The Story of Emad Baddour

"MONEY COMES EASILY AND FLUENTLY"

... that was the quote I taped to the bathroom mirror to inspire myself that one day through hard work, doing honest business, and disgusting work ethic and hustle that things would one day get better for me.

Do you know how hard that it is to say when you can't even afford to buy your kids b-day presents?

I know positive affirmations come as no surprise to the hustler's here in this group but to the people in my household and in my network, it was pure insanity. They legit thought I was going crazy.

"You're doing weird voodooo shit now too?" I remember my girl once demanding while overhearing me repeat the quote while on the "shitter" 🚽 💩 .

My girl's Boriqua 🇵🇷 (Puerto Rican). So It goes without mention that she can get a little "loco" if you know what I mean.

At this point, Who could blame her though? I had been selling her the dream of "the good life" for a long time and let me tell ya, weathering a financial shit storm without an umbrella 🌂 for 6-7 years straight can bring out the worse in anybody.

Shit, I couldn't even afford to take her out to dinner and a movie and I promised her we would be rich. The irony....

"Emad you need to make something shake ASAP" I would demand of myself as I revisited in my mind all the promises I made her. It's like I was desperately trying to summon up some creative energy so that I could make some money. At times the pressure seemed unbearable.

And for good reason, I was barely hanging on to the edge of the cliff and had just begun letting all 6 of my credit cards go into default.

I could no longer make the payments on them so I went and took as much cash advances as I could before they shut my cards down. My credit was about the only thing good I had going for me at this time and now I couldn't even afford to maintain it.

For the first time in my life I began suffering from anxiety and deadlines always made things worse. Rent, electric, cell phone, you name it. Sometimes it would get so bad that it felt like worms were crawling around inside me and eating up my insides.

I wanted to be a successful entrepreneur more than I wanted to breathe Eric Thomas but there were often times on this journey that I felt like a fu^*ing joke.

The worse is when the people you expect to support you instead tell you shit like, "Go get a real job," "You'll never make it," or "Be realistic, Poor people don't get rich."

My mind was like an emotional rollercoaster, One day up and the next day down. It felt like me against the world.

So to keep my morale' high I would try encouraging myself by repeating out loud "Money comes Easily and Fluently."

It sounds silly, but I was literally trying to speak my way out of a pathetic situation.

Im wrapping this up in just a few but I first need you to pay close attention to what I'm about to say next because it's "hands down," with 100 % certainty the most important part of this post. Especially for those of you who may be feeling discouraged due to setbacks and failure.

I discovered that through failing over and over, year after year that it was only adding fuel to my desire to win.

It's like the failures we're making me stronger.

It was as if the "failures" encouraged my dreams more than the family and friends who didn't believe in me.

I also discovered that I was resilient enough to stick around no matter what until I achieved what I set out to do.

Looking at failure through my rear view mirror was providing me with the certainty I needed.

What I discovered about myself through the setbacks was that I was indeed built for this ENTREPRENEURIAL life.

I can't even begin to describe to you how powerful discovering this feeling is. My only hope is that you stick to your dreams long enough to find out for yourself.

Here I am dead broke and back on my hood shit surviving off of Ramen Noodles, Tostino's Pizza and cheap sardines and I'm feeling UNSTOPPABLE.

It may take a little time to get to this point and it won't be easy. Personally it took me 7 years straight of getting my ass handed to me. But I didn't quit. I always knew what the outcome would be and changed my approach as needed.

I knew that if I stuck around long enough and kept my shades on that the sun would eventually shine my way 😎.

Expect things to be bumpy in the beginning as days will be up and down.

But I promise you that the devastating pain and regret you will feel if you keep waiting around to make moves will weigh on you no different than that of a an old man who on his death bed is forced to look back and come to grips with the fact that he blew all his potential in the ONE short life he had.

Nobody wants to say, "Damn, what if?"

Can you risk that??

Should you have the GUTS to stick to your dreams long enough, you'll also discover that all the failures and setbacks are only preparing you for opportunities.

This is absolutely critical because if you're not prepared for opportunity when it presents itself it wouldn't matter if one smacked you in the face. You wouldn't even notice.

How about you stick around long enough to take advantage of enough opportunities and one day, maybe the "stupid" little things we say to ourselves will end up actually becoming true!

You're "3 Feet From Gold" so do yourself a favor and go get that shit against all odds.

Peace and Blessings,

Jared