Hoisted
New Contributor
So here I go. I am going to attempt to give an introduction of myself and at the same time try and be as honest and profound as I can. My hopes are that to be an inspiration one day to someone that may be in a similar situation as I am in now. Letting them know that there IS a way and it is indeed never too late.
My name is Guy. I live in Central NJ not 15 minutes from where I was born. (More on this later) I am married for 16 years, have a mortgage on a home we purchased 16 years ago and together we have 2 amazing young boys ages 12 and 9.
We purchased our home with an 8 year plan. The house needed work and I knew that I wanted to learn as many aspects of home repair as I could so that I would be able to get out of any situation if I needed to. We bought the home at a really good price. We used the equity to fix it up. To this day, there isn't an inch on my property that I haven't touched and tried to make better. I've added a bathroom, finished our basement, redid the existing bathroom, new sheet rock, new electric, plumbing, you name it. Hell, 2 years ago, I even ripped off 3 layers of shingles on the roof, repaired all the plywood and laid on a new roof. All with my own 2 hands. The plan was to fix the home, and sell it. Well, in 2008, the market value on our property dropped about 35%. Needless to say, we are still in our home. Now, the repairs and construction I did 15 years ago, is starting to show its age and many of the projects need to be redone.I;v
I graduated HS in 1993. Right away I started classes at my local community college taking Computer Science classes. I've always been pretty good with PC's. I remember installing Windows 3.0 on the computer my dad purchased and running out of Hard Drive space. I was learning to code back than. After 2 semesters of classes, a family friend asked me if I wanted to work for the company that he was working for. I would come in as an data entry technician. I basically entered numbers into a spreadsheet and ran scripts to generate reports during the electrical deregulation stages in NJ. We would save large companies monies on electricity by monitoring their usage and comparing it to their rates. Showing them where they could save. It was a good job. 40 hours a week, benefits, stable and I was good at it.
During this time, I met a network marketer that showed me that "I could work for myself!" and "have my own business!". I tried selling telephone calling cards that cost 8 cents a minute and if you signed up to my network, you can make a commission. I remember going to venues where there were large scale events going on and putting flyers on car windshields. I had this burning desire to work for myself very early on in my life and this guy just re-sparked that flame. I never made a dime.
I stayed with the data entry company for a couple years until another opportunity showed up. My college thoughts were long gone. I was now an official drone working my way up the proverbial corporate ladder and I would eventually be a business owner. My future was set!
My next job had me very excited and full of ambition. I was hired on as a facilities technician for the largest Paging Company in the country. My job was to oversee all hardware installations in our Technical Operations Center on the east coast. I ran telecom wire, power cables, installed million dollar equipment on a raised computer floor. I monitored and kept up with the DC and AC power plants and backup generators and battery strings. I enjoyed it. It was fun and exciting. But I still had that fire burning inside of me to "Be My Own Boss".
That's when I found Corey Rudl's (may he rest in peace) Internet Marketing course. Yep. The same one that Frank Kern first purchased that changed his life. I had it all laid out on my table and I started reading through it. Determined that the internet would make me rich. This was around 1999 I believe. This is when I started to fight myself and the fight continues to this day.
I really admire Frank Kern. He is a reminder to me of what could have been for me. He took the same damn material I had and changed his life with it. Where on the other hand, I took the easy way out. Instead of taking my free time and advancing my opportunities, I sat idle and figured that working hard at my job, was good enough. Don't get me wrong, that spark I had showed itself over and over again. For a while, I would start the process back up and I would be full of motivation. But than that ugly voice would start talking again, and say... "Ahh come one Guy. You're doing fine! You're making decent money. Why exert yourself?" And the dream would go back to sleep.
During my time with the Paging Company, I met a VERY interesting individual. We needed some extra help installing the equipment so the company hired him. His name was Carlos and to this day, even though we haven't spoken in many years, I can still hear his voice.
About Carlos. Carlos was a very unique motivated individual. Smart as all hell and always looking to make money and set himself up for success. He got this trait from his Mom I believe. You see, she was one of the pioneers in the Domain Name world. She saw the future and purchased 1000's of domain names, and sold them for a profit. She made her millions and got out of the game by selling her business to I believe GoDaddy. Don't quote me on this, but I am pretty sure that is the case. Carlos was pretty secretive about the details. Anywho... Carlos once said to me... "Guy, you are so damn good at the internet, you need to be doing affiliate marketing." This was all I had to hear. Between Carlos and Corey's program... I went for it. I bought a domain name and started an online shopping mall. I signed up to Commision Junction and others and got hundreds of affiliate links. My web mall had 100's of categories with a commission getting link for all of em. I started spamming the hell out of all the search engines and actually started making some money. My first taste of success! The bad news... it was incredibly short lived. The algorithms on the search engines changed, and the traffic stopped. Once the traffic stopped, that passion and fire I had, burned out.
At around the same time, the Paging Company was being purchased and paging was on it's way out the door forever. It was a dying industry and I needed to figure out what I was going to do next. Enter the next phase of my life.
In late 1999, my fiance at the time and I purchased our home. 30k down on a 130k house. The main selling point was the fact that I had access to broadband internet. In April of 2000, we got married. July 2000, I quit my job with the Paging Company and started my new career as a technician for Sprint PCS. I was on a team of 4 technicians that was responsible for turning up a Wireless Switching Office in Central Jersey that would handle the traffic for more that 1/2 of the state. We were on fire. We had all the overtime you could ask for and we were making good money. This was it. My ladder showed itself. I would be manager in a couple years and on my way to the top!
Well, September of 2001 changed everything. 9/11 was a huge turning point. Not to get into too many details, but basically what happened is the long distance division of the company hit a turning point. 1000's of the Sprint veterans, employees that had been with the company for decades, realized that Wireless was the future. Sprint LD started it's transition into the Wireless division and all management moved over and became what I now call the concrete ceiling that I would never be able to break through. All the top rungs of the ladder were chopped off for us young bucks in a matter of weeks. The dream of climbing the corporate ladder was shattered. Except I didn't know if at the time.
Money was still good. The overtime was still there and I was damn good at my job. I earned the respect of many of the higher ups over time and got rewarded for a job well done. Fast forward to 2003 and the birth of my son.
When my wife got pregnant, I was playing drums in a band. We sounded pretty good. I knew we wouldn't go anywhere with it but we had a blast. Something inside of me came back and for the first time in a long time, that burning desire to look at my situation and look to the future a bit closer, came back. I quit the band, and once again, started to find a path that would lead me to my financial independence.
Enter Network Marketing phase number 2. Formor International, Melaleuca, Isagenix. I met a very amazing human being that started to groom be to eventually become a top earner in these "sure to make you rich" companies. I read all the books from all the teachers and guru's. Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, James Allen, Darren Hardy, Brian Tracy. I was addicted to getting myself better. This time I had a reason other than myself. I had a "why". It was my newborn son! I would do it for him and his future!
I spent a year and a half, getting leads, cold calling, having meetings at my house where I would invite all my friends for a presentation for the best drink that would save your life! Etc... Etc... Etc... Etc... Never ... Made ... A ... Dime.
My dream was crushed. I gave up hating everything about MLM and the idea of sponsoring my way to riches. It literally made me sick to my stomach. I just KNEW that the system was broken and only the top of the food chain was making any money. I quit them all, stopped answering my phone and emails, and reset my focus back to my job. At least there I was getting a paycheck.
The next few years was a transition into fatherhood. We had our second kid. I started working nights full time and I fell into a VERY DEEP pit of depression. I started gaming every chance I could. I sold my drum kit (something that I will regret until the day I die) and stopped doing anything I loved all while feeling sorry for myself. My marriage suffered... my kids suffered, my bank account suffered.
Sprint fell into financial struggles in 2006 and sold every employee that managed their network to Ericsson on a 7 year contract. Our job didn't change, only who we worked for. The raises stopped. The overtime stopped and for the very first time in my life. I was completely stuck. Like an off-road truck buried in mud up to the doors.
Since I became a telecom technician, I've survived a dozen layoffs. Driven about 300 thousand miles, gone through 4 cars all purchased brand new.
This brings us to today. Here and Now.
I am the only one left from the original gun-ho team that turned up the network in NJ. The last round of layoffs (3 weeks ago) knocked out the last guy and sent him packing with a 6 month severance package. 3 months ago was the previous round. So far the company has laid off 25% of the techs at a time. The 7 year contract is up in September and no one that's left has warm fuzzies about the future.
I've got a 401k. Not work very much since I had to borrow against it a a couple years ago to repair my roof.2 weeks ago, my wife brought to my attention a strange smell in our basement. It turns out that I have an oil tank underground in my backyard that nor our inspectors or the previous homeowners disclosed. It started leaking oil and it has made its way into my foundation walls. I have a remediation crew coming to remove the tank this week and I am most likely looking at 10's of thousands of dollars to clean up the hazardous waste spill that made its way into the soil. The only way we will be able to cover the cost is by convincing the IRS to allow me to wipe out my 401k.
I realize that this is a novel. If you've made it this far... I really do appreciate you. Even if no one decides to read this, It still feels really good to lay it all out like this. You see... I finally found the right fuel that my fire needs. It turns out that in order to get to where I need to be, is by not having any other choice.
My father taught me how to swim when I was about 2 or 3 years old by bringing me out in the middle of a huge frigid lake in northern Maine and throwing me in. I had no choice but to swim back to the boat. This lesson has finally come to me in the form it was meant to. When you have to swim... you will. Here I am... 41 years old, on the brink of total financial ruin after pouring my blood, sweat, tears, marriage, fatherhood and time into a career. A career that soon will no longer exist. All the while, knowing and teaching myself the answers that would have gotten me off the slow lane. I settled and now I am paying the price.
I am not going to get into my plan just yet. I have a few stewing inside of me that I know I could succeed in. Instead I am going to tell you one last story. Just tonight, after driving 50 miles to get to the office and start another shift from 10pm to 6am... I pulled into the parking lot. Through the entrance, there was a car leaving the lot using the same entrance. The driver was a young man that had just worked out at the Gold Gym that shares the parking lot as my office. We played chicken on the single lane until I finally gave way and allowed him to pass. As he passed, I motioned to him that he was leaving the lot through the entrance and I showed disdain. Well, he turned around and parked his car next to mine and called me out for a good 10 minutes. Know full well that this 20 something buffed up muscle and testosterone filled young buck would kick my butt, I didn't say a word. Instead I listed to him calling me a full spectrum of names and pointing out that my Hyundai was a piece of you know what. I'm really not sure what stopped me from engaging... I have a feeling the rage that would have come out of me would have been an expression of the frustration I've been feeling. I didn't want to feel that come out. Instead, I cowardly held it in...
Tomorrow morning, I will go to my second job. Driving a truck for a commercial roofing company that has a shop walking distance from the house that my parents brought me to after I was born. To know inside the possibilities in this life and still be stuck in one place, is not a good feeling. It is finally time for change. It is time for a new journey and that journey starts today.
Thanks for your time and I really do look forward to getting to know many of you!
My name is Guy. I live in Central NJ not 15 minutes from where I was born. (More on this later) I am married for 16 years, have a mortgage on a home we purchased 16 years ago and together we have 2 amazing young boys ages 12 and 9.
We purchased our home with an 8 year plan. The house needed work and I knew that I wanted to learn as many aspects of home repair as I could so that I would be able to get out of any situation if I needed to. We bought the home at a really good price. We used the equity to fix it up. To this day, there isn't an inch on my property that I haven't touched and tried to make better. I've added a bathroom, finished our basement, redid the existing bathroom, new sheet rock, new electric, plumbing, you name it. Hell, 2 years ago, I even ripped off 3 layers of shingles on the roof, repaired all the plywood and laid on a new roof. All with my own 2 hands. The plan was to fix the home, and sell it. Well, in 2008, the market value on our property dropped about 35%. Needless to say, we are still in our home. Now, the repairs and construction I did 15 years ago, is starting to show its age and many of the projects need to be redone.I;v
I graduated HS in 1993. Right away I started classes at my local community college taking Computer Science classes. I've always been pretty good with PC's. I remember installing Windows 3.0 on the computer my dad purchased and running out of Hard Drive space. I was learning to code back than. After 2 semesters of classes, a family friend asked me if I wanted to work for the company that he was working for. I would come in as an data entry technician. I basically entered numbers into a spreadsheet and ran scripts to generate reports during the electrical deregulation stages in NJ. We would save large companies monies on electricity by monitoring their usage and comparing it to their rates. Showing them where they could save. It was a good job. 40 hours a week, benefits, stable and I was good at it.
During this time, I met a network marketer that showed me that "I could work for myself!" and "have my own business!". I tried selling telephone calling cards that cost 8 cents a minute and if you signed up to my network, you can make a commission. I remember going to venues where there were large scale events going on and putting flyers on car windshields. I had this burning desire to work for myself very early on in my life and this guy just re-sparked that flame. I never made a dime.
I stayed with the data entry company for a couple years until another opportunity showed up. My college thoughts were long gone. I was now an official drone working my way up the proverbial corporate ladder and I would eventually be a business owner. My future was set!
My next job had me very excited and full of ambition. I was hired on as a facilities technician for the largest Paging Company in the country. My job was to oversee all hardware installations in our Technical Operations Center on the east coast. I ran telecom wire, power cables, installed million dollar equipment on a raised computer floor. I monitored and kept up with the DC and AC power plants and backup generators and battery strings. I enjoyed it. It was fun and exciting. But I still had that fire burning inside of me to "Be My Own Boss".
That's when I found Corey Rudl's (may he rest in peace) Internet Marketing course. Yep. The same one that Frank Kern first purchased that changed his life. I had it all laid out on my table and I started reading through it. Determined that the internet would make me rich. This was around 1999 I believe. This is when I started to fight myself and the fight continues to this day.
I really admire Frank Kern. He is a reminder to me of what could have been for me. He took the same damn material I had and changed his life with it. Where on the other hand, I took the easy way out. Instead of taking my free time and advancing my opportunities, I sat idle and figured that working hard at my job, was good enough. Don't get me wrong, that spark I had showed itself over and over again. For a while, I would start the process back up and I would be full of motivation. But than that ugly voice would start talking again, and say... "Ahh come one Guy. You're doing fine! You're making decent money. Why exert yourself?" And the dream would go back to sleep.
During my time with the Paging Company, I met a VERY interesting individual. We needed some extra help installing the equipment so the company hired him. His name was Carlos and to this day, even though we haven't spoken in many years, I can still hear his voice.
About Carlos. Carlos was a very unique motivated individual. Smart as all hell and always looking to make money and set himself up for success. He got this trait from his Mom I believe. You see, she was one of the pioneers in the Domain Name world. She saw the future and purchased 1000's of domain names, and sold them for a profit. She made her millions and got out of the game by selling her business to I believe GoDaddy. Don't quote me on this, but I am pretty sure that is the case. Carlos was pretty secretive about the details. Anywho... Carlos once said to me... "Guy, you are so damn good at the internet, you need to be doing affiliate marketing." This was all I had to hear. Between Carlos and Corey's program... I went for it. I bought a domain name and started an online shopping mall. I signed up to Commision Junction and others and got hundreds of affiliate links. My web mall had 100's of categories with a commission getting link for all of em. I started spamming the hell out of all the search engines and actually started making some money. My first taste of success! The bad news... it was incredibly short lived. The algorithms on the search engines changed, and the traffic stopped. Once the traffic stopped, that passion and fire I had, burned out.
At around the same time, the Paging Company was being purchased and paging was on it's way out the door forever. It was a dying industry and I needed to figure out what I was going to do next. Enter the next phase of my life.
In late 1999, my fiance at the time and I purchased our home. 30k down on a 130k house. The main selling point was the fact that I had access to broadband internet. In April of 2000, we got married. July 2000, I quit my job with the Paging Company and started my new career as a technician for Sprint PCS. I was on a team of 4 technicians that was responsible for turning up a Wireless Switching Office in Central Jersey that would handle the traffic for more that 1/2 of the state. We were on fire. We had all the overtime you could ask for and we were making good money. This was it. My ladder showed itself. I would be manager in a couple years and on my way to the top!
Well, September of 2001 changed everything. 9/11 was a huge turning point. Not to get into too many details, but basically what happened is the long distance division of the company hit a turning point. 1000's of the Sprint veterans, employees that had been with the company for decades, realized that Wireless was the future. Sprint LD started it's transition into the Wireless division and all management moved over and became what I now call the concrete ceiling that I would never be able to break through. All the top rungs of the ladder were chopped off for us young bucks in a matter of weeks. The dream of climbing the corporate ladder was shattered. Except I didn't know if at the time.
Money was still good. The overtime was still there and I was damn good at my job. I earned the respect of many of the higher ups over time and got rewarded for a job well done. Fast forward to 2003 and the birth of my son.
When my wife got pregnant, I was playing drums in a band. We sounded pretty good. I knew we wouldn't go anywhere with it but we had a blast. Something inside of me came back and for the first time in a long time, that burning desire to look at my situation and look to the future a bit closer, came back. I quit the band, and once again, started to find a path that would lead me to my financial independence.
Enter Network Marketing phase number 2. Formor International, Melaleuca, Isagenix. I met a very amazing human being that started to groom be to eventually become a top earner in these "sure to make you rich" companies. I read all the books from all the teachers and guru's. Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, James Allen, Darren Hardy, Brian Tracy. I was addicted to getting myself better. This time I had a reason other than myself. I had a "why". It was my newborn son! I would do it for him and his future!
I spent a year and a half, getting leads, cold calling, having meetings at my house where I would invite all my friends for a presentation for the best drink that would save your life! Etc... Etc... Etc... Etc... Never ... Made ... A ... Dime.
My dream was crushed. I gave up hating everything about MLM and the idea of sponsoring my way to riches. It literally made me sick to my stomach. I just KNEW that the system was broken and only the top of the food chain was making any money. I quit them all, stopped answering my phone and emails, and reset my focus back to my job. At least there I was getting a paycheck.
The next few years was a transition into fatherhood. We had our second kid. I started working nights full time and I fell into a VERY DEEP pit of depression. I started gaming every chance I could. I sold my drum kit (something that I will regret until the day I die) and stopped doing anything I loved all while feeling sorry for myself. My marriage suffered... my kids suffered, my bank account suffered.
Sprint fell into financial struggles in 2006 and sold every employee that managed their network to Ericsson on a 7 year contract. Our job didn't change, only who we worked for. The raises stopped. The overtime stopped and for the very first time in my life. I was completely stuck. Like an off-road truck buried in mud up to the doors.
Since I became a telecom technician, I've survived a dozen layoffs. Driven about 300 thousand miles, gone through 4 cars all purchased brand new.
This brings us to today. Here and Now.
I am the only one left from the original gun-ho team that turned up the network in NJ. The last round of layoffs (3 weeks ago) knocked out the last guy and sent him packing with a 6 month severance package. 3 months ago was the previous round. So far the company has laid off 25% of the techs at a time. The 7 year contract is up in September and no one that's left has warm fuzzies about the future.
I've got a 401k. Not work very much since I had to borrow against it a a couple years ago to repair my roof.2 weeks ago, my wife brought to my attention a strange smell in our basement. It turns out that I have an oil tank underground in my backyard that nor our inspectors or the previous homeowners disclosed. It started leaking oil and it has made its way into my foundation walls. I have a remediation crew coming to remove the tank this week and I am most likely looking at 10's of thousands of dollars to clean up the hazardous waste spill that made its way into the soil. The only way we will be able to cover the cost is by convincing the IRS to allow me to wipe out my 401k.
I realize that this is a novel. If you've made it this far... I really do appreciate you. Even if no one decides to read this, It still feels really good to lay it all out like this. You see... I finally found the right fuel that my fire needs. It turns out that in order to get to where I need to be, is by not having any other choice.
My father taught me how to swim when I was about 2 or 3 years old by bringing me out in the middle of a huge frigid lake in northern Maine and throwing me in. I had no choice but to swim back to the boat. This lesson has finally come to me in the form it was meant to. When you have to swim... you will. Here I am... 41 years old, on the brink of total financial ruin after pouring my blood, sweat, tears, marriage, fatherhood and time into a career. A career that soon will no longer exist. All the while, knowing and teaching myself the answers that would have gotten me off the slow lane. I settled and now I am paying the price.
I am not going to get into my plan just yet. I have a few stewing inside of me that I know I could succeed in. Instead I am going to tell you one last story. Just tonight, after driving 50 miles to get to the office and start another shift from 10pm to 6am... I pulled into the parking lot. Through the entrance, there was a car leaving the lot using the same entrance. The driver was a young man that had just worked out at the Gold Gym that shares the parking lot as my office. We played chicken on the single lane until I finally gave way and allowed him to pass. As he passed, I motioned to him that he was leaving the lot through the entrance and I showed disdain. Well, he turned around and parked his car next to mine and called me out for a good 10 minutes. Know full well that this 20 something buffed up muscle and testosterone filled young buck would kick my butt, I didn't say a word. Instead I listed to him calling me a full spectrum of names and pointing out that my Hyundai was a piece of you know what. I'm really not sure what stopped me from engaging... I have a feeling the rage that would have come out of me would have been an expression of the frustration I've been feeling. I didn't want to feel that come out. Instead, I cowardly held it in...
Tomorrow morning, I will go to my second job. Driving a truck for a commercial roofing company that has a shop walking distance from the house that my parents brought me to after I was born. To know inside the possibilities in this life and still be stuck in one place, is not a good feeling. It is finally time for change. It is time for a new journey and that journey starts today.
Thanks for your time and I really do look forward to getting to know many of you!
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