I remember growing up in a single parent household. This was around the time my mother was working at a local convenient store in the hood. She always found a way to make ends meet. Nothing more, and sometimes even less. What does that mean? Well, we learned to be grateful for heat in the winter and a cool breeze in the summer. Those were basic luxuries to us.

Do I resent the experiences of struggle and hardship? At that moment, of course. No one was born to struggle. I was far from optimistic about my situation, or life in general. It’s hard to plan or even think about the future when you are in survival mode. As a teenager I had no expectations to see the four corners of this beautiful earth. That was so far beyond my imagination. I'm grateful I was strong enough to break that glass ceiling above me. I have been fortunate enough to explore six countries including Dubai, and soon South Africa. Had I adopted the mindset that the struggle was only a limited time experience, I may have been more focused and spent more time setting goals to where I wanted to be so I could get there quicker.

I’m thankful for the experiences of struggle and hardship I had growing up because my experiences explain why I treat every person with the same upmost respect. I always give the employee from KFC the same respect as I would give the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from a private equity company. Now, the two jobs I have mentioned have a $100,000- $200,000 difference in income at minimum. The real difference is one person is being paid more for their experience and skillset. You too can achieve this type of success, but first you must layout your goals and gain experience in the required skillsets. The more valuable of an asset you become, the more money people are willing to pay you. But that shouldn't change our respect for either. Experience makes you an asset. Only a shallow opportunistic fool would measure compassion and empathy based on social status.

Here are the key takeaways:

(1) No one was born to struggle.
It always gets worse before it gets better. View your experiences of struggle as a limited time experience. When you look yourself in the mirror and can say I'm giving it 110% and exhausting all resources I am more than confident that life will get better.

(2) You cannot afford to give up on yourself.
People will use and control you if you allow them. Know your goals and how you plan to achieve them, so you are very intentional in the way you move. If you are the KFC employee, who says you can't be a franchise owner when you understand the business operations better than the rest?

(3) Treat everyone with the same level of respect.
Humility and social status are like oil and water. You should never mix them. Otherwise, you will treat 99% of people terribly and potentially miss serving a larger purpose in this world.


Here's some actions items on how you can capitalize from these insights:

- Research important qualifications needed or preferred to be considered for advancement at your job or future employment. Be sure your resources are reputable.

- Identify why are you doing this for yourself. Why do you care so much about giving yourself a better life? Changing the financial dynamics of your family tree? Overcoming struggle? Why? Those reasons are why you can’t give up on yourself. Nobody’s going to hold you accountable to better your life. This is for you. You have to want it for yourself.

-  Get started now with micro-habits. Gain momentum today with small steps in the right direction. If you say tomorrow, you will wait for a lifetime to get started and you know it.

No one was born to struggle.