I have always worked out at the gym, so I always looked healthy, but it was not until I had a mini-stroke at the age of thirty-four that I started to live a healthier lifestyle.
I am a naturally small guy, so I would always overeat to try to gain muscle mass. I remember years ago when I got my first gym membership. The personal trainer was teaching me how to bench press. I remember how he kept taking the weights off of the bar, 10 pounds at a time, because I would struggle with the weight.
When the trainer finally took the last two 10 pound weights off of the bar, I still struggled to lift the bar. I felt so weak. I remember the look on his face when I struggled to bench press that empty bar. He actually shook his head in disgust and walked away, leaving me to struggle with the bench press bar.
I was so embarrassed that I decided I would never be weak again. I started going to the gym every day as soon as they opened at 5 in the morning. I wanted to get
there before anybody else, because I was so ashamed for other people to see me trying to work out. I was the first person in the gym every morning. Some days I
would get there at 4:30 am and would be waiting on the steps when the trainer arrived.
I bought a body building encyclopedia and I was determined to train myself. I was frustrated because regardless of how much I worked out, I could not gain any weight. This is when I started drinking those disgusting weight gainers and protein shakes. I would also go to an all-you-can-eat buffet every morning after my work out.
I also had a pizza delivery job at the time and we always had extra pizza, so I started eating two whole pizzas every day. Before I knew it I had started to put on muscle mass and people started to notice.
I developed two habits in my early twenties that stayed with me for the next decade. I always worked out even though I was inconsistent, and I also developed the habit of eating massive amounts of junk food.
It was a couple of years before I started working out at they gym, when I saw my first network marketing business presentation.
The presenter was wearing an expensive suit and alligator shoes, and he talked about how a job was an acronym for "Just Over Broke". He also talked about all of
the money he was making in network marketing. I was a broke college student at the time, and to me he "looked" rich.
I have always wanted to be rich since I was a little kid, but I never knew how. After attending that network marketing presentation, I finally thought I had the answer, but I was flat broke at the time and the cost to get started was $500.
I went home trying to figure out how I would come up with the $500. My parents had just bought me a new computer for school, and I was able to pawn it for exactly $500.
Well, I was going to school at Tuskegee University in Alabama at the time. The nearest training facility for that particular network marketing opportunity was in Atlanta, Georgia.
My up-line told me that I needed to do two things to be successful:
1. Never miss a weekly training
2. Always bring new people to the weekly business presentation
I would drive two hours both ways every week from Tuskegee, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia. I also brought new people with me every time, but I barely sponsored
enough people to make my money back. Even worse, nobody on my team made any money at all.
I ended up dropping out of college, because I knew that I could not get rich by learning how to work for someone else. In hindsight I realize that I did not have the best decision making skills, because I ended up losing a full scholarship.
Well, I spent the next decade of my life chasing my dream of financial freedom. I was susceptible to "get rich quick" schemes, and I would try just about anything
that I thought would help me make a lot of money.
I was also taught to dress for success, and how to look successful. This was part of the reason why I was able to sponsor over 150 people when I tried another network marketing business a few years later.
Well, if you fast forward to December of 2009, my eating habits and financial habits had finally caught up with me. A few months prior, I had filed for bankruptcy and my home/investment property had been foreclosed.
I also had a mini-stroke, but I did not realize it until I noticed that it was becoming difficult for me to speak clearly and I also started to lose my balance.
By January of 2010, I was homeless and I had reached the lowest point of my life. It was at that point that I made the decision that I no longer cared about "looking" healthy. I wanted to "be" healthy. I also do not care about "looking" rich. I want to "be" rich.
There is a big difference between " looking" and "being". I do not agree with the idea of "fake it until you make it." "Looking" is about giving a false perception, or in other words being fake. "Being" is about developing the characteristics and your character.
Much Success,
Jeremiah Carstarphen,
The Cartoon Coach
Find out about the world's only 24 hour Internet Marketing Coaching Program that removes all excuses for failure by allowing you to set your own schedule at: www.cashmoneycartoons.com
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