WHAT'S YOUR WHY: April 29th, 2010 Was The Day That Changed My Life Forever (1 of 7)

Can’t remember where I was going when I got that call, but I’m in my car driving…

It’s her long-time partner on the other end of the line.

He’s just walked in the door, and found my Mother slumped over in a chair. He immediately dials 911 to have her rushed to the hospital. 

As SOON as he tells me that, I immediately know that she’s suffered a stroke…

I mean having a stroke was only a matter of time given the circumstances that my Mom dealt with over the years…

? Years of abuse from my father who struggled with alcohol and drugs my entire life

? A never ending series of jobs that never paid enough and always required massive amounts of time and energy

? The stress of having to deal with my brothers going in and out of jail as she scrambled to come up with money to pay their bond

To top all of that off, she’d recently started having severely debilitating migraines...to the point where she’d actually lost jobs due to being unable to work. 

To be honest, I was surprised she’d made it so many years with her basic health intact…

I immediately start crying as I head to Ingalls Hospital in Harvey, IL to go check on her.

If you know anything about strokes, there are a few medications that can be given within specific time windows. But no one knew how long she’d been lying unconscious, so unfortunately, those medications weren’t an option.

I finally get to see her…

I can clearly see that the right side of her face is lower than the other side. She doesn’t know what’s going on, and continues to float in and out of consciousness.

After a series of tests, they deem her to be “stable” and she’s transferred out of ICU into a rehab facility for next 30 days. 

This was my first clear realization that being broke, uninsured and in poor health in America is pretty much a death sentence…

Due to her hospital stay...she was evicted.

During her hospital stay, she didn’t have ANY insurance so we began the mad scramble for Medicaid and Medicare coverage…(that took almost 2 years by the way)

Due to her hospital stay, she’d lost her job..(again)

So, given this extremely dire set of circumstances, someone had to step up to the plate and help put things back together.

And if you guessed that I was that person, you would be right!

Keep in mind this is 2010 y’all - a year AFTER my foreclosure. I was still struggling as an entrepreneur and I surely didn’t have any money.

But, as usual, no one else stepped up along with me...

One thing I did have was excellent credit, so I leveraged that to:

• find my Mom a new apartment
• move her stuff to the new apartment
• help pay the rent
• help pay for $300 prescriptions while her insurance was pending
• buy a car so she could get to appointments
• buy groceries

Do I complain about all of these extra expenses at the time? No. I just did what needed to be done - I wanted to see my Mom make a full recovery. 

But, I can tell you that her situation ABSOLUTELY lit a fire under me to get my shit together. And I mean ASAP.

I was still struggling to replace my corporate salary up until that point. I kept telling myself that I “had time” and I would “figure it out.”

It finally hit me that I didn’t have ANY. TIME. TO. WASTE. 

I was so SICK AND TIRED of being broke. 

SICK AND TIRED of my immediate family being broke.

SICK AND TIRED of my extended family being broke.

SICK AND TIRED of dealing with all the extra shit that so often comes along with being broke...like bad health, stress, violence and overwhelming anxiety. 

Like how in TF do so many adults have NOTHING to show for all of these damn years??? I was in a rage just thinking about it.

So I used that rage to propel myself to make something happen in my real estate business.

My rage against poverty and poverty mindsets became my WHY...and I took it and ran with it.

• 2011 - I discover broker price opinions (BPO’s) and replace my corporate salary for the first time #WootWoot. I also had my first baby in February! ??
• 2012 - I continue to FOCUS on and MASTER broker price opinions and get really, really close to that magical six figure mark - so I keep going. Oh, I also have another baby lol! ?? ??
• 2013 - I start my property preservation business: Platinum Realty & Preservation. I finally make over $100K bucks - but I still don’t have a lot to show for it. Who woulda thought lol?
• 2014 - the business brings in over $300K...and I haven’t looked back since. Oh..one more baby too! ?? ?? ??

This article is getting kinda long so I’ll end it here now.

Click --->>> HERE to read part II to this article: "Don't Worry About How - Focus On Why"

In the meantime…

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A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, by way of the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship, Danielle Pierce has an accounting degree which she has not utilized in over 12 years. She began her entrepreneurial career after a sudden layoff from her corporate audit position. Danielle took this as a sign from the Heavens that she was meant to be a full time entrepreneur. Although she did look back a time or two (or three lol), she has held on to the reigns of entrepreneurship and never plans to let go.

Danielle’s online courses and group training programs (Real Estate Profit Lab), teach aspiring business owners how to establish and grow profitable six figure enterprises within the real estate industry, outside of sales. 

Danielle is an author, highly regarded speaker, the founder of a highly specialized real estate consulting firm, and a member of the Forbes Real Estate Council.