A few years ago I was $70,000 in debt (and counting) with no job and no business plan.

I had a wife and four kids. And all the usual bills that come with it. I had completely blown through all our cash ($40K). I was paying my all my bills on credit cards and a line of credit. Several of my cards were maxed out. And the creditors were calling.

I had no idea how I would ever get out of the hole I was in.

I prayed a lot. I was at the end of my rope. Humiliated. Scared.

I would ride around in my car listening to Dan Kennedy tapes. Trying to get some idea of what I wanted to do with my life.

Misery loves company, right? How true it is! I remember listening to a talk by Jeff Paul. I know it’s sick, but I found great comfort listening to all his failures. I particularly liked to hear him talk about living in his sister’s basement with his family. And how his entire family thought he was nuts for trying to be an entrepreneur. I could relate.

I would watch one of the most depressing shows on TV: Intervention. If you haven’t seen this show, it’s basically about junkies who are strung out on drugs. Their families are trying to save their life by having an intervention and getting them to go to rehab. I found comfort in watching and thinking, “Well, at least my life isn’t that bad!”

I drank too much. I ate too much. I didn’t exercise. I was 50 pounds overweight. I was just freaking miserable.

And most of all… I was defeated. Especially, in the battleground between my ears.

I had lost the most important success factor of all… CONFIDENCE.

On a scale of 1 to 10 my confidence was about a minus five.

So, I gave up on my dream of working for myself. And I started looking for a job. I went to a job placement firm. They were optimistic that they could easily find me a job. I was THRILLED! I came home and told me wife. She listened quietly. And said…

“Why do you want to get a job?”

I was STUNNED.

I was like, “Hey! If you haven’t noticed were about 30 days from living in a cardboard box on the side of the road! We’re freakin’ broke.”

“If you get a job, you’ll be even more miserable than you are right now. And you’ll make me miserable too. You’ve always hated working for someone else. Pull yourself to together and figure out how to get us out of this hole. I believe in you.”

That, my friend, was LIFE CHANGING.

I thought, “Dang, if my wife hasn’t given up on me, then I guess I still have a chance.”

So, I took IMMEDIATE action.

I bought a $1000 Internet marketing course (John Reeses’ Traffic Secrets) with money I didn’t have. I devoured it. And most importantly, I took action! Here’s what I did…

I set up the ugliest web page in the history of the Internet (seriously). I took out my credit card and bought some ads from this company called, “Google.” (You may have heard about them). I got some leads and I made an offer for a product.

And you know what happened?

I got ONE sale.

But that one sale changed my life forever! Because once I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, I just kept fighting and clawing my way out. And little by little I got out of the hole.

Now, it hasn’t been exactly a yellow-brick-road ever since that day. But, I have had some huge successes online.

The point is, no matter where you are in your life right now, you’ve got to keep believing that things can get better. Don’t ever give up on yourself. To quote Winston Churchill… “Never give in! Never, never, never give in!”

I’m personally convinced that many people fail in business because they simply give up to easily. I know that sounds simplistic. But the truth is, every successful business person I know has had many failures. That’s the nature of business. It’s just part of being human!

So, if you’re in a hole just look up. There really is a ray of light there. And yes, you really can dig yourself out. But brace yourself. Because it may take some serious effort and sacrifice. But in the end it will be well worth it.

Daniel Denley

P.S. If hearing my story helped you in any way, please post a comment below. Because this was not easy for me to share. :-)

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