Without me realizing Calm and Collected turned 3 years old last week. A lot has happened along this journey.

Before I started blogging I wasn’t sure of what to do. All I knew is that I wanted to be my own boss and that I enjoyed writing.

Let’s take a stroll through memory lane…

It was January 2013. I had just turned 19 and had a head full of ideas. Without knowing how to get started I didn’t do much.

I worked as a cashier and went to college. To make a long story short I asked my professor what businesses he had run.

His response was zero.

I was there to learn small business and marketing. This instantly ripped the rose-colored lens off of my eyes.

In 2012 my millionaire mentor Frank Aucoin had sat me down and gave me the game. He told me how money was made and the power of the mind.

After learning from him I lost all interest in a normal job. The idea of me getting paid $7.50 while my owners made more pissed me off.

But hey that’s how the world works. There isn’t anything that I can do about it if I play their game.

The only answer is to play my own game.

I had an idea of what to do, but I didn’t know how to get started.

The funny thing is that you don’t have to know anything. All you have to do is get started.

I didn’t know how to write a book. It wasn’t until I got started that I ended up figuring it out.

In June of 2013, I got a job as a manager. During that time I also moved out of my Dads house.

After I moved into my new place I set up an office. The feeling of having my own office was such as boss feeling.

I started a website and started writing.

This was before I learned what blogging was.

It wasn’t until I found Bold and Determined that I learned about blogging and that you can make a living from it.

I saw some person named Victor Pride living well off of his writing. My life was spent working 8 am to 6:30 pm every day.

As the manager, I had to open up and close. I forgot to mention that I received a pay raise once I got my management job.

I was now making $9 per hour.

While the pay was low I did walk away with a few life lessons.

One lesson was from a guy that worked there.

He was in his 50’s with a family to feed.

Five years earlier he was on top of the world.

He ran a successful business and had all of the toys that come with money. Then a crisis happened.

His drive left him and he lost everything.

Here was a man that understood the thinking required for success. He had a skill set worth 100 times what he was being paid.

Out of pride and the mental prison he put himself in he was stuck. He hated his life and had the attitude to show it.

This gentleman had a good heart though. He cared about his family and in his mind this job was what put food in their mouths.

Learning this lesson made me hungry. I knew that the great hunger within me was the only thing that would get me out of Hell.

Every day that I went into my job I would study B&D and imagine my life being what I wanted it to be.

Each day I put together my escape plan. It was like putting together a puzzle without knowing what the picture looked like.

To be honest I didn’t know what the fuck to do.

All I knew was that I had something to say and that I was going to say it.

I wasn’t going to be ignored anymore.

On November 14, 2014 I published my first article. I remember how excited I was when I hit that publish button.

The idea of having a blog that ran 24/7 and could be read anywhere in the world was such a crazy idea to me.

I focused on content for the first year and used social media very little. Social media was a waste of time to me.

My plan was to use it after I had 20-30 articles. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of content sitting in the C&C Archives first.

I have been in the zone for the last 3 years. People have come and gone and I’ve went from scene to scene.

From 2014 up until now time has flown by in the blink of an eye.

It isn’t until I’m drifting off to sleep that I feel normal again. As soon as I wake up I become someone else.

Christians would say that I’m possessed. Others would say I’m obsessed. To me I have no other choice.

There’s no way that I’m going to live like everyone else.

Even if being true to myself means that I have to eat shit for a few years that’s cool. I’m a patient person.

Believe me when I say that I’ve ate a lot of shit over the last few years.

I’ve had to make decisions that scared the flying fuck out of me.

I’ve had to make decisions that hurt me.

I looked my girl in the eyes and told her that I had to walk away. We had been together for several years.

The words hurt me as I said them. But they had to be said or else I knew I would regret not saying them.

You can’t live two different lives at the same time. Either you’re playing this game or you’re an NPC.

I see people daily that tell themselves they’re playing this game, but they are lying. They are still nothing but an NPC trying to live two lives.

You’re either in it or you aren’t.

I made the decision to play by my own script. In doing so I left behind my old ways and took up a new set of rules.

I’ve had nights where I had $10 in my bank account.

Days of backbreaking work for $100.

I even went without sex for over a year so that I could focus.

I’ll eat shit for another 3 years if I have to. I will do anything and cut off anything that gets in my way.

This includes family, friends, and women.

When you decide to start on your journey you’ll come to realize something.

It’s on you if you allow toxic energy around you. It is also on you to get around high level energy.

You have to take control of your environment.

I did this by brainwashing my own mind.

Nothing is allowed around me if it isn’t positive. I simply do not have time for average minded or low energy people.

Each second that passes I am closer to leaving this earth. I can’t imagine wasting my last day being around someone who is miserable.

The only people that I associate with are people that are making their life how they want it to be.

I don’t care if that means building a corporate career or travelling the world. As long as they’re actively doing something.

Finding other like-minded people nowadays is stupid easy. Everything that you could possibly want is just a click away.

Three Year Report

As of writing this hundreds of thousands have read this blog. Millions more will come and start putting their puzzle together.

Out of all of those millions of people one person will appear. I will teach him everything that I know.

Just as I had a mentor he will have one.

This is my way of giving back.

But there is a lot that has to be accomplished before that happens.

For three years I have been steadily building. Three more years will pass and I’ll still be here creating.

The other day a YouTuber asked me what I’ve learned being online for 3 years. I can sum it up into 3 lessons.

Network With People- Build genuine relationships with other people. You never know who may end up being a friend.

Surround yourself with top level people and rising stars.

The only word of advice I can offer is to not be an leech. I hate leeches and you do as well. Don’t ask for anything until you’ve helped them 15 times.

If you’re a leech then you will be left in the dust. The only people who rise to the top are people who give a shit about others.

Focus on the Content- Content is what will get people to your platform. Create as much content as you can.

Don’t worry about the noise just create. You can worry about social media and other stuff later on down the road.

Keep Your Head Down- When you see your first bit of growth you may look up from your work. If this happens your growth stops.

Whether you’re building a brand or just getting your life in order, keep your head down. You have to focus or else nothing will happen.

If you are online those three lessons will save you hours of wasted time. Instead of looking up hacks you will just do what’s important.

Speaking of growth I remember receiving the first comment from someone named Al.

He left it in March of 2015.

Seeing that comment showed me that this blogging thing worked. That there were people on the other side of the screen.

Something else that really put things into perspective was meeting someone in person. 

Having someone recognize you in public is a feeling unlike anything else. It’s a mixture of euphoria with a touch of excitement.

At the B&D BBQ I met another 6 people who knew me. Hearing them tell me about different articles that helped them was life-changing.

Not life changing for them but for me. Hearing someone who you’ve never met before tell you how such and such article helped them changes everything.

You give a little bit more attention to what you say.

You go from putting out what you feel like to putting out content that gives the reader something.

Whether that something be permission, inspiration, or telling them about what you’ve overcome.

Since meeting all of those fellow men I take my work more seriously. This isn’t just a hobby or random words on a screen.

This is a movement. A movement of energy that can take people from misery to sunlight. A movement that is founded on action.

Calm and Collected is different because our focus is always on action. For the first year or so I gave out inspirational content.

I thought that’s what people wanted and I was wrong.

What people really want is actionable content.

That’s why I wrote articles such as my Craigslist article. It lays out a clear way to make money by the end of this week.

The last three years have been great.

Now it’s time to move onto the next chapter.

This time next year a lot will have happened. I’m not going to talk about it right now but when the time comes you’ll see.

You may even be reading this article after that time.

For those who’ve been with me through the years I thank you. If you’re new then I extend my hand out and welcome you.

There is plenty to do around here.

We will talk again soon. In the meantime enjoy your stay.

Remember that each article is a piece to your puzzle.

The C&C Archives have everything organized for your viewing.

Your friend,