

laughed and then walked away and at this

point I'm super defeated I mean this is

like the lowest point in my life I'm

sitting here in jail like with other

criminals I don't belong here anyways

they ended up letting me go without

actually booking me um and I had to

serve 40 hours of community service and

I remember opening up my email that

night to find out that my college wasn't

going to let me graduate and and so here

I am no job $35,000 in debt um I'm not

going to graduate college and to make

matters even worse I no longer was able

to do my clothing brand because I no

longer had access to this catalog which

gave me access to all of The Insider

Trends and I remember just like crying

myself like literally just crying myself

to sleep that night it was the most

depressing moment in my life and so the

next day I woke up and I began doing my

40 hours of community service and the

deal was that the court would sponge

this you know misdemeanor larini for my

record if I completed the 40 hours of

community service and so for one week

straight all day every day I literally

just washed ambulance trucks it was

either that or working at Goodwill and I

did not feel like working at Goodwill

and so I would literally spend 7 to 8

hours per day just washing ambulances

right and although this was like one of

the lowest points in my life it was also

one of the biggest turning points in my

life you see I had no no choice but to

just stand there all day and wash

ambulance trucks and so all day for a

week straight 7 to 8 hours I would just

be listening to self-help audio books

just washing ambulance trucks and I

consumed so much information over the

course of one week that once my

community service was actually over once

I completed it I literally felt like a

brand new person like it was almost like

I had broken out of this cocoon and I

was ready to go and conquer the world

again once I finished my community

service um I went on to work at this

really crappy used car dealership and I

remember that I got fired after just 2

weeks because I was so bad at the job

and to make matters even worse within

those 2 weeks I only ended up making

like $200 I then went on to work at this

staffing agency which only paid me $500

per week and during my time of working

all these different jobs I was starting

multiple different businesses just

trying to find something that could work

for me now keep in mind okay by this

point in my life I'm now married to to

my girlfriend which also means that I

now inherited her student loan debt as

well and so Not only was I $35,000 in

debt from my student loans but combined

we were now

$53,000 in debt but anyways during this

time one of the businesses that I ended

up starting was this subscription based

presentation template website and I

remember that our workstation was

literally an old door stacked on top of

Center blocks inside of our tiny one bed

one bath apartment anyways after doing

this for about 6 months straight just

grinding all day every day we ended up

getting about a dozen different signups

on the website and I mean this was

really really exciting for me because

like with the first business the

clothing brand I was actually starting

to see results from this and these

results just further Pro to me that

anything was possible Right despite all

of the crap that I went through getting

arrested not graduating from college you

know losing multiple jobs even after

going through all of that I was still

able to come back and actually create

create something that I could start

making money from and this gave me an

even deeper sense of confidence but

although this business was exciting and

we were starting to see some success

with it deep down inside I just knew

something was just just ticking inside

of me and I just knew that this business

wasn't actually going to get me to a

place where I wanted to be financially

and so after several months of just

extremely hard work I made the decision

to close the business down and at that

point I'm back to Square 1 $53,000 in

debt a crappy job barely making any

money barely able to pay rent every

single month and I remember that every

night my wife and I would split one can

of Campbell's beef stew and we would

have one grilled cheese each I also

tried day trading during this time and

ended up getting myself into over $5,000

in credit card debt and so one night I'm

sitting at home still working this

crappy job at the staffing agency and

I'm doing everything in my power to to

try and make something work and I

remember scrolling online trying to

figure out different ways to make money

and I discovered something called

WordPress web development now I had

built websites in the past on sites like

Wix and Squarespace and so I knew a

little bit about web development in

general and I remember hopping on

YouTube that night and I just started

watching videos about WordPress web

development and after about 10 minutes

of watching this one video I became so

excited because this video was making it

seem like doing WordPress web

development was was really easy and that

this was something that I would actually

be able to do to start making legitimate

money and so I just kept watching videos

all night long and I was staring at the

screen for like 3 hours straight at one

point and I remember just briefly

looking over outside at the window that

was sitting next to my desk and it was

daytime I had literally stayed up all

night just watching videos on YouTube

about how to do WordPress web

development and I did this for a week

straight and after one week I felt

confident that I could start making

money doing this and so I did what no

rational human being would ever do and I

went ahead and put in my twoe notice

with nothing else lined up there were no

guarantees that this thing was actually

going to work but I just felt so

confident in my ability that I gave my

job my twoe notice and I quit and so I

signed up for a site called upwork and I

started submitting as many proposals as

humanly possible and at the beginning

was super slow I mean my first job ever

I got paid $5 to build an entire

website but when I tell you that that $5

was one of the most exhilarating

experiences of my life I'm not

exaggerating like this might sound crazy

to you but earning my first $5 online

was more exciting than the $ 100 plus,

that I'm consistently making online now

that first $5 that I made online gave me

hope all I had to do was provide a

business with a simple service and I

could do it all from the comfort of my

home but anyways after that first job I

just continued submitting proposals

getting new jobs and after about 6

months it got to a point where I was

consistently earning about $1,000 plus

doar per job that I was doing and I was

averaging anywhere from two to three

jobs per week this means that I was

making anywhere from 2 to $3,000 per

week from the comfort of my home now

while doing web development I also

started several new businesses including

a website template business called

Elementary Market I started a real

estate wholesaling business I started 3

different YouTube channels three

different blogs I mean I was the

definition of a serial entrepreneur but

through all of that I was able to save

up about $4,000 over the course of one

year and I used $10,000 of that to

completely wipe all of my credit card

debt and then I used the other $30,000

to buy my first home and build a new

studio for my new YouTube channel that I

was planning on starting you see deep

down inside I have always wanted to be a

full-time YouTuber I mean it's literally

just always been a dream of mine and so

I knew knew that if I was going to you

know actually do it I had to take it

serious I then began trying to make the

best possible content that I could and I

would stay so consistent with this like

week after week month after month I was

just producing content trying to make

the content just 1% better every single

video and there were definitely times

that I came really close to quitting I

remember that I would record myself on

my phone just kind of doing like a a

video diary of me just talking about how

I wasn't sure that I was going to be

able to make it on YouTube that felt

like I wanted to quit because it was

just so difficult I was putting in so

much work and I wasn't getting results

and I would record myself doing this you

know right now I've got 200 276

subscribers on my YouTube channel and um

if I'm just being honest with you you

know today's one of those days where

it's it's I'm having a lot of Doubt for

some reason but I never did quit and in

November of 2021 I had my first ever

viral video and that video ended up

getting over 1 million views Within one

month and it completely catapulted my

channel I went from making $0 per month

on YouTube for about 8 months

consistently to immediately making I

think around $4,000 my very first month

of being monetized and as the channel

continued to grow I continued making

even more money and in my first full

year on YouTube I ended up making a

little bit over $600,000 in pure income

and this year alone I've already made

over $1 million completely online but

anyways here we are now I've been

hustling and grinding for years now and

I'm at this point in my life where I'm

making more money than I ever thought

was even possible right I'm buying

rental properties I'm continuing to

invest in my portfolio to build my

wealth I've bought a beautiful home for

my family inside of a beautiful

neighborhood right I'm continuing to

start new businesses I'm continuing to

scale the things that I'm doing now to

continue having even more success but

the craziest part about all of that is

when I really think about it I'm not

doing anything different today that I

wasn't already doing back with my first

business in my college apartment like

every single day I'm just showing up and

I'm putting in the work right the

difference though is that my success

today is a result of me never giving up

I just kept going even with all my

setbacks even with all the obstacles I

never gave up I just kept going and

because of that I started seeing small

amounts of success and that small

success led to even bigger success and

that bigger success compounded to even

bigger success and because I never gave

up it just continued to compound bigger

and bigger and because I have no plans

on stopping anytime soon it's going to

continue to compound you know at the end

of all of my videos I always tell you

guys that you can accomplish anything

you want and that I believe in you and I

want you to understand that I'm not just

saying that because it sounds good like

I genuinely believe that every single

person watching can accomplish the same

exact things that I did you know I was

this kid who at one point was $53,000 in

debt I failed College I didn't get my

degree I was fired from multiple jobs I

failed multiple businesses I got

arrested and at one point even though it

did get expunged at one point I had a

criminal record and despite all of that

I was still able to get to where I'm at

today and so when I tell you that if I

can do it you can do it too I am not not

just saying that hey you're amazing and

I will see you again very very soon take

care