In order to plan your future, you have to remember your past. 

Let’s walk down memory lane for this episode, to a time when I was counted out. And if you were ever told you couldn’t do something, or were left out in life – then listen up. This one is for you. 

You can also listen on iTunes and Stitcher 

First and foremost – I wanted to write a little note of appreciation to you personally.

Whether you are reading the blog post or tuning in to the podcast above:

Thank you. I appreciate you.

You may feel like another listener or reader in a sea of people – but I see you! (Not literally… that would be creepy).

What I mean is – we notice when someone joins our newsletter. We notice when you reply to it. And we notice when you comment or like or subscribe. You are not just a number to me. Thank you for your dedication and for tuning in. It means a lot. 

As I wipe a single tear away from my cheek, let’s get into it…

I recently was talking to a good friend of mine… and I mentioned that I have always wanted to make a big impact on life. I feel like I am, but I want to continue to do so way into the future. 

This drive to do something great comes from when they counted me out. 

“They” being society and certain teachers along the way of me becoming an adult. Certain people counted me out. 

And I didn’t take that and make excuses for my life. 

Instead, I took that and repackaged it. It now has become the energy that fuels me. 

When people hate on you, the best way to “pay back” them is to become successful. 

So to all my people who have ever been counted out in life… THIS IS FOR YOU.

I took everything they said about me and said “Let’s go!” Let’s get involved in an industry where people usually don’t look like me. Where people who trade actually do not come from where I come from.

When I was about 7 or 8 years old, I remember getting in “trouble” at school. It occurred so often that the teacher’s called my mother into the school and said that they wanted me to go on Riddilen. They wanted to give me drugs! Because I was hyper, didn’t pay attention, I liked to talk… I couldn’t sit still and get lectured at. 

And you know what? I am similar today… I do not do well to sit and get a lecture in classrooms or conference rooms. 

My mother never went through with that advice and I am so happy she didn’t.

But that was a moment that society was telling me that something was “wrong” with me. I needed to be like “the rest of the people”.

I don’t know if you have ever been through something like that in your life. 

Where you wanted to break the mold and do something different, and you were criticized for it. Maybe that is still holding you back. Maybe you need to read this right here, right now. 

You may have fallen to the peer pressure of everyone else telling you what to do. 

When this happened to me as a kid, I remember being reflective. “Wow, these people are trying to dictate my life”.

I should have been taking drugs because I like to talk and don’t like getting lectured at, according to my teachers. 

But guess what?

I realize how much that has helped me today in my life. 

Because I LIKE analyzing a bunch of different information in the stock market. I like looking at charts. I like talking into a microphone and into a camera. 

These are things the people I looked up to told me were negatives – being analytical and into things that are moving and shaking and talking a lot. 

And yet here I am – the very things I needed “drugs” for are what make me happy and successful. These are the benefits. 

When “I lost”

When I was in my early 20’s, there was a time when I made a ton of money in the stock market. And I handled it… like a person who had never had a ton of money before would. 

I lost it. 

I had to move back in with my mom. I had to go back to work. 

I remember people telling me, “I knew that wouldn’t work. I knew that wouldn’t last” – that type of mentality. 

These people were on my “I told you so” list – the people who I would prove wrong. It motivated me knowing that these people thought I would quit. 

Of course when I actually made it… I no longer cared to tell these people “I told you so” BUT it was fuel at the time for the fire of success. 

I knew what the power of the stock market had. I had tasted it before – I just had to go about it smarter the next time. 

So I read books and got the education I needed. 

One day when I was about to go to the library and pick up “Think & Grow Rich”, a coworker said something to me that I will never forget. 

He called me the “n” word and said “You want to go and get rich?”

Like I would be leaving the rest of everyone behind. Like I was a traitor. He wanted me to say “Forget the book – let’s go grab lunch.”

I could’ve given in to the fact that he wanted me to be counted out. But this I felt was a moment in life that proves what you got in you. 

So I didn’t give in to the fear. Instead, I stood up to it. 

I said, “Yeah. I am. I am trying to be rich.”

These events try to test what you really want to do – and you start to question if it’s even possible. Make sure you stand up to these tests. 

Of course…

Not everyone is like that. Not everyone counts you out. 

The people who counted me in

For example, there was a time I worked at a department store. I had a different energy back then – I was dressed to impress. An older woman came up me and asked me, “Why do you work here?”

I had only been working there for a week or two and had no idea what she meant by this question, and my facial expression probably gave that away. 

She said, “You don’t look like you belong here. You won’t be here long.” She explained to me that she knew there were greater things in store for me than working at a department store in the women’s department. She knew I fell on hard times and I wouldn’t be there long in my hard times. 

I get emotional every time I think about this. 

At one of my lowest points she saw something in me – that I didn’t even see in myself. 

Another example of someone who knew I had potential was Mr. Hightower.

(As a side note: if you know of an African-American gentlemen who taught high school students about the stock market, please let me know – I want to thank that brother.)

I was in economics class in my senior year of high school when they brought in Mr. Hightower, who was involved in the stock market.

One of our e-con assignments was to create a company with a product and issue stock shares, as well as turn a profit and pay back our stock sharers. 

This is the one time in my life that they taught me something that they typically don’t teach in school. 

Our “company” decided to sell rabbit’s foot key chains because they were cheap to purchase and we could mark them up. We got an assortment of colors and knew people would be into purchasing them. 

It was about $1.50 to purchase each rabbit’s foot. And we had to ask others if they wanted to invest, and it was $2 a share to invest. We had to sell at least 5 shares. We bought 500 and sold them for about $5 each. We cleared $3.50 and paid $1 return on the investment. So we made profit!

Here is the power behind this project:

When you are a kid, even an adult, and you don’t have the money to invest, you may let that thought process stop you from moving forward. You let the lack stop you. 

But this project let you think BEYOND it. 

How to think beyond not having money – to get investors, pay them back with a high return, and even have something left over for yourself. 

Think about what you could do if you applied that same knowledge today! 

We created capital out of thin air!

There were two types of people in my life: the ones who counted me out, and the ones who believed in me.

And here I am years later – making multiple six figures in the stock market, making an impact on YouTube and created courses and coaching around it. Helped thousands of people. 

THAT is why I am SO PASSIONATE about teaching in the stock market. 

I know why I am so determined to keep making an impact on people’s lives – despite the naysayers and negative comments. 

I remember what a great teacher did for me. 

I had examples of people who BASHED my dreams. And I had a teacher come in and show me what was possible – by just being me and using my strengths. 

And I wish Mr. Hightower could see me now, I feel like he would be so proud. 

But that’s why – 

I want to be a positive influence on YOU and your financial dreams because I have no idea the spark that it could ignite into you setting your life on fire in the best possible way, just like Mr. Hightower did for me. 

I want to watch those flames burst and grow and exceed anything you thought possible for yourself. 

The point is…

Somebody may have told you along the way in your life that you can’t do something. You had a stupid idea. That will never work. 

WHATEVER they told you – maybe you doubted yourself, maybe you put your dreams on the shelf. 

On the other side of the coin, if someone approaches you with their hopes and goals, think a moment before you reply and say something negative about it. You never know whose dreams you either turned the lights out on, or you just breathed life into.

The point of my story is this:

Comment below what your goals are or how this episode has impacted you.