the same old story

When I was in my mid-30s...
My life changed.

I’m on a call with my then-new girlfriend, ready to deliver
The Same Old Story I’d repeated to girlfriends before.
It is a warning about why I’m going to destroy her life.

It went, “I’m just a kid from Harlem and I make money on the streets;
I’m going to give you a good life, but it’s not going to last long because bad things happen in the streets. It’s who I am; it’s what I know.” (Romantic, right?)

All true. Growing up in the 
’80s Harlem, they called it the  
‘War on Drugs’, but it seemed
like it was the War on Us.

They called it the ‘War on Crack’, but it felt like the
War against Blacks. My hard-working parents barely
scraped by; life expectancy for a kid like me: 16.

My friend Sean-O was gunned down when I was 14. First time I ever saw someone die. His name, painted on a wall I walked by every day, felt like a grim prophecy about me.

Harlem taught me survival:
you’re either Alpha or food.
I turned Alpha, made bad decisions,
and suffered big consequences.

I never killed, never hurt a woman or a child,
and never offended the defenseless. In fact,
I protected the defenseless; but I was angry because
I recognized institutionalized racism and watched
my father suffer hopeless discrimination.

Now, I knew my father used drugs, but when he said,
“Shaan, I have AIDS,” I pretty much tapped out and accepted I wasn’t going to do much or be much in life.
At just 14, I went numb and shut down. I refused to feel.

My father passed when I was 18, and that hardened  
my already apathetic demeanor.

I lived from then on in a silo, not caring about anything or anyone. I had only a GED
and any odd jobs I got, I walked out of. My life was a wreck well into my mid-30s;
I was a guy who kept driving into walls over and over again; a crash test dummy.

This brings me back to the beginning, where I’m about
to give my new girlfriend the Same Old Story.

But then something
strange happens…

While giving the awful speech, I have what I can only call
an out-of-body experience. It’s as if I’m looking down on myself,
watching me give this horrible speech! I question my cycle of repetition.

“Are you really going to write the same book again?
Are you really going to destroy her life and yours again,
like you’ve always done in the past? You know how this story ends.”

Realization struck!

I’d professed belief but never allowed for miracles.
My will, not divine power, guided my life.

Confused, angry, and weary, I admitted defeat and finally yielded control.

I got out of the driver’s seat, walked over, sat down in the passenger’s
seat, and declared to myself, “I’m letting a higher force drive.”

Scary because I had no roadmap, yet I vowed,
 “I’ll go wherever sent. I’ll do whatever you ask.”

For the first time in my life,

I SUBMITTED.

Five days later, out of the blue, I got an email
advertising a college scholarship for single parents.

Divine prompt. I was single, and I was a Father.
I applied and succeeded.

That’s how my new life began.

Since then, I’ve never looked back, never left school,
never gotten sidetracked from my progress –

My New Identity

my Old Story

Do you believe in

Fast forward, I emerged from
my wreckage as an organizational
consultant, doing workforce
development, and speaking all
over the country.

My first main objective was to retire my wife. She was catalyst to success. So I crushed every obstacle in my path until I could give her freedom. But I still worked for someone else. I wanted TOTAL freedom.

During COVID, when people
everywhere froze, I responded
by diving into my OWN business.

I went live on Facebook, and I made $450,000 in less than 90 days organically by helping people. During the pandemic, I earned myself the freedom to do what I want, when I want, wherever I want, for however long I want. That’s why I say, “Business ownership is your path to impact, income, and independence.”

Today, with three master's degrees, and on track for two doctorates,
I am blessed to be a coach and guide for my clients to find TRUE freedom.

We start by turning what happens TO them,
into what happens to FUEL them.

I’m blessed to be married to the same woman I almost “gave the talk to,”
and our relationship is under the guidance of God.

Most of all, I’m proof – me, just a kid from Harlem – that freedom and transformation can be accomplished by anyone. But you’ve gotta stop living the same old story.

The simple question is are you getting what you want in life? It can be fast when you’re committed and open.

I first stepped foot on a college campus just 10 years ago.
And now I have 3 masters degrees, 3 best-selling books,
over $15 million in client revenue, in current pursuit of 2 PhD’s,
a wife, and phenomenal, beautiful children.

It CAN happen if you are open to the timeline
and committed to your growth.

I’m going to help you play BIGGER. To get B.O.L.D.

A B.randed O.riginal L.eader who D.OMINATE

Now, LET’S GROW!