A year and five months ago I quit a job that was personally rewarding but stood in the way of my dreams and goals. A year and two months ago I was unable to get a contract extension with the job that I enjoyed the most (and still volunteer at).  360 days ago I took the leap and started my own business. If you've been following my posts on my site (and thank you to all that have), then you know that I consider myself a young entrepreneur. However this doesn't mean that I've been coasting through life on a cloud built of money, it's actually been the exact opposite.

Between bills, student loans, personal necessities, and the cost of running my business, it's needless to say that money has been tight. However, sticking to an extremely tight budget hasn't been the worst thing in the world. Not only have I been able to master my budgeting and planning skills, but I've also learned to appreciate the small things in life that many others may take for granted. For example, how to save on grocery shopping by looking for deals, buying in bulk, clipping coupons, even cooking in a way that allows be to optimize by food the best. Meaning using less of the expensive foods (meat, fish, poultry) as far as portion sizing and filling the plate with more sides like veggies, rice and noodles. Also balancing my personal activities whether it be enjoying nightlife or other leisure activities such as going out to the movies.  Planning alternate activities allows you to be creative and realize that there are a lot of other ways to have fun without spending money. Kind of like an old school feel when you were a kid and you would play board games or just go sight-seeing. Also being on a budget allowed me to concentrate on how to lower my bills and use things more efficiently. I can't do much about my phone, but saving on electric and gas were two bills that I were able to cut.  It's funny how doing something as simple as buying an automatic thermostat, or unplugging devices when you're not using them can save a lot of money in the long run. This way not only am I saving money but I'm also helping the environment in a way (I suppose).

Lastly although I'm self-employed (not unemployed, I hate hearing that) I do volunteer at a local university as their Assistant Track & Field/Cross Country Coach. The university is about six miles away from my home and at the time when I leave for work, it probably takes me about 15 minutes to drive down every day. Over the summer I made the decision that I was going to try and bike to work as much as possible this year. Yes I will have to bring an extra pair a clothes to change into but other than that biking only adds five more minutes to my travel time by cutting off 12 miles of city miles five days a week, I will save on about $40 a month on gas. Not to mention I get some daily exercise in.

I don't plan on being poor, broke or whatever you want to call it for a long time, but I do value the lessons learned during this time in my life.  In four years when I'm a millionaire (and I say that because it's been my goal since a kid to be a millionaire by the age of 30) I know I will keep this same frugal mindset. And that is what separates the rich from the wealthy. 

Support: 1) to bear or hold up, serve as a foundation for. 2) to sustain or withstand without giving way. 3) to undergo or endure, especially with patience.

Having support is a very important key to success, if not the greatest. As the definition above states, support means to serve as a foundation and like with anything, a strong sturdy foundation is the most important part of a house or building.  I've had the idea of writing a post about support for a while now, but I wasn't quite able to word it the way I wanted to until now.

Last week I traveled alongside my fiancée to the annual Mary Kay seminar in Dallas, TX.  She is an independent beauty consultant and the four day seminar not only gave her a chance to be recognized for the hard work she has put it within the last year, but also give her a chance to network with peers and learn tips on how to progress in her business. With over ten thousand women in attendance it's needless to say that men were in the minority by far which was interesting to see. It's not often that you see men not only being outnumbered by that large of a ratio, but also playing the supporting cast role and doing so proudly. We were simply there for support and regardless of if we knew it or not we were really playing a major role in the success of our women.

Supporting someone doesn't always have to be active and hands on. I once thought that in order to support my woman in her business I had to help her set up appointments, or help balance the books, but I was totally wrong. I have offered to do so before but honestly she does that all by herself and I think that's the way she prefers it to be. My role of support is simply being that foundation. I don't necessarily need to do anything other than her knowing that I'm on her side and that if things go south I'm there to hold her up. If you're sports fan, you'll often hear the phrase that you know an umpire or referee is doing a good job when you hardly notice that they're present. This goes the same for a good supporter.

 I know this because as I was on my journey of becoming a professional trader she played the same role for me. She never complained about anything whether it was me working late at night, waking up early in the morning, or jumping out of bed every four hours to check stuff (oh those silly days).  She still doesn't understand what I do 100% but you know what, she doesn't have to.  She knows just enough to keep me focused when things get bad and really that's all I need.

We talk a lot on this site about taking leaps of faith and stuff like that. Well let me ask you this, would you feel more comfortable taking that leap knowing if you fall you may hit the ground? Or would you rather take that leap knowing that if you fall you have a bunch of people waiting to catch you and stand you back on your feet.  In order to grow a person has to take their own journey and have their own successes and failures to learn from. Support simply allows them to have the guts to do so.

Thank you to all of the supporters out there. Even if you feel like you aren't doing much...trust me you are.  This is The Royalty Movement

I wrote this piece after lying on the couch for days being extremely sick with a virus. During that time I was fully aware of the upcoming in-class test for my online statistics class and how the date kept creeping closer and I still felt no better.

Let me step back and describe my relationship with statistics, being an Econ major I have a love hate relationship with stat. I love how clean they lay everything out with order and sense, but man do I hate how hard they are to process! I have had 3 courses with “statistics” in the name somewhere and countless others that relied on them through my education.  I always did okay in my stat classes but never hit the home run if you will and I was headed into this class with the mind set of “here we go again time to grind it out for another so-so grade”.

Flash back to my couch two days before the test. Feeling as bad as ever I sit up open my computer and begin to complete the spreadsheets, knocking out three in just a few hours, which is more than I had ever completed in a day previously. I made it to test day with all my spreadsheets complete and the test was about as tough as I expected so I flip to the back page where I know I can always find a joke from the Prof and I laugh.

 It is then that I realize I just laughed after being sick for more than 5 days, fighting a class that is a just a slow grind, and even being stung by a bee in my truck. I realized there is no other place I would rather be right now, I was on a low with a chance to suck it up make no excuses and just get it done, challenge accepted!

I completely changed my view of the situation and because of that my situation completely changed. The “grind for a so-so grade” just became a chance to prove that I can blow this test and class away. I quickly go back to my test and realize that I know all of this.

The whole point of my post is that “perception is reality”. My perception went from love hate to I love to hate statistics, I love the challenge it offers; and that has made all the difference. I challenge you to go find something you hate to do and find a way to love it.

The mind is powerful and has the ability to retain information such as memories, experiences, pictures/images, feeling, emotions as well as control of the body both physically and mentally. 

There have been times in my life where I told myself I was going to fail and sure enough I failed but on the other hand there have been times I told myself I was going to be successful and sure enough I was successful. For those of you who don’t fully believe in the power of the mind you will not achieve your full potential, you may be successful but not as successful as you could be if you believed. You can try to act like you are successful by wearing expensive suits, driving luxury cars and using education etc but if your mind is in the wrong place you will always be pulled back to where your mind is…its like a yo-yo with just a flick of the wrist the yo-yo will extend and with another flick will come back to where it started. The same goes for your mind, you need to exercise positive thoughts on a regular basis and speaking positivity will keep the mind full of great energy. 

I ask that you gain control over your thoughts, gain control of what you allow to enter and leave your mind, gain control of the people you allow in and out your life and gain control of what you speak into the atmosphere… at that point you will gain control of your life.

A few months back I sent a message to my team royalty family that included a quote: “happiness is a motivation, not a destination”. The message talked about not dwelling on the little things that may not go your way and to focus on the bigger picture. Everything that happens is a stepping stone to our personal greatness. For example, taking some extra hours on the job you hate could give you the money needed for that new suit to the interview for the job of your dreams. Recently however, there were some events that caused me to forget that.

I have been working at my current job for the past three years. I love it because I’m passionate about it and I get along well with my co workers. The only downside was that I was not full time, but I figured if I performed at my best I would get a full time slot. When the opportunity arose I ended up losing it to a co worker who was a good guy but not as experienced as I am. A month later another opportunity arose for a management position. I figured that I was a shoe-in for this given my experience level and the low number of other applicants. Needless to say I was a little shocked to find that that I not only didn’t get the position, but it was given to the same co worker they had given full time to a month prior. I decided to focus on the positive and go for the full time slot that would be free once again, only to be denied for a third time. After that I struggled for a while, trying to make sense of the situation and deal with my emotions at the same time. I talked to many friends and family members for the advice that go me through and helped me continue at my job with a smile.

It was at that job that I ended up running into a friend of mine. We were talking and he asked me how everything was going. I told him about the recent disappointments I’ve been having and how I got through them. He then told me about his new job and how he was looking people to hire for part time assistant manager; they even had openings at a location close to home. I met with the manager at the local location and scheduled an interview. The interview went really well so I thought my chances of getting the position were high, my doubt started to kick in when I didn’t receive a call within the first three days that next week. I ended up receiving a call on the fourth day and was offered the job! They told me the reason it took longer was because they decided to offer me the FULL TIME ASSISTANT MANAGER POSITION. After the call, I truly felt excited, appreciated and genuinely happy. It was at that moment that I remembered the message that I sent my TR family. I realized that I had put extra stress on myself by not following my own advice. If I weren’t denied those times before I wouldn’t have ended in a totally better situation now. Feeling inspired, I sent out a new message celebrating my excitement and I came up with a new quote to add: “sometimes we answer the door thinking its opportunity, when really its patience telling us to hold on because greatness is on his way” I make a make point to remember this for further motivation when I need it; as well as remembering to practice what I preach.

I apologize for not posting in a while but the past few weeks haven't been too good. Car problems aside, my biggest hardship was losing my internet connection for a good five days. At first I was extremely upset and frustrated, but as I was forced to deal with it, it began to appear like more of a blessing in disguise.

My profession causes me to constantly be in front of my computer so I am dependent on my internet to work in order to be successful. I was already at a really frustrated point in my life so when my net went out I knew that I had two choices in the way I could have reacted. I thought to myself A) I could blow up and just become upset, angry, you name it. Or B) I could laugh, smile and take some time off.  Throughout the majority of my life I've chosen A) so this time I decided to do something different. After all, there was nothing I could do to fix the problem anyway so what would be the point of getting mad. That afternoon I went out and had fun. I continued to do the same for the remainder of the week and it sort of became like a mini vacation for me.  I played paintball, went to a BBQ,  hung out with some good friends, went to an amusement park, just to name a few. Needless to say, my mind was totally away from my business and it felt great.  Being out of the house and away from the various social networks I'm a part of also gave me a sense of freedom that I haven't had in a while. Honestly it brought me back to when I was a kid and instead of surfing the web, I was out playing sports and meeting up with friends.

Over the weekend I finally got my internet back on and I felt like I had a new perspective on not only my business, but on life as well. The previous frustration I had was all gone, and I was very excited about getting back to work.  A lot of us often work so much that we forget to enjoy the finer things in life. Sometimes taking a break and be the perfect solution to that problem.

I know that our writer D.R. also experienced a similar experience a few months ago, so hopefully he'll be able to write a follow up piece to share what was going through his mind at the time

I decided to title this post "A 12th Round Knockout" because that's the vision that came to my head when I thought about one of those really difficult grind it out days.  You know one of those days where everything just seems to be harder than it should be for no good reason . Getting out of bed in the morning is a little tougher, follow that by having car trouble or missing your transportation to work.  Then add on to it you having a major brain fart while you're trying to get an important piece of work done. You get the point, just one of those days where it feels like you're being tested, yet you prevail anyway. Those are the type of days where you really earn your paycheck.

I did not expect today to be one of those days for me.  I mean I actually got a really good nights worth of sleep, I woke on time(not 5 minutes before my alarm) and I really had no personal stresses to worry about. Actually I was pretty excited thins morning because I had a few friends that reached out to me wanting to learn more about what I do on a regular basis.  I started my morning normally by reading the psychology portion of my trading plan (which gets me in a good mental place) then reviewing my charts. At about 8am I entered a trade that went directly into the red on me.  I didn't get upset because a losers a loser, but it annoyed me that this particular trade kept bouncing right above the point where I would be exited out for a loss, then going back up to even money. I honestly felt like the market was teasing me like playing the high five game as a kid where you say  "down low...too slow."  I was literally sitting in front of my computer saying "just take me out already, so I can cancel this order and use it someplace else." This same teasing action went on for 4 hours until it finally shot upwards and I was able to collect my profits.  During those 4 hours I was so tempted to simply give in and either accept my loss and just exit at whatever, or to exit when I was back to even money/ a little bit into profit.  But something in me told me to stick my guns and tough it out. And that something in me was right.

We recently started an I Am Business  facebook group titled Self-Made Entrepreneurs and a few of the members have been kind enough to share their stories with us. Some stories simply explain who they are and what they do, and some others have expressed the need for advice or help.  Starting/running your own business is very similar to the experience I had today. It's one of those things where at some point things are going to become so difficult that you want to quit. But you know what that is your test.  That's the point that separates the strong from the weak. Everybody on this planet is blessed with some type of natural talent. But it's only those who work extremely hard at perfecting that talent that succeed. The true test of a person's character is how they act when their faced with adversity.  Will you throw in the towel in round 8 when you're getting your butt whooped? Or will you fight through the pain and finish your opponent with a 12th round knockout? If it's something that you truly love and more importantly truly want to succeed at I suggest fighting through the pain.  Worst case scenario is you fight it out and you lose. But if you chose not to fight it at all then you have already lost. Personally I'll take a 50% chance at winning over an 100% chance of failure any day of the week.

Lastly my personal opinion on going through hard time sis this.  I believe that all legends in history (fictional or non-fictional) faced a point in their lives where they were down, out and almost left to die (figuratively speaking in some cases). However it's how they rebounded and overcame that situation that made them legends and what made their stories the ones we read about today.  Become Legendary I DARE YOU. 

This piece is focused on “who is in your company” which is a post I wrote a while ago. 

People enter our lives for a reason; sometimes they enter our life for the long term and some for short term either way there is a purpose behind those relationships.  If you ever heard the saying everything is not for everybody it is the same when it comes to the people in your life “not everybody is for everybody” some people just do not fit into your life for a number of reasons education, attitude, career, health, spiritually, physically, mentally, socially and more.  If people do not benefit your life in some way you need to remove them because they will only drag you down.  The ideal relationship rather it be friends, lovers, co-workers, or teammates you want you partner to complete you.  For example the creators of “iambussiness” are two of my best friends however they both have skills and abilities that I lack and on the flip side I have skills and abilities they lack which makes for a great “fit” the both of them complete me and allows for each of us to learn and benefit from one another.  

In a previous piece I wrote about positive peer pressure and shared how I compete against others in a positive way, which encourages both parties to be better.  I want to add that you should never measure your successes to successes of others.  It is great to compete but compete against yourself to be better not against anyone else because anyone else do not matter.  I make a conscious effort to be better than I was yesterday everyday.  Whatever it is you do try to be better at it than you previously were you never want to end your day where your day started.

“Everyone has greatness in them but not everyone is great, you must unlock that greatness from within” Devon Rembert

Too many times I have expressed my frustrations with the things I do not have in my life… then it hit me. 

One day I looked in my refrigerator and cabinets to realize I had no food; needless to say I had to go grocery shopping.  Suddenly, when I started to fill my refrigerator and cabinets a sense of victory started to overwhelm me.  It was at that point I felt blessed… because I had food to fill my house, which I bought with my own money.  This idea is simple and may seem silly however, it was vital I realize this energy and acknowledge it because not everyone has that privilege.

I shared my story to say this… be thankful for what you do have.  I am sure everyone can list the things they do not have but at the end of the day you still do not have those things, so do not focus on what you do not have.  Rather, think about all that you do have (family, life, job, food, love, shelter etc) even if your not in the best situation remember someone has it worst and at the end of the day you still can be thankful and count your blessing.