Throughout my life I have learned that to achieve any goal you need to have belief that it can be done. Whether it was motorcycle racing, body building, business, relationships, or even having my son, I had to believe that I could achieve what I wanted or it never would have happened. Often, the best place to find belief is in the story of another individual who has struggled and came through victorious in what you are trying to achieve yourself. My goal today is to tell you our story and hopefully give you some belief that you can do whatever it is that you are striving for.
My wife and I moved from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to Kitchener, Ontario for security. We both had money problems in our families growing up and we promised each other we wouldn’t live that way. We didn’t want to have to go through the struggles we saw our families go through. At that point in our lives, we thought money was the answer to security, and Ontario was the place to go if you wanted to get rich. So we left.
Raylene and I were chasing security while we should have been chasing opportunity. Claude Hamilton always says “if you chase security instead of opportunity, you’ll lose both”. Raylene ended up being in an accident at work which dislocated her pelvis and pinched her SI joint leaving her unable to work. While she was off work we got a call from her sister about a business opportunity. We decided that our jobs were not secure enough, so we might as well take control of our own business.
I overheard a CD Raylene was listening to and it peaked my interest so I called Raylene’s sister and asked more about it and ended up being put in contact with Claude Hamilton. Claude called me and, before ever meeting me, asked me to buy a plane ticket and come out to New Brunswick for a Major Function. I was looking for something, I was fed up of losing in my job everyday, not getting ahead just getting more and more tired. Every year I worked, I got farther in debt and I wanted something better for my family, so I bought tickets to the Major Function. I knew that nothing in my life was going to change if I didn’t change something in my life.
At that Major Function we saw the big picture of what we were involved in and what was possible. I heard a gentleman speak from stage about being able to raise his daughters after retiring from his job at the age of 32. Something clicked and I realized that is something I wanted to do. I didn’t have kids at the time, but I knew this was something I wanted to do and I was not going to give up until I had achieved it.
While building our business we went through lots of struggles. From little things like broken pant zippers at meetings, our shoes being chewed by dogs at the door, and forgetting Claude’s name while introducing him at a meeting, to big things like our cars breaking down and costing thousands to fix. Throughout all of it I have learned two things; expect these things to happen, and be prepared for them. We did things that most people called us crazy for doing; gave up trips, sold motorcycles and sold skidoos. Things that people think make you look successful. We liked those things and wanted them but we knew that they would distract us from our ultimate goals of what we wanted our life to look like, real success.
I talked to people at work, telling them that I had found a way to get rich together and every single one of them said no. They wouldn’t even agree to sit down with me. But I had the naïve belief that it would work, that I would make it work, and I wasn’t going to quit no matter what. I remember showing the plan so many times that I couldn’t even remember how many I was at, and they still kept saying no. I would go straight from work to show the plan 4 hours away from home, meet with some leaders after the meeting then drive 4 hours home to get 2 hours of sleep before work the next morning. We were tested. We questioned if this was the right thing to do. We couldn’t figure out why we couldn’t get it to work, why we were struggling so much. But looking back now, we know it was not only the right thing to do, but the only thing to do. If you are struggling right now like we did, there’s a reason. You are being tested because one day you are going to lead a big team, and that team is going to be blessed because you went through these struggles and you are going to be able to help them go through struggles that could stop them.
Hunger is the most important ingredient that you need to create success. You don’t need new clothes, a new car, new shoes…you need hunger. With hunger you will ask questions and seek knowledge, you will get more CD’s and books and put good information in your head. You know that when you are learning, there is a sweet sound to truth and when you hear it you know its right and you start to apply it. When you seek more knowledge you get a different way of thinking, and when you think differently you start to make different decisions. Through hunger you will gain correct information which leads to correct thinking which leads to correct actions. These correct actions will lead to long-term results in all areas of your life; finances, family, faith, anything you are hungry for. Most people will overestimate what they can do in a very short period of time, but they will underestimate what they can do in the next five to ten years. The only lid you have is the one you place on yourself. If you put yourself in the arena to grow you can create massive success.
The memories you will make with your business support team are worth all you’ve got to go through to get them. Going on trips, flying off seadoos in Mexico, watching our business partners, Claude and Lana Hamilton, run after and capture their dreams, and having our son Beau are all memories that would not have been possible without this opportunity or the struggle. When you are going through struggles, you will be frustrated but when success finally comes to you, you will be humbled and feel truly blessed. When I left my job, because of the financial stability we had built in our business, I called my dad and we just sat on the phone crying because of what we had accomplished. It’s moments like those that are worth fighting for, worth all the struggles, and worth never giving up.
God Bless,