Day Zero: Why Did I Create The WHS Challenge and Book?

We get one chance at life. And often, we spend the first few decades abundantly confused about the meaning of life.

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To love your family and help others has become my grounding purpose. I left being a triple major in Political Science, English, and Psychology, on the Dean’s List, in Honor Societies, A founding father of Pi Kappa Alpha Xeta Mu chapter, and an Undergraduate Senator-At-Large… to become an author in 2013/2014.

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I have recently found myself, after this critical life decision, lost in how I can help people. I have spent the past few years abundantly aware of the issues in life. Working full-time without enough money to show for my efforts. And facing racism in its modern forms of discrimination and harassment.

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To keep calling out the issues of racism and capitalism will make me sick to my stomach. And the depression it places on my nervous system sometimes makes it hard to function or even open social media.

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In 2018. I wrote and published a book based on my experiences trying to overcome capitalism by saving me and my partner from eviction. I failed. I failed miserably, and my feelings have left an indelible scar on my psyche.

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Even with a business earning me $150 to $450 per client. It was hard to earn a living. Working two jobs. It was hard to make a living. Was the living hard or attempting to manage the feeling of abundance with the reality of bills? We wanted to feel rich with nice dinners and shopping, but immaturity stole us away from our priorities. Opportunity cost devoured us alive.

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I remember our last day in the apartment. Sleeping on our mattress a few inches from the floor. Watching videos on the laptop. And she didn’t leave me. My parents came to grab me. Her father came to come to get her. And we had to manage our lives from that point.

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I thought she would leave me. I thought being poor meant I was unlovable and irredeemable. She saw something in me, however, to the very last day. I didn’t quit. Not on her. Not on myself. And not on my ambitions.

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At this time. I was no best-selling author.? My books were shitty. I knew nothing at all about publishing. However, I became abundantly aware I knew nothing about money or business. (Or being an adult). And needed to learn desperately and quickly.

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My first day. First week. I went out of my apartment. Sleeping on the floor. With my few belongings. Making sense of the time I had. We got a key developed to get to my uncle’s apartment.

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I went looking for a job, for work, for anything, but no one locally would hire me. Or had any openings. I was stuck, honestly. I cleaned up vacant lots, gathering recycling to sell. My uncle's living room had bags and bags of recyclables I spent days sorting through for every recycling company in the area to reject my goods.

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Cornerstone Marketing Concepts was the only place that would hire me without a degree, poor work history, and spending most of my time focused on being an author and a business owner. It was a pyramid scheme. I worked 11 hours a day, including weekends, for a month or two. I got paid 132$ total, and the paycheck was late. My next job was at a cookie factory in Pennsylvania. My checks were on time, but the hours were worse. Waking up at 3:30 am to catch the bus at 4 am. Getting home at around 7 pm. I was exhausted but alive.

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Fiverr was the first time I tried business ownership again—this time with an incubator. Ironically helping people with their résumés, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles.? Once I started earning money on fiverr then i left the cookie factory.

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My refuge became the East Orange Public Library. This is where I reclaimed my life. I was able to learn daily. To invest so much of my time, energy, and focus into completely unlearning and relearning finance, money, sales, marketing, and business ownership. I read everything and anything available in the library until moving to my current location. Then, putting it all to good use.? I had a child on the way; all I could do was hustle my knowledge to survive.

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In 2019, my book “Best Friends” became a bestseller, and I felt finally vindicated in my trials and efforts. I had a new job but still not enough money. I left business ownership behind me. Now, I was a father. Watching my newborn baby all day and working all night until 11 pm.

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I dug deep most nights to put in another few hours after work. To decompress. Smoke. But also to work on writing & publishing. I was exhausted beyond belief and behind on sleep, but the first year being a stay-at-home dad with a newborn was rewarding. I loved it.

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However, I made some bad decisions that made me lose my job. And I was left once again unemployed. I had a woman to care for and a child. And I was not a rich man—anything else but, but I knew how to make money. I started a new business venture—a lawncare business I still have to this very day. I doubled down on marketing and sales. Creating more best-selling books. And I reached a new level entirely.

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Having a job is not a problem or anything to scoff at. If you have a job, then GREAT! It means you are a healthy, functional, and responsible person, but I wasn’t. I had a lot of internal issues to work through and kept losing jobs or leaving jobs. Once I had a good business idea, the job was the first thing I took my frustration and aggression out on because if I could make more money outside of work. Then, working was a strain.

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No, two paychecks are better than one. If you can manage the business and the job, do so for as long as possible. It takes 2 to 5 years to know whether you have a functional business idea. And you can leave amicably without burning bridges!

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My single biggest pratfall to wealth was I kept leaving jobs too soon. The moment the business started making money, I flew the coop to focus, but it was typically my job that motivated me to build the business. When you have a business and no job, you can resent your decision and business, making the work hard. A job is one of many ways to make money, but if you have zero source of income, zero skills, and zero idea what you want to do long-term, working at McDonald's is better than being a deadbeat.

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Get up, do something, or learn something valuable ASAP!!

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This is my story about why I want wealth, health, and success. And what led me to write the book. I had to unlearn and relearn everything about money altogether.

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