This used to be a pretty “safe” page where I could put up a nice little bio, that made me sound a lot more impressive than I really was.
It was easy for me to hide behind my “safe” page where I could hide my real story…which is a bit less glamorous than most would think…
But I liked it that way (at the time) – and it was safer to put up a mask, to hide that I’m just a real, pretty normal, everyday person who:
- Is conquering my *deathly* fear of heights (yikes!)
- Has troubles wearing anything more than a hat, t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops most days of the week no matter WHAT time of year it is… (which is why we’ve recently moved to warmer climates
) - Struggles with staying interested and focused on just ONE single thing for very long – I get burnt out, restless, and can’t help but change things up and try something new (which sometimes backfires BIGTIME on me…)
- and lastly… CANNOT POSSIBLY (under any circumstances) work for someone else in a typical 9-5 job (believe me I’ve tried a few times, and I go crazy!)
Sure, I could put up a nice little bio that SOUNDED good or that fit in with who other people wanted me to be…
And tell people that…
- I was a “best-selling author” and had spoken from the stage alongside some of the world’s most sought after speakers and business coaches in the world – you’d recognize their names if I told them to you — several of whom were also my clients.
- That I had consulted with high-profile clients and launches, I was a member of the Speakers and Authors Networking Group, and that I had “been” (read “bought my way“) in to many high-level masterminds and events with all the major industry leaders
- And finally that I had created 3 highly successful (high-6 figure) membership site businesses with thousands of active members, including business coaching and marketing consulting.
All before I was 28 years old…..
But what I hadn’t shared or showed others was that I stumbled into creating my own businesses at the end of 2008 by reading Tim Ferris’ “Four Hour Work Week” – and I was so excited that I could learn how to start my own business. I had been consulting and working in the mortgage banking industry from 2007-2008 – which had been good money, but I was sick of the stress and pressure…when it came right down to it I hated what I was doing and was only doing it for the money.
So promptly after reading Tim’s book, I stopped everything I was doing with mortgage banking, and started learning everything I could about websites and creating my own online business. I spent hundreds and thousands of hours learning everything I could about building websites – and along the way taught myself html and php. I consumed everything I could about information marketing, internet marketing, direct response marketing and more. 12 months later – by the end of 2009 – I had successfully gotten myself into over $100,000 in credit card debt funding and “bootstrapping” my business startup….and my business was still barely generating $1000 or $2000 per month. I had gone from the 4 Hour Work Week dream, to the 4 Hour Work Week nightmare!
I had bought every program out there – personal development, internet marketing coaching, software – you name it, I bought it. I don’t recommend that to most people starting out – as I found most of what I bought was worthless and useless.
At this point I remember talking with my wife, and her asking me if I should go and get a “real job.” So reluctantly, I dusted off my resume and started looking for jobs online. I even went out and interviewed with 1 company – but after spending the day with them – I was committed more than EVER to be having a successful online business!
And with my renewed determination, I started one membership site, and then second, and then a third membership site. I had built up a small team of programmers and designers, and I began speaking at events, consulting for high-profile clients – and my businesses began to take off!
And by the end of 2010, I was able to pay off all of the personal debt I had gotten myself into my first year of business.
But at the beginning of 2011 I felt it was time for a shift for me – that it was time for me to really tell me story and step into my purpose.
What if instead of just making money – I could really do what I love, make a difference and get paid to live my passions? And what if I could teach other people how to do that too?
What I knew is that growing up my Dad changed jobs every 2 years and never had great job security working for other businesses. He enjoyed what he did and was good at it, but he was so good at it that he worked himself out of a job so that the company no longer needed him. I didn’t want that for me – and I didn’t want anyone else to experience the same thing either – and I knew that the key was building your own business.
So I took all the honors classes, I got the good grades so that I could get into a good college. I didn’t know what I wanted to study or major in – but everyone told me that I needed to get good grades and get into college, so I did. And after my first year of college, I changed my major from Business Management to the quickest and easiest major I could find – Latin American Studies. I knew Spanish, enjoyed studying the culture and history of Latin America, and it was the fastest way for me to graduate – with 120.5 credits (just .5 credits more than the minimum credit hours required to graduate…)!
I took a few business classes along the way, but the one that really stuck out to me was an “Entrepreneur Lecture Series” class that I really loved. It was just 1 hour each week – and each week we got to meet a new business owner or successful entrepreneur and hear about how they started their business and what they did. I read the E-Myth by Michael Gerber and Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki – and I was fascinated with all these entrepreneurs – how different they were in what they did – but that they all share the same passion and talent for building businesses.
I was HOOKED and knew that this was the path for me…little did I know that less than 4 years later, and over $100,000 in personal debt – that I would be able to pay it all off and have 3 successful businesses
But really more than the money and the business – for me – I wanted more MEANING and the PURPOSE in my life and in my business!
I wanted to make a bigger and better contribution. I wanted to promote products and people that were MAKING A DIFFERENCE, not just to making a dollar…
I had this vision of working with PURPOSE-DRIVEN ENTREPRENEURS – of people who weren’t motivated solely by the money – but were driven by their own internal PURPOSE and PASSION – who were able to connect doing what they loved and were good at making a difference AND making money at the same time.
And as I looked – I saw that we weren’t teaching our kids to do what they love and make a difference – we were teaching them to turn off their brains, follow the system, fit in a box, get a safe job, and coast through life!
It was the same MYTH that I had believed! It was why I got the good grades, and got my college degree, and wrote my resume – I was really good at doing the things that other people told me to do – at following the system, checking off the checklist, fitting into a major or a job, but the truth is I had been on autopilot. I had been taught that the answers were in the back of a book – or somewhere outside me. I had stopped THINKING, and had become really good at being a passenger in my own life, instead of the driver. And for the first time in my life I was looking for and seeing the answers that were in me.
And as I began this journey of coming to know and live my own purpose – I knew that I had to share it with others
To get BACK into the DRIVERS SEAT of your OWN LIFE
and CREATE your OWN PATH!
That you don’t have to fit yourself in a box and do something you hate for the rest of your life, and that you don’t have to sell out for money
That there’s a new possibility you can create for yourself:
1. Do What You Love
2. Make a Difference
3. Get Paid to Play
And what if we could create an alternative to college? Where kids could learn how to connect their purpose, possibility, production and passion in a new way so that they could get paid to live their passion and make a difference.
What if we could create a MOVEMENT of 1,000,000 PURPOSE-DRIVEN ENTREPRENEURS - who were ALL doing what they loved, making a difference, and getting paid to play?
And so that’s why I created the www.createmypath.com movement – a place to unite and inspire young change-makers, non-conformists, innovators, and entrepreneurs to create their own path and live in their truth and power every day.
Over the past few months I’ve been writing my book – “It’s Your Life: Drive It Like You Own It”
And since all I need as my laptop and an internet connection to run my business online, in October 2011 my wife and 3 kids are went on a 12-month adventure to live in Australia and explore the other side of the world.
So, now that you know a bit about my story…
Here’s What I’d Like You To Do Now
If you have a moment, I’d love for you to go to the comments and give me a glimpse of your story as well.
I’m glad that you’re here, and I look forward to the journey ahead!
Drive it! Love it! Live it!
Adam
