How I Went From Selling Crack to Giving Back

“Purpose Equals Progress”

How to Free Yourself from Prison and go from
being a Worker . . . to a Boss . . . to a Mogul

This post is the first in a series titled “Finding Freedom”. It is a letter to brothers & sisters like me. I hope that it finds you in good spirits and uplifts you if you are down.

Most of my life was spent losing. Or at least not winning.  My upbringing had denied me clarity and I denied myself abundance because of my misinterpretations concerning the world and reality. I am now an entrepreneur and business consultant/coach, but, for the majority of my money earning years I was a street hustler.Ate age 14 selling crack gave me my first access to capital. If I had only known the power of computers I would have utilized them but I didn’t have access to that knowledge. So I hustled.

Despite the common beliefs, selling drugs is not EASY nor is it lucrative for most dealers. To be truly successful at selling drugs you must be well versed in politics, sales, marketing, distribution, security, law, the streets, deal making, awareness, and warfare. Unfortunately, though certified as a genius by testing at age 9, upon entry to “the life” I did not have the skills necessary to become a successful drug dealer.

I was raised in a mentally and physically abusive home that prepared me for prison in a weird way. As a child my mother rather than fight a custody battle with my father kidnapped my brother and I and moved us to California. Thus, I was cutoff from my father and disallowed from forming any bonds with my extended family. Having no cousins, aunts, uncles, or grand parents, to inform my personal growth, I was socially handicapped. To top that off, I was diagnosed with ADHD put on Ritalin. Even from the prison of my home, mass media had informed me that RAP and CRACK made young black men money. So by 11 I knew that rapping and hustling were two things I wanted to do.

After years of doing both badly, then mediocrely, I became highly skilled at both of my chosen crafts. Still, though by all measurements I was highly intelligent and highly skilled, I was never highly SUCCESSFUL. It has taken a lot of studying and soul searching for me to discover what SUCCESS actually is. In the introduction to his book, “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success”, the ever-wise Deepak Chopra gives a great description of success:

Success in life could be defined as the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals. Success is the ability to fulfill your desires with effortless ease. And yet success, including the creation of wealth, has always been considered to be a process that requires hard work, and it is often considered to be at the expense of others. We need a more spiritual approach to success and to affluence, which is the abundant flow of all good things to you. With knowledge and practice of spiritual law, we put ourselves in harmony with nature and create with carefreeness, joy, and love.

Life is a constant quest. We are marching towards our destiny. . After aligning myself with my purpose, my world was first torn to shambles and then things began to “fall” into place. More precisely I let myself be led into place by a force outside of my will. I began noticing signs and recognizing people that would aid me on my quest.

I hope that you to pay close attention . . . because I guarantee that what you’ll discover (or perhaps rediscover) principles, truths, and practices that will change your life.

Started At The Bottom

As a teenager in jail, I read a book by Sydney Sheldon called “Master of The Game”. The book spans the century-long rise of one of the world’s wealthiest families. But it begins with Jamie McGregor a young Scottish prospector that moves to Africa and is immediately swindled out of a fortune in diamonds and soon after is left for dead in the desert. He then becomes ruthless in his actions and his ruthlessness is rewarded with the acquisition of wealth. Yet, the karmic ramifications of his acts curse his family for generations.

I did not realize it at the time but I was a lot like Jamie. I was naïve and my naivety was taken advantage of which gave me a cunning and, at times, ruthless personality that allowed me to accumulate wealth (by my standards at the time) and sidestep peril. But the karmic ramifications of my actions rippled throughout my life. In fact they are felt even today though I am changing my heart and my path. My inability to continuously accumulate sprung directly from the fact that I was not aligned with my purpose and my core being. In fact, I was directly in conflict with my purpose and my core self.

I try not use the word “God” because I know it to be a perfunctory term that is not used in any original biblical or other ancient text. But for the purpose of explanation I must say that GOD, creator and coordinator all things, would not allow me to be successful until I found and followed the path that I was predestined to travel.

If I had never found my PURPOSE I would have never been able to make PROGRESS.

If you allow me to, my desire is to guide you as you find your purpose and become wealthy . . . in a good way and for good reasons.

I say, “allow” because it is YOUR will, not mine, that will determine your success. My suggestions are not common or normal unless you look ONLY at successful people. Common and normal people will always have a “money problems” but money isn’t the problem the “worker mentality” is. If you observe the wealthy you will see that my suggestions are obvious and evident.

I will also reveal powerful secret techniques . . . that will allow you to find your own path to success.

The same path followed by Jay Z, Steve Jobs, and Michael Jordan

The crazy part is . . . what I’m going to communicate to you will probably surprise you in both its simplicity and its power. You will clearly see how purpose is directly aligned with progress and how you can find your purpose and progress.

And you will also understand an equally powerful truth that many people don’t even know is key in finding happiness and becoming wealthy.

The denial of this truth, on the other hand, not only keeps people from enjoying abundant fortunes but also keeps generations locked in cyclical patterns of poverty.

Odds are, you have already denied this truth or else you wouldn’t be reading this long essay.

Remember. It is finding, and LIVING IN, your PURPOSE that defines the level of your PROGRESS.

Pick 5 of the most successful people you can think of. What do these people have in common? Their fields, nationalities, abilities, and personalities may be different. What they all found was their PASSION.

“Passion is a feeling that tells you: this is the right thing to do. Nothing can stand in my way. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. This feeling is so good that it cannot be ignored. I’m going to follow my bliss and act upon this glorious sensation of joy.” –Wayne Dyer 

Passion alone didn’t help them attain wealth but… PASSION IS THE PATH TO PURPOSE.

One of my favorite Steve Jobs quotes refers to this concept. He said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, YOU’LL KNOW WHEN YOU FIND IT.”

Right now, if you are living your purpose you know it. If you know what your purpose is but are not living it START. If you don’t know what your purpose is SEARCH.

Three months ago I met my, now, business partner John Nies and began working at his gym The Power Center in New Jersey. After our first meeting, I KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt that our meeting was a part of the path to destiny. How did I know? I felt it.

That is how you find your passion and follow your purpose: Trust your instincts. They are barometers that measure the atmosphere of the YOUniverse. In his first series of essays Ralph Waldo Emerson describes this relationship:

“All our progress is an unfolding, like a vegetable bud. You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge as the plant has root, bud, and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.”

When taking those clutch shots in the last seconds of games Michael Jordan did not KNOW that the ball would go in the hoop. But he BELIEVED in himself and his abilities. The ability to trust yourself in clutch moments throughout your life will define you as a champion.

But you must learn to never mistake ego for ability. Jordan believed he could make those shots because he had honed his art through thousands of hours of practice. He had seen that ball go in that hoop 500 times a day in the years leading up to those moments. KNOW your capabilities and then TRUST in your ability to call on the forces within you at the toughest moments in your life.

I know how hard it can be to trust your self, but I also know how simple it can be.

The simplest task becomes complex when you think about it.

If Michael Jordan had thought about HOW his shots were going to fall his release would most likely have suffered. Don’t fret life. Let life. The universe is not fighting against you it is fighting with you, and for you. The universe is constantly expanding. EVERYTHING that happens is a part of that expansion. In other words, it is constantly growing. Once we truly wrap our minds around this concept we begin to recognize all “problems” as what they truly are: growing pains. When we finally begin to realize our destiny we next realize how EVERY situation, good and bad, in our lives has been a part of that growth.

I may not know you but here’s what I know about you:

1. You want more out of your life. You wouldn’t have read these 5 pages if you didn’t.
2. You are actively searching for something that will change your lifestyle. You wouldn’t have found a post titled “Purpose Equals Progress” if you weren’t.
3. You are the only one who can change your life. (period)
4. That change begins with a decision to find and follow your passion NO MATTER WHAT.

This post will evolve over time. I will continue to update it with tools and information. Please contact me if you want to know how to create an income from your passion.