Never quit on your dreams - even when you're tired, get lost in Kansas & chip your tooth at 2 am!

Instead of boilerplate jargon, let me share a story that I never share (hey, a man hates to admit his failures). You'll see that I don't sit around wallowing in my setbacks, I get up, put my head down, focus and solve the problem!

Young and dumb.

Fresh out of college, motivated by a desire to take on the real-world after realizing how I felt stifled by the rules and cookie cutterness of higher education, I landed my first job in the financial industry. I was pumped and walking with my chest out further than that scrawnier version of me should have! After passing the difficult, multi-hour Series 7 exam on the first try AND with one of the highest scores of everyone hired, 95, I was like, "Life?? This ain't hard, I've got this!!" I shake my head at this youthful naivete. 

After a couple of immature, emotional decisions, not thinking things out, and not listening to my parents sage advice, suddenly life was laughing and hitting me with a series of "hold my beer" moments that left me spinning, working a temp job, bills piling up and my pride severely bruised (but looking back, I see that I was never beaten!). 

After many resumes were sent out to jobs all across the country, I received 2 callbacks. I remember how great I felt when I received that first interview request and ANOTHER interview request the next day!  "YES, I'll be there!" I said excited, full of hope and once again, not using my head! What I realized a few moments after hanging up, and giving my word to these companies, was that I had agreed to two interviews, in two days, in two different states!! The smile and pride turned into a Homer Simpson "D'OH!" moment.

Despite obstacles, stay determined to succeed!

Remember those dumb decisions I told you about? Well, those had put me in a bad financial position. Unwilling to ask my parents for help and determined to show them that their son could do it, (I may or may not have told them how bad of a situation I had put myself in) I had to figure out how to get to the first interview, 6 hours away, AND the OTHER interview, SIXTEEN hours away, even though I was broke. 

Even though I was overwhelmed with questions of how the hell I was going to do this, I was determined and unwilling to reschedule these interviews. Yes, a part of it was fear of losing the opportunity, but a much larger part was a quiet confidence in myself. So, I started calling my credit card companies, doing the math on drive times, gas costs, making a game plan and deciding, this is what I had to do and "I'm going to make it happen!" This next morning, after sleeping as much as I could, I woke up early, and tired, ate the few things left in my pitifully sparse fridge, and started driving. 

I got to my first interview and was so excited that it overcame how tired I really was. About three-quarters of the way through the interview, I became panicked when I realized that there was no way that I was getting out of this interview in time to get to Austin, get some decent sleep and go to my next interview. Shutting out the fear, I stood the course, smiled, answered the questions to the best of my ability, enjoyed the nice lunch they bought me (boy was I hungry!), thanked the interviewer, shook hands and practically ran to my Jeep Wrangler!

Hours behind schedule, I started doing the math and realizing that my 10-hour drive meant that I would get to Austin around 2 am! "God, really?" was all that I remember thinking and then thinking "I can do this! I WILL do this!" After almost dying from falling asleep and running into the ditch, I reached Austin around 3 am, slept a few hours and showed up on time for my 8 am interview. I remember leaving that interview pretty dejected because it went terrible and I was 99% sure that I was not going to get that job. "Did I just max out my credit cards to drive halfway across the country to come away with NO JOBS!" was all that I could think. I won't lie to you, that weekend I was doing everything to smile through the depressing thoughts. 

How bad do you want it?!

That Sunday, in what had to have been divine intervention and a test of how badly I wanted it, I received a callback from the interviewer in Kansas City. He asked me if I was still in town, "Yes sir." I lied, unwilling to take any chance of losing this opportunity, and he then proceeded to tell me that he'd like me to come back for a second interview. "Yes sir! Of course!" I said and then he dropped the bomb, "Great! See you tomorrow!" As I was writing down the hotel address, all I could think was "tomorrow". As I hung up, again, I wanted to cry because even though I was SO thankful, I had only 14 hours to be 10 hours away in Kansas City. I was NOT going to fail or quit now! I'd come too far! Exchanging goodbyes, I was off again in my loud Jeep Wrangler. 

It was already going to be a night with little sleep, but then I got lost in the middle of Kansas at 1, or 2, in the morning. Cursing, frustrated, beyond tired, and feeling like I was driving in circles, I heard and felt a crunch in my mouth!! "What the hell!?! WHAT NOW!?" Oh nothing, just me unknowingly grinding my teeth so much that I broke off part of my back tooth. I was out of tears, so I just yelled into the cold dark night. I remember like yesterday, being "on E" in my soul, walking into the hotel, looking at the front desk clerk and telling her, practically crying to her, "I have to be up in just 2 hours, please, will you PLEASE make sure that I get up. I have an interview." She promised me that she would, so I slumped off, got to my room, and passed out fully clothed, thankful for even 2 hours of rest. 

Success comes to those who fight and give it their all

Making it to my interview on time, I remember meeting multiple top traders, feeling good about how things were going and then HE walked in, the desk manager. He was a no-nonsense, "no smile will cross these lips" type of guy, making it impossible for me to read how things were going. After talking to me for what seemed way too short, he left, and told me someone else would finish the interview. The roller coaster ride of emotions I was on over the past few days plummeted as I felt things all went south, and quickly! So, as I sat there, the HR lady came back in, sat down and said "Lawrence, we'd like to offer you the job.." and honestly, I don't remember hearing a thing after that until "I will give you a moment to think about it.", and she left the room. As if I needed a moment to think! I remember grabbing the conference room phone, calling my mom. her picking up and telling her, no crying to her, "Mom, it's over! This hell is over! I got the job!"

Looking back, I feel the same pride in my work ethic, determination, fight, passion and intelligence that that kid fresh out of college felt, but now I am wiser, more accomplished and more thoughtful. That point in my life was just the first time that life would show me who I was raised to be, how hard I would hustle to be, all that I can be, and can do, that sometimes I would fail to be, but eventually, who I would always succeed in being. 

That's me (... besides all the crying!) - a winner, smart, passionate, sometimes a bit too emotional, always planning and thinking (which seems contradictory, but it isn't), willing to take a risk to reach happiness or a new challenge and determined to succeed in life, no matter the obstacles.