I don’t know if you can relate, but my 20s were a mess! Despite a college degree, I worked minimum wage, soul-sucking service jobs. I was dealing with two major health issues, including mental health challenges that landed me in the hospital for three months. I was mostly broke even though I often worked two jobs and over 50 hours a week. My student loans defaulted, had a car repossessed, abandoned an apartment in the middle of a lease, and moved in and out of my parent’s house multiple times. I had no relationship and zero confidence to find one, much less anything to offer in one.

I felt like my life was controlled by outside and unfriendly forces. It often felt unlivable. I didn’t expect to see thirty.

Then one New Year’s Eve in my 29th year (December 31, 1993), home alone and sobbing in the dark. I was crying out to God or the universe or whoever was listening, “Why can’t I have the life I want? Why can’t I have the life other people have? Why can’t I just be happy for once?”

That’s when I had the epiphany. The answer came like a bright flash in the dark room. My circumstances were not my problem. My thinking was my problem. I was creating my circumstances through a spiral of negative thinking and low self-esteem. I’d never been taught that thinking had an impact on life. I never understood that thought creates our lives and much if not all the world around us.

I sat up and I determined right then and there that the new year was going to be different. I was going to take new risks. I was going to accept new challenges. I was going to find tools that would help me put my mind on my side.

Over the next year, I took a job in B2B sales. It terrified me, but I learned to succeed and thrive and eventually became the most successful seller on my team. I read tons of personal development books, sought counseling, gave myself a chance to have relationships, and started peppering my mind non-stop with affirmations.

My view of life shifted. Paradigms opened. Life was possible for me again. 30 years later I have a wonderful wife, two amazing step-kids, and five grandchildren. I’m a published author and I love making YouTube videos. I’ve traveled many places and am blessed in a so many ways I can’t even count.

I’m no enlightened being or guru. I still have my challenges. I still have my goals and hills I want to climb. Most of all, I want to help people who are in the same situation 20-something me was in. If that’s you, I want you to know. There’s a better life waiting for you out there. I can show you the steps I used to walk that path to a happy and successful life I Could never have imagined.

If this story resonated with you, I know I can help you achieve those results too!

Ray