My Core Identity Transformation Story by Peter Kell

 

Purpose: To tell the wild and crazy story explaining how I finally got to become successful after transforming my identity and my core emotions. 
THE ARMY RECRUIT : 

When I was graduating high school, I couldn’t have cared less about anything spiritual. Growing up, my parents had essentially held me underwater until I became a Christian, and as soon as I hit my teenage years, I spat all of it back out. I was convinced God just wanted me to be the greeter at the front door of a church for the rest of my life. But I wanted to do something epic, so I wasn’t about it.

Like most kids, I thought it would be awesome to be rich AF, but it felt like a pipe dream, completely out of reach.

At 18, I was a D-student surfer skateboarder, barely scraping my way to high school graduation.

I can still hear the loud thud as my senior English teacher slammed a stack of papers onto my desk. She looked at the class and said, “It’s time to start thinking about careers. Here’s a list of 200 jobs and salaries. Pick one you want to do for the rest of your life.”

I ran my finger down the list, line by line, looking for the highest salary. Heart Surgeon—$300k/year. Yeah, right. I’ll never be one of those. I leaned over to my friend and whispered:

“Is this really what life’s about? I’m just supposed to pick a job and work it until I die? I don’t want to do this.”

My parents were pushing me to go to college, but we couldn’t afford it, and I was convinced no one in their right mind would give me money to go. (Thank God I dodged that student loan scam.)

So, I decided to join the Army to get the GI Bill to pay for college.

A few weeks later, I graduated and shipped out to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to train to become a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve. It was miserable. I cried inside, knowing that all my friends were back home enjoying their senior summer—hitting the beach, partying with girls, living out the final precious moments of their youth. Meanwhile, I was crawling through a freezing, mud-filled trench at 3 a.m., clutching a rifle and staring out at a bunch of bushes, pretending to be on guard.

When I finally graduated from training, I learned my platoon was set to become Afghanistan prison guards.

That night, I had a vivid vision of an angry Afghan prisoner pulling a shank out of his ass and stabbing me in the neck with a poopy knife. I saw myself falling over and dying in some prison halfway across the world. I woke up in a cold sweat like I was given a warning. 

Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me this was going to be my job? Hell no I am out of here!!!

The next day, I told my commander I quit. He said I couldn’t. But I said I didn’t care. I wasn’t about to risk getting stabbed in the neck by someone who didn’t speak English and hated me.

So, I walked out and never went back. Thankfully, the Army Reserve was less strict than active duty, and the only consequence was losing my sign-on bonus. Small price to pay for saving my life and dodging a life-long sentence of catastrophic PTSD like the vast majority of vets who never considered what’s going to happen to their brain if they spend 3-10 years in war surrounded by death, gore, and violent explosions.  

Back home, I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. Someone told me, “Just do what you love.”

What did I love? Downhill skateboarding.

Okay, I decided. I am now a Full-Time Downhill Skateboarder. 


THE DOWNHILL SKATEBOARDER:

I can still feel the wind rushing against my face as I hurled downhill at 45 mph, crouched low like a coiled spring. My chest pressed against my knee, hands tucked neatly behind me. Pure focus. Pure freedom.

Ahead of me, my friend stood up from his tuck and signaled to slow down for the sharp left hairpin ahead. In perfect sync, we planted our gloves on the pavement, carving into monster powerslides. The scrape of our cutting boards screamed against the asphalt, the hiss of urethane wheels losing traction echoed around us. We scrubbed off just enough speed to grip the turn and launched into the curve at full tilt.

This was bliss. This was what I loved.

Downhill skateboarding became my obsession. I got a job at a nearby skate shop, earned a sponsorship from a major company, and traveled around the country competing in race events. For a while, it felt like I was living the dream.

But reality had other plans. When my parents moved out of Orange County to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, I had to ask my friends if I could crash on their couches. After the Army repossessed my $5k signing bonus, I was left in debt, living off $2 Jack-in-the-Box tacos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My Volvo started belching black smoke, my bills piled up, and I began to wonder if skating could truly carry me forward.

I loved skating. But I was only skating for an hour a day and most of the other 23 hours in the day kinda sucked. 

The turning point came at the biggest downhill race competition of the year. While tripping on mushrooms, I ran into my skateboarding idol—the guy I wanted to be five years down the road. He was everything I aspired to be: one of the best in the world, a living legend in the downhill scene.

We spent the day hanging out and partying. But at the very end of the night, I found myself lying down to sleep and realized something: my idol, the man I’d modeled my dreams on, was sleeping on the floor… right next to me.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve been crashing on my friend's couches and floors for over a year now, and here I am with my idol, the guy who’s 5 years ahead of me, still living on the floor. 

“Gosh darn it” I thought to myself. I knew if I stayed on this path, I’d be exactly where he was five years from now: still broke, still couch-surfing, still struggling.

That was the moment I knew I had to change. If I didn’t, this would be my life forever—skating for an hour a day while everything else crumbled around me.

With a heavy heart, I let go of my dream of being a full-time skateboarder. I packed my bags and moved into my parent’s basement in the middle of nowhere, not having any idea for what I’d do next. 

THE BASEMENT

So, I packed up what little I had and moved back in with my parents into their basement. After my youngest sister graduated, my mom and dad relocated to the deep woods of Lake Arrowhead, CA—basically the middle of nowhere.

When I arrived, I was in a bad place. My girlfriend had just left me for another guy. I knew only 1 guy in my town who didn’t do heavy drugs, and I was 45 minutes away from the closest bar with normal people I could hang out with. Depression hit hard and fast. I was isolated, devastated, broke, and powerless. Feeling like this critically important chapter of my life was being wasted away in my parent’s basement, lost and sacrificed for nothing. All while my friends were out having the time of their lives in college and my ex started fresh with someone else.

Day after day I spent holed up in my parents’ basement, making YouTube videos about skateboarding trucks just to pass the time. There were no jobs around, and I knew that even if I got one, I’d be stuck in the woods forever.

At my lowest point, my dad stepped in. My dad—a local entrepreneur and Jesus freak who had quit his job at AT&T decades ago to start a small web design and SEO business—saw the state I was in and decided to do something about it. 

He began what he called “The School of Dad,” and would buy all these “make money online” courses and send them to me. These were the kind of courses you’d expect to be filled with over-the-top promises, but he handed them to me and said, “Go through these. Maybe you’ll find something useful for my clients—or even for yourself.”

At first, I didn’t take it seriously. But with no other options in sight, I started studying internet marketing. I went through what felt like hundreds of courses. Most of them were trash, but one day, something caught my attention: a super aggressive over-the-top sales letter.

It hit me like lightning.

The letter started with, “Hey man! Do you feel like a loser? Do you live in your parents' basement? Do you wish you could become a multi-millionaire? 

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “HELL YES, I DO! THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO DO!”

The letter continued: “You know that feeling in between jumping in the air and falling back down? That single moment when you are weightless? That's Freedom baby!! I can show you how to find it!”

They said I don’t have to be trapped forever, that I can find freedom through finances. Freedom through lifestyle design. Aka. Financial Freedom! 

They quoted George Bernard Shaw saying, “Life’s not about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.”

And instead of focusing on “doing what I love”, why don’t you focus on “creating a life that you love.” Creating a life that you love 365 days of the year. 16 hours a day. Why dont you spend all day long working on how you can create the most amazing life you could ever imagine? 

I devoured every word. They showed me lamborghinis, mansions, piña coladas with beautiful women in the Caribbean. Exactly what a young guy like me was into. They talked about how some people make $50,000 every two weeks easily and consistently smooth like butter from a laptop, with their feet in the sand, living on an island in the Caribbean, dating beautiful models, and jet-setting around the world! Able to gift $250,000 to their parents to change their life. And donate to amazing organizations to give back to those in need. What’s the most amazing life you could imagine? You can create it! 

And financial freedom is the key that lets you do that. Money is the root of all freedom! 

They said, “Let’s be honest—money won’t solve all your problems. But it will solve 90% of them and get you in front of the experts who can fix the rest! Lets get it!”

It brought me to tears thinking maybe this life could actually be possible. 

Then they asked a question that changed my life forever. 

“If you had the choice to sacrifice 90% of all the fun experiences of being a young guy in your early 20s, and trade it for becoming the rich, young, successful, supercar guy by your late 20s, and spend the next 80 years of your life living the greatest life you could imagine because you had unlimited money to do whatever you wanted, would you trade it?

I thought about it. I couldn’t get a job in the mountains without being stuck there forever. I’d already spent over a year sacrificing my early 20s for nothing. So I made the decision: HELL YES, I’LL MAKE THAT TRADE!

For the first time in months, I felt something stir inside me—hope. I had a lot of doubts that this could ever be possible for a guy like me. But it didn’t matter. I felt like I had to follow this path regardless because there was no other option and you only live once. F*ck it. I thought. GONNA SEND IT! 

I opened a blank notepad on my computer and started typing like I had the world’s greatest coach in my head.

“This is it, Pete. You can still save your 20s. There is a fire waking inside of you. If you make this happen by 27, then you can have 3 years to experience ending your 20s living an amazing life. It would make up for everything you missed out on. This would be comeback of the century. You can do it dude! Think about it. Becoming a millionaire is one of the greatest goals you can achieve. Imagine all the amazing things you’d get to learn. Imagine all the amazing people you’d get to meet on this mission. Imagine people you’d be able to uplift with all your wealth and wisdom. Becoming the young inspiring rich guy. This is it! It’s possible! You can do it! Come on and just believe you can already! Just believe! 

Don’t listen to the voice telling you it’s a bad idea, or a bad thing, or something you don’t want. That’s a limiting belief!!! That’s what’s been holding you back. That’s the reason you’re not already successful. The world doesn’t need any more people believing that bullshit! Believe you can do it and have endless persistance. And you can achieve it. 

You’ve already sacrificed so much! You CANNOT let that have been for nothing!!! You must make this life manifested. You must do whatever it takes. You must become the young millionaire!!! 

Right then and there, I made a vow: I would do whatever it took, legally and ethically, to find a way to become rich and young to create the most amazing life I could imagine.

I’d sacrifice parties, relationships, and everything else typical of your early 20s. And if I failed—if I accidentally ruined my entire 20s—I didn’t know if I’d have the strength to keep going. But if I succeeded, the reward would be worth every single sacrifice.

That day, I finally found my new identity. I wasn’t a broke, aimless D-student skateboarder anymore. I now became “the struggling broke entrepreneur newbie who wants to get rich on the internet”.

THE BROKE ENTREPRENEUR

I started off working with my parents, doing odd jobs for their small business clients. I’d tinker with building basic websites, practicing SEO, and trying little marketing activities for my dad’s projects. They may have been small tasks, but for me, they were a giant leap from where I had been.

As I kept practicing, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the biggest roadblock standing between me and the life of my dreams was skills. I hadn’t gone to college, and every time I looked at my life, I felt the massive gap in my education. I believed if I could just learn the right skills, I could finally break through. But the question was: how?

When I shared my frustration with my dad, he reminded me of something I had almost forgotten—a story from when I was in elementary school. Back then, my dad had decided to invest a large chunk of their savings into pursuing a dream. He had been working at AT&T but was ready to leave that job and start a business of his own. To prepare, he found a business conference in Atlanta, Georgia, focused on teaching web design and search engine optimization, skills he believed could help him build a new life for his family. 

I remembered the day my mom and dad sat me down to explain that Dad was going to be gone for five days to learn everything he needed to know to start their new business. That trip became the foundation for the small website design company my dad later built with my mom, a business they’ve had ever since.

“Why don’t we do the same thing?” my dad suggested. He started looking around and found another business conference—the 6-Figure Summit, hosted by Mike Cooch. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to expose me to the world of marketing and entrepreneurship. It was a big investment for him, but he saw it as an opportunity for me to learn something new. When we arrived, I was blown away. The room was packed with 150 people talking about marketing, lead generation, SEO, reputation management—all these things I barely understood. It felt like stepping into another world..

It was a dream come true for me so I started talking to everyone that I could. It was so much fun watching everyone sharing ideas and things that helped them… even thought I felt like I must be the brokest person in this entire room. 

But then they started asking me what I’d read.  

“What books have you read?” they’d ask casually.
“Have you read 80/20 Sales & Marketing by Perry Marshall?”
“No,” I’d reply, feeling smaller with every question.
“What about Jim Rohn? Tony Robbins? Have you read Think and Grow Rich?”
Each time, my answer was the same: no.

I felt like such an outsider. Like I didn’t belong. Everyone around me seemed to speak this secret language, referencing ideas, principles, and strategies from books I’d never even heard of. There seemed to be so much knowledge I didn’t even have. 

After the conference, I couldn’t stop thinking about how far behind I felt. It wasn’t just embarrassing; it was painful. I had always hated books. English and school was such a struggle for me. And whenever I’d get a bad grade my parents would yell at me, and throw the book down on my desk. And yell at me to study it even more. I had so much pain attached to books.

But that was old pain. This new pain of not fitting in was starting to build up.

I made a decision I wasn’t going to show up to another conference as someone who hasn’t read what all these people are talking about.

After the event ended, I asked my Dad to take me to the Barnes and Noble bookstore to see what was going on there. I’ll never forget what happened when I walked in and finally made it to the Business section. It was like my life flashed before my eyes.

I started seeing all these books on Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Psychology, Copywriting, Business, and Personal Development. Book title after book title was just popping out of the bookshelf and I could hear my intuition screaming for me to read it.

All of a sudden it hits me: “Oh my Gosh!!! You’re telling there are tens of thousands of people who are wildly successful in every industry imaginable that decided to write down everything they learned after 20 years of trial and error into books? You’re telling me I don’t actually need to go to college to be successful? 

I started thinking, 

What do we do at school anyway? On the first day they all give me a big book to study, tell me to go home and study it, and then we all meet up the next day and talk about it. So at the end of the day, the most important thing I have to do is sit down with a book and deeply study it! 

My jaw drops, eyes widen, and I feel like I want to sprint through the bookstore screaming EUREKA!!!  

I don’t need to go to college to do that!! I can just buy a ton of these books right now, and go home and read them all. That’s exactly what I’m going to do! I’m going to spend every waking minute day and night reading these books. In fact, I’m going to read 100 books just to see what happens! 

I’m going to learn everything I need to know to become the best entrepreneur I can be. 

Through the luck of the universe we recently sold a new client on lead generation activities and I got a check for $800. I spent the entire thing on books and personal development programs. 

  • 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
  • How to Win Friends and Influence People 
  • Think and Grow Rich
  • Brian Tracy 
  • Jim Rohn
  • Bob Proctor 
  • The Art of War
  • Scientific Advertising
  • Everything Tony Robbins ever made
  • Mindvalley Courses 

I assumed the reason why I wasn’t successful yet, was because I didn’t know enough or have the skills. So I started studying like a mad man.

One of the most life-changing things I found was Tony Robbins’s Personal Power 2 Program. It was a 30-day audio where you’d go on a walk and listen for an hour every day for 30 days, and let this master of psychology rewire your brain.

Tony gets so much hate from people who are clueless about him. But Tony began to change my life for the better. Every morning I started studying. Not just reading. But sitting up, taking notes, underlining books, scribbling all over. One of the first things I learned was to write down everything I learned in a “What Did I Learn” Journal. I found the special “Black & Red” notebooks that are built to last a lifetime and started collecting my favorite ideas in there. Separate from all my scribbles and notes. 

I went into my sister’s old room, grabbed her desk, and set it up in my room and made it exclusively for studying. One desk for working. One desk for pure focus and learning.

Magical things started happening to me as I began to become immersed.

  • I started connecting with the authors. I felt like I had a really smart friend who was telling me to “shut up and listen” and poured their life’s work into teaching me
  • I started getting so curious to what would happen to me if I read 100 of these books. Seriously. Like what would actually happen to a man or woman who committed a few years to reading 100 of the greatest books ever written on all these topics? I was fascinated and hungry to find out.
  • Of course I started learning like crazy. I had never had a reason why to learn that was this strong. I was soaking it up.

Every weekend, I’d take an hour-long hike to the most beautiful place I’d ever found: Deep Creek Hot Springs, just outside Lake Arrowhead. This little slice of heaven featured four natural hot spring Jacuzzis bubbling up from the earth, cascading down rocks into each other, and spilling into a serene small lake with sandy beaches where clothes are optional. Legends like the famous singer from The Doors, Jim Morrison, previously came here to relax, and I followed in their footsteps. On the 45-minute hike, I’d listen to a Tony Robbins program, and once there, I’d spend the day reading books and soaking in the peaceful vibe.

THE ANGEL 

A few months into my journey, I hit a wall. I was frustrated, stuck, and questioning everything. It was Wednesday, I felt this crazy urge to stop working for the day, take a break, and head to the Hot Springs.

I had never gone on a weekday before, but something told me I was too frustrated to work right now, and I needed to stop what I was doing and go to the Hot Springs right now. So I grabbed my things, hopped into my busted old Volvo station, and put on a Tony Robbins Personal Power 2 audiotape. 

It’s hot outside, so once I arrived to the trail, I decided to start jogging so I could get there faster. All while listening to Tony’s talking about how you can amplify your desire to achieve goals using the 6 human needs. 

He broke it down:

  • Certainty: How does this goal help you avoid pain and bring pleasure?
  • Uncertainty & Variety: What kind of excitement, newness, or daily variety would achieving your goal bring?
  • Love & Connection: How would achieving your goal strengthen your relationships and create closeness with others?
  • Significance: How would achieving your goal make you feel unique, special, or valued?
  • Growth: How would this adventure push you to learn, expand, and become more?
  • Contribution: How would achieving your goal allow you to help and support others?

Tony explained that we all crave these six human needs, and when a goal, habit, or action meets at least four of them at a strong level, it becomes irresistible.

I ran through the list on my own goals of becoming the young millionaire supercar guy making $50,000 every 2 weeks easily and consistently.

Certainty - I’m 100% certain that going down this road is the key to AVOIDING a life of eternity soul-sucking, constricting pain. Stuck in a dead-end office while my dreams and life die a slow and excruciating death. As if I’m haunted by the evil villain from the movie Scream. I’d imagine a dark figure in a black cloak with a white scary mask and a long silver kitchen knife looming over my bed ever night. Judging whether or not I took the actions that day to move towards my goals. If I did, I would be spared. If not, my soul would be stabbed, sliced, and hacked every night for choosing to do nothing. Sentenced to an unrelenting torture of pain and misery as I lived the next 45 years in eternal damnation as a mediocre lifeless zombie.

While on the flip side. Pulling off this goal would give me an experience beyond the life of my dreams. Living in the Caribbean. Traveling around the world. I’d be moving 10x faster through life making $1m/yr than if I was making $100k/yr. I’d have the freedom to experience life however I want!

Uncertainty - I’d be on an epic adventure. With twists and turns and new directions. We’d be bobbing and weaving the plans every day until we got to where we were supposed to be. Constantly studying learning and applying different things. However, if I didn’t follow this adventure, every day would be Groundhog Day. Repeating the same thing over and over again.

Connection - I’d get to meet all sorts of amazing people. New mentors. New students. I’d create connections all over the world. My drive to achieve would make me so attractive as a person that ultimately I’d be able to call in the ultimate love of my life. My soul mate. My twin flame! She would be so attracted by my drive and my passion for chasing my life’s dream that she’d want to be with me forever! So by following this path, I would create the most beautiful relationship I could ever imagine. Full of love and joy and fun and family! It’d be more amazing than anything! 

Significance - I mean if I could go from my basement to this young supercar owner? That’d be the most inspiring guy ever. Rolling up. Valeting the car. Doors that go up. Balling out of control. Easily starting conversations with people and having amazing books and swag that I can give them to help change their lives. Being invited on Podcasts. Being invited on shows. Knowing I came from the bottom, and knowing that I had the secrets to success to guide them to the promised land. What an honor. What a role model. The world needs more people like that! 

Growth - This path would create the ultimate me. The books I’d be forced to read. The obstacles I’d be forced to overcome. The things I’d have to learn. My soul would expand at the greatest level. Forcing me to become a master in the domain. It’s the ultimate schooling! 

Contribution - Oh the money I could give. I could change the lives of my parents. I could give my family a life beyond their wildest dreams. I’m imagining tucking my future daughter into bed, having her look me in the eyes, being asked about my story, and being able to tell her my true life story imaging where all my dreams come true. And watching her face and eyes light up as she begins to believe all her dreams will come true now.

My eyes were tearing up as I went through this list in my mind. I knew I was on the perfect path, and I must take consistent daily action to move towards my goals.

I felt so inspired and excited about life.

The more I imagined these possibilities, the more I felt I was on the right path. It felt like I was really on purpose. 

When I got to the hot springs, they were empty. So I put my backpack down, took off my shirt, and started walking over the rocks. Making my way past the first jacuzzi, following the stream in between a separate set of boulders until I got to my favorite jacuzzi in the middle. Perfect clean beautiful natural hot water springs in an 8ft deep pool with soft slabs of rock you can relax on. Inside the jacuzzi was a naked guy casually chilling by himself. Looking like a regular 40y/o guy who smiling like he was having the best day hanging out in the sun. I jumped in and we started talking. He had great energy even though he mentioned that he had recently lost his job and wasn’t sure what to do next. However, he knew that he was going to be taken care of by God or whoever. When I asked him if anything interests him, anything calling out to him, and what would be the most amazing life you could imagine?”, he said he had this vague idea about working in rehab centers because he had a background in addiction and thought it’d be cool to help. 

Suddenly, everything I’d just learned from Tony all of 30 minutes ago came pouring out of my brain. And I just go off going over all the 6 Human Needs with him straight autopilot. 

Certainty: “Oh working at a rehab center would be great! You’d have the certainty that you’d be helping people rebuild their lives and that gives you purpose

Uncertainty: “Every day you’d have new people coming in. There’s always this variety of interesting people you get to work with.

Connection/Love : You’re changing these peoples lives. Helping them in their darkest time so they love and connect with you

Significance: You’d be this role model and leader in their life. This important figure they could look up to.

Growth: You’d have to force yourself to be the best you can be that way you can make an impact on these kids.

Contribution: The impact you would make is HUGE! It would be so transformational for them.

I could see the guy's face light up like a firecracker. It was like he found his newfound purpose and sense in life. Thank you he said, as he leaned back. I could tell he was visualizing his life. He was completely in awe.

Yet I started to get this weird feeling. Like WTF is going on here? What are the chances, that suddenly I get this weird download to go to the hotsprings on a day I NEVER go to the hotsprings?

Then I listen to the perfect Tony Robbins tape. Jump in the hot springs with just me and this dude who needed to hear exactly what I was studying applied to his life. And now his life was transformed in front of my eyes? Is it luck? Is it a coincidence? Is it odd? Is it God?

Why do I feel like God just “borrowed me” today so I could show up as an angel in this guy’s life? 

Then the man starts talking to me again. “Yeah, I love this idea. Rehab centers. Wow! I’m going to do it. I don’t care much about money. I just want enough to be able to live okay.” 

Suddenly I got another massive urge to say, “Ask and you shall receive” as if I needed to remind him that God was down to give him whatever life he asked for so he might as well aim a little higher than “just enough to live okay”... but I held back. It felt a little too revealing that this was a divine situation.

We soak in silence for the next 15 minutes until I get this urge to leave. I start to step up and out of the jacuzzi.

“Wait you’re leaving?” He said. Kinda shocked.

‘Yup! Time to Go. See ya around!” Then I dart off behind the rocks. Grab my things and start the 3-mile hike home.

“Wow”, I thought. I couldn’t believe what just happened. I knew he couldn’t believe what happened.

I was 100% certain that I was just used for something. The God or the Universe or something had just pinged me with a download to go to these hot springs. Listen to that CD. And talk to that guy.

I knew I was an angel for a moment. An angel sent to help that guy today.

I laid up all night, not knowing what to think about it. Not knowing what it means. All I could do was write it up as weird and move on with trying to get rich.

THE SABOTEUR

After launching a few businesses and failing over and over, I started to notice a disturbing pattern: self-sabotage. It felt like there was a glass ceiling above me, an invisible barrier that kept blocking me from reaching my goals no matter how hard I tried.

After spending over a year in the mountains with my parents, I was desperate for change. My 20s were slipping away, and I felt like life was passing me by. Watching my high school friends thrive while I was stuck in my parents’ basement was brutal. I needed to escape.

Eventually, I convinced my dad to give me a raise too $2,000 per month so I could get out of this basement and move to San Diego with my best friend from high school. I was desperate to experience some of life. We found a cool apartment just a few blocks from the water in Ocean Beach. It felt like a dream—big hills to skateboard on, great weather, and even the chance to meet attractive girls. For the first time in a long while, I felt alive.

But life has a way of throwing curveballs. Within a few months, my dad’s client work dried up, and he couldn’t afford to pay me anymore. I was terrified. If I didn’t find a way to make rent, I’d be evicted and forced to crawl back into the torture of my parents’ basement.

I scrambled to find a way to make money and stumbled across an opportunity to sell mobile websites to restaurants. The pitch seemed simple: “Hey, I noticed your website doesn’t work well on phones. I built a new one for you—can I stop by and show it to you?” If they liked it, I’d sell the site for $800.

It felt like a no-brainer, but my brain had other plans.

I made some cold calls and got my first prospects to say yes to an appointment. I made the website, and walked into the restaurant with confidence, ready to close the deal. Yet when I pulled up the website on the phone and showed it to the owner, he said, “Dude. That’s not my business.” My stomach sank. Swing and a miss. I accidentally built the website for his competitor's business and showed it to him. The meeting ended awkwardly and I didn’t want to call them back to fix it. 

I went back to cold calling and landed my second chance. This time with an ice cream shop owned by a sweet older woman. We had an amazing conversation, and blew her mind when I started teaching her how she could grow her store with everything I learned from Jay Abraham’s book “Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got”

She loved the site but told me $800 was too much. I asked if we could work out a profit-sharing deal if I started initiatives that grew her ice cream store by increasing repeat business and increased average order value and she said yes! I walked away feeling hopeful. This could work!

But when it came time to follow up, something stopped me. My brain shut down, and I couldn’t pick up the phone. I never contacted her again.

Now I was running out of time. Rent was looming, and I needed a win. I doubled down, practicing my sales pitch over and over. By the time I walked into the third restaurant—a Mexican joint in Ocean Beach—I was on fire. I had prepared like my life depended upon it and I crushed the pitch. The owner loved the site and said she just needed to show it to her partner before sealing the deal.

I was ecstatic. My rent was $750. This sale was $800. The deal was in the bag and I was finally going to make it! I was finally going to become a real entrepreneur!

But then two days passed. I reached for the phone to follow up, and it happened again. My hand froze. It was like an invisible force field had popped up between me and success. I couldn’t call her. I couldn’t close the deal.

It was maddening. I could do all the work—cold calling, pitching, building the websites—but as soon as I was about to cross the finish line, this glass ceiling would appear and stop me in my tracks. Keeping me stuck outside the gates of success. Desperate, I tried launching a last-ditch affiliate marketing campaign selling “Cat Tree Construction Plans.” Unsurprisingly, that didn’t work either. My landlord finally had enough and evicted me. I packed my things, left my dream apartment, and moved back into my parents’ basement.

It was devastating. No matter how much effort I put in, no matter how close I got, something deep inside me kept pulling the rug out from under my feet. I could tell it was something subconscious-related. I had to figure out why if there’d ever hope I could break through.

 

THE GARDENER 

For the next three months in my parent’s basement, I stopped all work and began studying everything I could about the subconscious mind. I dived deep into books like Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker, The Game of Life and How to Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn, and The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.

I wanted to figure out what was truly holding me back—why I felt stuck despite working hard.

As I peeled back the layers of my subconscious, I discovered a collection of deeply rooted limiting beliefs that I never even realized were running my life. It felt like a slap in the face when I realized how much garbage had been shoved into my brain by society, schools, the news, institutions, and, yes, even well-meaning but unsuccessful, lazy people around me.

But once I identified these beliefs, I started seeing exactly how they were sabotaging me.

Here’s what was happening:

  • I avoided opportunities that could make me money because I thought they weren’t for “people like me.”
  • I procrastinated because deep down, I felt like I didn’t deserve success.
  • I started projects and abandoned them halfway through, afraid of both failure and success.

These beliefs were running my life, and I didn’t even realize it. But once I started rewiring them, tending to the garden of my mind, everything changed. Here’s how I tackled the six biggest beliefs about money that were holding me back:

1. Money Is the Root of All Freedom

Old Belief: Money is the root of all evil.
New Belief: Money is the root of all freedom.

Let’s be real—money isn’t evil. Lack of money is. Without money, you’re stuck. You can’t make the moves you want, you can’t live the life you imagine, and you’re forced to stay in situations you hate.

Money doesn’t trap you; it frees you. That’s why they call it financial freedom. It gives you the freedom to create, to help others, and to live whatever life you want. The real “root of all evil” is being stuck in a life you can’t escape from because you don’t have the resources to change it. Desperate people do desperate things. 

 

  1. Rich People Are the Most Selfless

Old Belief: Rich people are selfish and greedy.
New Belief: Rich people are the most selfless.

Here’s the truth—making money is about solving problems. You don’t get rich by being selfish. You get rich by helping people, inspiring them, and creating solutions that change their lives. Think about it: the more lives you change, the more wealth you create.

People look at a Rolls-Royce and think it represents greed. No. A Rolls-Royce represents 3,000 lives changed. That’s how you earn wealth—you serve people at scale. True greed is thinking there isn’t enough to go around. But with an abundant mindset, you know there’s more than enough for everyone to win.

 

  1. Working Hard Isn’t the Problem

Old Belief: If I work too hard, I’ll burn out.
New Belief: Working smart leads to success and freedom.

This belief is pure BS. First off, you don’t have to grind endlessly to succeed. Wealthy people build systems, hire teams, and automate their businesses. If you’re burning out, it’s not because of hard work—it’s because your structure sucks.

Burnout doesn’t come from having amazing goals and working on them, it comes from the endless grind of trying to do the work of a team without a team. Team work makes the dream work.

 

4. Making More Money Than My Parents Is the Best Thing I Can Do

Old Belief: It’s not right for me to make more money than my parents.
New Belief: My success uplifts my family and honors their sacrifices.

This one hit me hard. My dad worked so hard, and I felt guilty about the idea of surpassing him. But then I realized: not being successful doesn’t help him. It doesn’t make his life better.

If anything, my success can change his life. It can show him what’s possible. It can make him proud. Breaking the mold isn’t disrespecting your parents—it’s honoring everything they did to give you the chance to do it.

 

5. Success Is a Skill, Not Magic

Old Belief: I’m not smart enough or good enough to succeed.
New Belief: Success is a skill anyone can learn.

This was a big one for me. I thought success was for the super-smart, the naturally talented, the people born with a silver spoon. But here’s the deal: success is just a set of skills. It’s about solving problems, inspiring people, and running operations. And guess what?

Skills can be learned. You don’t have to be a genius to be successful. You just have to practice, learn, and grow. Plenty of people who are dumb as rocks have built empires. If they can do it, so can I. So can you.

6. Money Enhances Creativity

Old Belief: Money corrupts creativity.
New Belief: Money enhances creativity.

I used to believe that focusing on money would ruin my creativity. But then I looked around at my broke creative friends. They didn’t have money for instruments, for epic speakers, for the tools they needed to fully express themselves.

Money doesn’t kill creativity—it fuels it. It gives you the freedom to create, to explore, to invest in your passions. Lack of money is what stifles creativity. When you have wealth, you can be the most creative, expressive version of yourself.

Rewiring these beliefs wasn’t easy. It took time, effort, and a lot of introspection. But as I tore down each belief and replaced it with empowering truths, everything started to shift. I stopped avoiding opportunities. I stopped procrastinating. I started taking action like I was unstoppable—because now, I believed I could be.

The Formula to Remove and Replace a Belief

Every belief is like a table. At first glance, it seems solid and immovable. But if you try to attack the belief head-on, it’s like hitting the top of the table with a hammer—it won’t budge.

Here’s the secret: every table has legs. If you knock out the legs, the table collapses. The same is true for beliefs.

To destroy a belief, you have to identify and dismantle the "legs" holding it up. Here’s how I did it:

Step 1: Identify the Limiting Belief

The first step is to pinpoint the belief that’s holding you back. Start by asking yourself:
"What’s the worst thing that could happen if I made a lot of money?"

This question is powerful because it forces you to confront the fears and pain you may unconsciously associate with wealth. The more pain you have attached to the idea of making money, the more likely it is that this belief is blocking you.

For example:

  • If your answer is, “People will think I’m greedy,” then the limiting belief might be: “Rich people are greedy.”
  • If your answer is, “I’ll lose my friends,” the belief could be: “Money ruins relationships.”
  • If your answer is, “I’ll have too much responsibility,” the belief might be: “Having money is a burden.”

These fears reveal the subconscious programming that’s keeping you stuck. Take a moment to write down the belief and the thoughts it brings up.

 

Step 2: Identify the Legs

Now that you’ve found the limiting belief, ask yourself:
"How do I know this belief is true?"

Whatever pops into your head first is key—these are the subconscious “legs” propping up the belief. For example, if your belief is “Money is the root of all evil,” you might uncover legs like:

  • “Rich people are greedy.”
  • “Having money makes people selfish.”
  • “I’ve seen money ruin people’s lives.”
  • “I’ll lose my values if I focus on wealth.”

Each of these legs is a smaller sub-belief that reinforces the bigger one. Identifying them gives you a clear target for dismantling the belief.

 

Step 3: Call BS on Each Leg

Now it’s time to knock out the legs. For each supporting thought, challenge its truth by asking:

  • "Is this really true?"
  • "How do I know this is true?"

Then actively dismantle the logic behind the leg. For example:

  • "Rich people are greedy": Are they? Or do many of them create value, solve problems, and help others? Aren’t there also plenty of poor people who are greedy?
  • "Money makes people selfish": No, money magnifies who you already are. If you’re generous, money makes you even more generous.
  • "I’ll lose my values": Your values are internal, not tied to your bank account. Why would having money change your integrity?

As you challenge each leg, focus on how these beliefs have limited your life. How have they held you back? How have they caused you to miss out on opportunities? This process exposes the lies and weakens the hold these beliefs have on you.

 

Step 4: Collapse the Table

With each leg destroyed, the belief starts to fall apart. Without any support, it collapses entirely. You begin to see it for what it really is: an illusion, a story you’ve been telling yourself.

The belief no longer has power over you. Now, it’s time to replace it with something stronger and more empowering.

 

Step 5: Build a New Belief

Once the old belief is gone, plant a new, empowering belief in its place. Start by asking yourself:
"What belief would support the life I want to create?"

For example, if your new belief is “Money is the root of all freedom,” you can build supportive “legs” under it:

  • “Money gives me choices and opportunities.”
  • “I can use money to help others and make a difference.”
  • “Having money allows me to create a life I love and share it with the people I care about.”

The more legs you build, the stronger the new belief becomes. Over time, it becomes the foundation of new, empowering behaviors.

This process transformed me. When I started identifying the legs of my limiting beliefs and knocking them down, I saw how much control I actually had over my mindset. I realized that beliefs aren’t permanent—they’re just constructs we can tear down and rebuild.

By rewiring my mind with new beliefs, I started taking action with confidence, embracing opportunities, and showing up as the person I knew I could be. My sabotaging behaviors disappeared because they no longer had a foundation to stand on.

And that’s the power of rewriting your beliefs: when you change what’s in your mind, you change what’s in your life.



ANTI-SUCCESS MAGNET

Then something happened that changed my life forever. I read MJ Demarco’s book The Millionaire Fastlane and decided to start a lead generation company for rehab centers.

I got to work for the next three months building the offer, building the website, building the strategy, and cold calling around when I finally did it! I got my first rehab client!!! YES!!!!!!

A nice older gentleman who’d been helping people get off drugs for 20 years now. And he needed help getting more people into his rehab centers. It was a perfect mach.

I was going to make ads for the radio and inspire people to get off drugs, change their lives, and check into my client’s rehab centers. I even got him to prepay $3000 for the ads and closed the deal! I was jumping for joy. I finally did it!  I am finally going to be successful! I am finally going to start making money for the first time and actually go live my life! 

But a week later, I got a call telling me we needed to stop everything. Stop the radio ads (which I couldn’t I already paid for them) and stop generating leads. When I asked why it was because…

My client had just overdosed on heroin. And died. Overdosed in his car, in the middle of the night, with needles right next to him. Leaving his entire family behind. It was horrific. It was a complete shock. 

I opened up the newspaper to see my client on the front page. 


After the funeral, I thought to myself, “What the heck was that??? This guy’s been helping people get off drugs for 20 years and 2 weeks after he’s client of mine, right when I’m about to become successful, he dies? What’s going on here? That’s not skill-related, it's not self-sabotage—that was just pure, old-fashioned bad luck. 

Why does bad luck seem to show up right as I’m about to become successful?  

WTF IS THAT ABOUT?

I tried to push it aside, telling myself it was just a random fluke, a part of life’s chaos. I said, “There’s no shame in the struggle. The shame is in giving up on your dream or not trying in the first place. You’re doing a great job, Peter. Keep your head down, keep grinding. Next time is the one.”

But as I kept moving forward, the same maddening pattern persisted. My failures weren’t because of a lack of skill, or even self-sabotage—something random would always swoop in and push my goal away, like I was a magnet facing the wrong direction. Every time I got close, it would just snap away from me.

I remember going a whole year telling myself, “Next week is the week it all works!” And for 50 straight weeks, the can got kicked down the road. I was always one week away.



THE GUIDE

A year and a half later, I had given up on my rehab business, moved to Las Vegas for a job, quit that job, started software company, and was now on the brink of catastrophic devastation. My software company had failed, and my last-ditch Kickstarter campaign had crashed and burned. I was at the edge of my rope, about slip off, with a long and painful fall down. 

I remember sitting down at a co-working spot in Las Vegas called Work In Progress, overwhelmed by a deep ache of pain and sadness. Desperately, I searched for something—anything—I could do to pull myself out. An idea, a plan, a glimmer of hope. But there was nothing. The harder I tried, the clearer it became: I had nothing left. I was done.

Surrounded by people who seemed to have it all together, the weight of it all pressed down on me. The sadness inside me grew heavier and heavier until it became unbearable. And then, without warning, it broke. I burst into uncontrollable tears, right there in the middle of the workspace, surrounded by strangers. I couldn’t hold it in any longer—it all came pouring out.

The shame hit instantly. I grabbed my stuff and bolted out of the building, desperate to escape. I ran to my car, slammed the door, and collapsed onto the steering wheel. Then the dam broke. I started crying harder than I ever had, the pain spilling out of me in waves.

Four years of endless sacrifice, sleepless nights, and shattered dreams—all culminating in this, my seventh failed business. I knew I was heading towards a cliff and it was too late to turn back. The wreckage was about to begin. 

Through the tears, I prayed at God, “Please help me! Please give me a sign! Give me guidance! What do I do? Please, God, I don’t know what to do anymore!”

And then, clear as day, a voice popped into my head.

“Peter… it’s a Sunday afternoon… and you’re crying like a teenage girl outside the co-working center in broad daylight. People can still see you. Move your freaking car.” 

“Yeah, you’re right…” I mumbled to myself.

I started the car, drove 30 feet, and parked behind another car in a quiet alley. Turning off the engine, I collapsed my head onto the steering wheel, utterly broken. Empty. Dying inside. I didn’t want to live anymore. My breath came out in ragged waves, carrying all the pain, all the emotions I’d bottled up for so long.

And then, as I lifted my head, I saw it. A massive sticker on the car in front of me that read:


“Relax, GOD is in control.”

I froze, staring at it in disbelief.

Suddenly, the air around me began to shift. I filled myself with a deep breath and a sublime wave of lightness and hope flooded through my soul as I exhaled. As if the crushing weight of my life had just been placed on the floor. 

I turned to the empty passenger seat beside me, but it wasn’t empty anymore. Someone was there. I could feel their presence—warm, steady, and undeniably real. I was no longer afraid. 

I took a deep, shaky breath, the kind that comes after you’ve cried so hard you think there’s nothing left inside. 

Just like that message began to fill my mind:


“Well done my good and faithful servant. Everything about who you are and where you are is perfect. You have made it to exactly where you are supposed to be. You’re doing amazing. You are guided.” 

Tears burst back on after I heard that. I needed that message like a dying man needs his family.

How? I thought…. How is it possible that I could fail 7 companies in a row, be barreling toward a cliff with the worst still to come, and be exactly where I am supposed to be, all at the same time? How is it possible?? Am I really on God’s Plan right now? 

Something shifted inside me. The crushing weight of despair loosened its grip, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I could breathe again.

I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now. 

I started the car, wiped my eyes, and drove home, crying tears of hope the whole way. I didn’t have all the answers. I was still broke, still struggling, still on the brink of disaster. But for the first time in a long time, I believed there was a bigger plan for me. Even though I couldn’t see the full picture, I could feel it – I am right there I am supposed to be. 

I thought of a quote from an old mentor of mine, Malan Darras who says, “Only Good Things Happen”. 

Even the most horrific experiences can become some of the greatest moments of your life. That bad thing you keep dwelling on? It might actually be a blessing in disguise—you never really know. But when you believe the universe has your back, and that life is happening for you, not to you, everything changes. Suddenly, there’s no such thing as losing—only winning and learning. It’s all win-win.

Only good things happen. And right now, I can feel it: something amazing is about to happen.

 

THE MESSENGER

I drove home and walked into my apartment to find my roommate pissed. She was pacing, her voice sharp, frustrated, and exhausted. “You missed rent, again. You’re going to miss it next month too, aren’t you? You need to stop with your stupid businesses and get a job like a normal person.”

Her words cut deep, but I couldn’t blame her. My back was against the wall. “Fine,” I muttered.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a cold call center, boxed in by those three beige cubicle walls, wearing a cheap headset and staring at a computer screen. Around me, the voices of 30 other salespeople blended into a monotonous hum and ringing phones as they made endless calls, pitching and pleading to people who didn’t want to hear from them. My task? Make 100 calls a day, selling virtual assistant services to people who had no interest in buying.

It was soul-crushing. Every single day felt like a slow erosion of my spirit—a relentless loop of rejection, monotony, and frustration. I hated every second of it. Each call chipped away at the little hope I had left, and it felt like my life was unraveling one phone call at a time.

I began to question everything. Was this it? Was this what my life had come to? I didn’t even want to think about starting another business. The thought of going through the struggle again felt impossible. I was just so beaten down. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this after all. Maybe I should just quit trying.

One afternoon, as I stared at the endless list of names to call, something caught my eye—Les Brown. My heart stopped. Les Brown? Could it really be him

I was overcome with emotion. Tears welled in my eyes as memories flooded back. I used to listen to Les Brown’s speech “It’s Not Over Until I Win” over and over again. Failure after failure I would come back to Les Brown and he would give me hope when I had none. Lying on the floor of my parent’s basement with my eyes closed wishing I could just teleport to a new reality. 

Here’s an old photo with me and Les Brown on the screen.

How broken I had felt back then, and how his words had lifted me, like a hand reaching into the darkness to pull me out. Les had taught me that hard times weren’t meant to stay—they were meant to pass. He taught me that I didn’t have to know how I was going to make it; I just had to believe I would. He made me promise the mission would never be over until I won. And now, in the middle of this miserable cubicle, his name was right in front of me.

I hesitated, my hands shaking as I clicked to call. The phone started ringing, and I could barely breathe. Then I hear a voice. “Hello there! This is Les Brown! Who’s calling?”

IT WAS HIM! LES BROWN!!!! His voice—radiant, powerful, so full of life, so enthusiastic and excited—hit me like a wave. In that instant, it was as if all the hope he had ever given me came rushing back. I was completely overwhelmed. Tears spilled down my face, and I couldn’t even speak. His energy was so vibrant, so healing, it felt like he had reached through the phone and wrapped me in light.

“Uh… this is Peter Kell, calling from Davin M*****’s office,” I managed to choke out through my tears, barely able to form the words.

“Oh, Daven! How’s he doing?” Les asked, his warmth and joy radiating through the phone like it was a microwave of happiness.

I could barely respond. Frozen in shock. The tears kept coming as I sat there, completely overcome by this wave of happiness and hope that was filling me. I was sobbing silently, trying to keep it together, but his energy was just as incredible as it had been back when I first heard him. He was exactly how I’d always watched him online. The same man who had once helped me believe in myself was now on the phone with me, and I couldn’t believe it.

We talked for a moment, yet my brain was so overloaded I couldn’t even think of anything meaningful to say.  

Yet as I hung up, his words and his energy stayed with me. It was as if his spirit had reached through the phone and reminded me of everything he stood for: “It’s not over until you win.” “You don’t have to know how you’ll do it—all you have to know is that you are going to do it.”

That night, tears welled up in my eyes as I replayed those words. Then came the hardest question of all:

 Would I rather stay here, wasting my life in this cubicle while barely making rent, or be homeless and working on my dreams every single day?

For the next few days, I wrestled with that question. But Les’s voice kept ringing in my head. Finally, I decided: Screw it. Homeless.

If my destiny is to struggle and fail for the rest of my life, then so be it. I will keep studying, I will keep grinding for all eternity then, and I will follow my calling at all costs, even if it ruins me. Because at least when I’m working towards my goals, there’s a chance. 

The last time I got evicted in San Diego I decided to use my parents as a cushion and move back into their house. Now this time, getting evicted in Las Vegas, I decided no more cushions. If I’m going to hit rock bottom I’m going to hit it head-on. So I never forget.

I walked into my boss’s office, handed in my headset, and quit on the spot. It’s not over until I win. 

THE JUDGE

When I told my roommate, she had enough. She evicted me immediately and I went to throw everything I owned into a storage unit. And called my friend to ask if I could sleep on his floor. 

Shortly after, my car got repossessed for not making payments. 

The next day, I checked my Chase bank account and saw it had overdrafted. The fees had pulled me down to -$120.

With nothing else to do, I hopped on my scooter and made my way to the bank, determined to figure something out. It was a brutal 105-degree Las Vegas heatwave, with wind whipping up dust everywhere. By the time I got to the bank, I was drenched in sweat, dirt clinging to my face, and my head hung low.

I walked up to the teller—a young guy, maybe 24, dressed sharp in a black suit and brown shoes. I must’ve looked like the complete opposite of him: disheveled, beaten down, and barely holding it together.

“Hey, man,” I started, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m negative $120, but I only have $80. Is there any way we can work this out? Please—it’s all I’ve got.”

He looked at me with pure disgust. It was as if he’d decided right then and there that I was the lowest of the low—a lazy, dirty failure who didn’t belong in his world.

And to be fair, I looked like it.


I’d stopped going to the gym to conserve what little energy I had left because I was literally running out of food. I’d lost 20 pounds, my face gaunt and hollow from months of stress. The last eight months of desperately trying to save my business had taken every ounce of my soul. Seven failed business over four long, grueling years.

And now this bank teller, a guy stuck in a classic dead end corporate job looked at me like I was the lowest of the low. He had no idea what I was going through, no idea how hard I was fighting to keep going.

But to him, I was nothing.

He took my $80 without a word, cleared my account to zero, and shoved the receipt back at me like I wasn’t worth a second of his time. His expression said it all: You don’t belong here. Don’t come back.

Humiliation burned through me, turning quickly into anger. I’ll show him, I thought. He’s gonna pay for looking at me like that.

As I walked out of the bank, the desert sun scorching my back, I clenched my fists and swore to myself. That teller didn’t know me. He didn’t know the battles I was fighting or the depths I’d already crawled through.

And he sure as hell didn’t know what I was capable of.

I told myself, “I don’t care if I have to fail forever. I’d rather be homeless and working toward my dreams than stuck in a dead-end job like that guy, going nowhere.”

Nothing is more painful than a dead-end, lifeless job for 50 years—living for the weekend, waking up, going to work, coming home, eating, and going to sleep. Repeating that over and over again until it’s too late.

Do you think what I’m doing is risky? Do you think failure is painful? Nothing is riskier than a life of regret. Nothing is more painful than hitting your 50s, 60s, or 70s and realizing you wasted it all.

That’s where he’s headed. And even if I’m destined to fail forever as an entrepreneur, so be it. At least I’ll always have a shot at breaking free. At least I’m on an adventure.

With that thought, I picked myself up, got back on my scooter, and rode home—back to my friend’s small studio apartment in Downtown Las Vegas, clutching that tiny spark of hope and determination.

THE THEIF

When I got back to my friend’s tiny studio, I collapsed onto the floor, staring at the ceiling. My heart was racing, my mind buzzing. I knew I had to make something happen—fast. There wasn’t time to wallow or feel sorry for myself. I needed a plan.

That’s when the idea hit me again. I’d been mulling it over for weeks—a sales tool I could build and pitch to an old boss for $3,500. It wasn’t much, but it was exactly what I needed to kickstart my life back together. 

Every day, I treated it like my full-time job to make my dreams come true. I’d wake up early, grab my laptop, and head to the library and got to work. Relentlessly grinding, studying, creating, and testing my ideas, determined to make it work.

I was scraping by, doing odd jobs for local entrepreneurs to earn a few bucks. But even with those efforts, the struggle was relentless. 

I could barely afford to eat. My meals were cinnamon Pop-Tarts and Top Ramen, day in and day out. The apartment had a shared kitchen, but I was too humiliated to have anyone see me eating that for breakfast lunch and dinner. So for every meal I’d hide in the bathroom and pour lukewarm tap water over the ramen and eat alone, hiding my shame.

I tried applying for welfare but got denied after two months of waiting. At one point I got down to $20, a suitcase full of clothes, a laptop, and a moped. 

And on that day… my moped was stolen

ANTI-DEATH MAGNET

I layed down on the floor, closed my eyes and wanted to die. But I couldn’t. Because my friend was letting me sleep on his floor.  I had to act. I had to move now. 

I had to keep my attitude strong.

Only a positive mental attitude was going to turn this around. That much I knew.

I started to laugh at the absurdity of it all—this situation, my life, the whole mess I was in. It was screwed, sure. But you know what? There’s nothing wrong with struggling when you’re on your path. That’s okay. This is what makes for a great entrepreneur. This is what makes an amazing person. Overcoming challenges just like this. The obstacle is the way. This is the way. I’m blessed to have these challenges in my life. These obstacles are what I get to solve to live my dream.

I closed my eyes and thought about my future family. If I ever had a son and a daughter. I promised myself that one day, I would tuck them into bed, dim the lights, and tell them the greatest bedtime story they’ve ever heard.

I’d tell them about how their entrepreneur dad went through hell and made it out on top. How he loved them so very much. And how they could create any life they imagined in this world. All they had to do was believe… and follow the voice within their soul. 

And then, suddenly, a tiny little voice popped into my head.

“Come on, Dad. Get up. Get up, Dad.”

My watery eyes shot open. That was it.

I stood up, clenched my fists, and shouted inside my mind: Throw me back in the ring!!!. My story isn’t over yet. It’s not over till I win.

With that fire burning in my chest, I knew—I couldn’t quit. No matter how far I’d fallen, no matter how long it took. I wasn’t going to let this be the end. Not for me, and not for the story I’d one day tell my family.

This wasn’t over. It was just the beginning.

And that’s when things started to get weird. I always thought that if I ran out of food and money, then I guess that means you’re going to die. But the same way that my goals always seemed to be pushed away from me, was the same way that tiny miracles would come into my life that would save me. Like there was some sort of “spiritual floor” that was keeping me alive. 

 

Just when I thought I was done for, the universe seemed to throw me a lifeline. I’d find $40 on the street when I was completely broke. An unexpected tax return for $250 would show up just in time. I’d go to dinner with an old boss, who at the end would give me $100 because, “It looked like I needed it.” But when I’d come back to my friends apartment, suddenly the lights would shut off because one of the guys didn’t pay the bill. The cost? $100. Which magically I now had. So I’d give them the money and the lights would turn back on. 

WTF is that?? 

Bad luck when I’m about to be successful? 

Good luck when I’m about to die? 

 

What is going on???

THE OBSERVER

Eventually my friend asked if I could leave and I found another group of friends to stay with in an even worse part of Las Vegas where cockroaches would crawl over me at night.

The kind of place where the floor was sticky, and if you opened up the wrong kitchen drawer, you’d find seven cockroaches staring you in the face. They wouldn’t even move or try to run away. They’d just sit there and look at you like, “How dare you open our drawer?” You’d look back at your roommates, and they’d shrug and say, “Yeah, we don’t really use that drawer.”

I was making progress on my $3,500 sale and was close to closing a deal, but more random delays started showing up, kicking the can down the road. 

I was sick of it. Fed up and I felt like I needed to have a conversation with God to figure out what was going on.

Then I stumbled upon a book called Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch. Little did I know, this was about to be the last book I’d read before my life would take off like a rocket.

The book is a true story of Neale, frustrated and broken, yelling up at the sky after losing his job and breaking his neck: “WHYYYY GOD! Why does life have to be so hard? Why does money always have to be so tight? When is my life going to take off?”

And suddenly, Neale hears a voice: “Do you really want an answer to that, or are you just venting?” Neale says yes, and a back-and-forth conversation between him and God unfolds, creating an iconic book that ultimately sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

In Conversations with God, God (speaking to Neale) explains that our thoughts, imagination, and feelings are what create our reality. God is the Observer, and the Universe was created so that God could experience everything through everybody. But God didn’t leave us without guidance—He placed the creative power of Himself within our imagination. This divine power, embedded in our thoughts and feelings, has been shaping our reality all along, whether we realize it or not.

This is why the Law of Attraction works. It’s why thoughts become things. It’s why karma is real. Have you ever thought about a friend and then out of the blue they call you? God is behind it all. You’ve been creating your life based on the images in your mind, the emotions you feel, and the beliefs you hold in your subconscious.

In the book, God explains that with everything in life, it’s whats underground that creates whats above ground. It’s the roots that create the fruits. Everything begins in the imagination. The chair you’re sitting on, the clothes you’re wearing—all of it started as an idea in someone’s mind. If you want to change the fruits (your results), you must first change the roots (your beliefs, thoughts, and feelings).

Action is merely the bridge between your inner world and your outer world. You can take all the action in the world, work harder than anyone else, but if your inner world is filled with beliefs of lack or limitation, your results will reflect lack and limitation. If you believe you’re broken, you’ll manifest a broken life. If you believe you’re unworthy, you’ll manifest a worthless life. If you believe you’re brilliant, you’ll manifest brilliance. If you believe God has an amazing plan for you, you’ll be given an amazing plan! It’s whatever you believe is true at the root of your mind—your sponsoring thought, as God calls it. This belief radiate an energy out into the universe. And this energy is what is attracted back to you. 

One of the most profound lessons in the book is this: When you want something, you radiate the energy of lack—the vibration that says, “I don’t have this.” The more you want it, the more you attract a reality where you don’t have it. That energy of lack acts like a repellent, pushing your goals further away. And when you need something, you radiate desperation, which repels it even more. Neale called this the secret I had been missing. Life is constantly giving you back the energy that you’ve been putting out! 

For years, I had been radiating the energy of lack. I wanted to be rich, wanting to be the young super car guy, but in wanting it, I was telling the universe, “I’m not rich.” My belief in being a broke, struggling entrepreneur was so strong that it kept manifesting that exact life, over and over again. Every time I got close to success, “bad luck” would appear. Because success energy was not a match for the lack energy I was putting out. My lacking energy was what was constantly creating lack in my life. And any success opportunity would fly away as if I were a magnet facing the wrong direction, constantly pushing my dreams further out of reach.

Neale explained that the transformation I needed wasn’t about doing more—it was about being more. I had to stop wanting to be rich and start being rich in my mind. I needed to stop believing I was a broke struggling entrepreneur, and start believing I was a rich successful entrepreneur. I needed to feel as though I were already successful, to embody the identity of someone who had already achieved their dreams. Like an actor preparing for a role, I had to live as though I was already the person I aspired to become. To start radiating the successful, excited, grateful energy today! Radiating the energy that was a match for the life I wished to experience! 

Until I made that shift—until I radiated the energy of abundance—I would stay stuck in the cycle of wanting, needing, and lack. You are always radiating some sort of energy! And you are always getting back to you the energy you are radiating. Energy in motion is your emotions. Your emotions are the key to it all! 



THE TEACHER 

Now when I first read this, I didn’t immediately understand it. I was struggling to wrap my head around the concept. But then that night, something happened that changed my life forever.

After a long night of journaling, I got up off the couch to grab a drink and wandered over to the kitchen. That’s when I saw it. On the counter was a toilet paper roll, and sitting dead center inside the roll was a cockroach. My instincts kicked in. I grabbed a piece of paper and slid it over the top of the roll to trap the cockroach inside. Holding the paper down to keep it contained, I stood there, trying to figure out what to do next.

My roommates noticed and asked, “Peter, what the hell are you doing?”

“There’s a cockroach in the toilet paper roll,” I said with a sheepish look on my face, as if to acknowledge how absurd the moment was.

They said, “Okay, then just kill it.”

Without thinking, I responded, “I am killing it.”

I took the toilet paper roll, carried it to the sink, sent the cockroach down the drain, and turned on the garbage disposal. “Boom. It’s dead,” I said as I walked back to the couch, feeling pretty accomplished.

But then it hit me. As I sat down my eyes went wide. My brain lit up like a switch had been flipped. “What the hell just happened?” I thought to myself.

I grabbed my iPad and started writing furiously: I didn’t say, “I want to kill it,” or “I need to kill it.” I simply said, “I am killing it.” And then I killed it.

The process was simple: I said the “I am” statement, I took action, and I got the result.

That’s when it all clicked: This is exactly what Neile Donald Walsh had been talking about.

The same way that moving the toilet paper roll was me killing the roach, was the same way that me sitting there journaling, planning, and working on my goals was me becoming rich. It wasn’t “I want to become rich” or “I need to become rich.” It was, “I am becoming rich.” Right here right now in this moment. I AM BECOMING RICH! 

I realized I’d been getting it wrong all along. My entire identity was trapped in this loop of wanting to be rich, but by wanting it, I was affirming lack. I was identifying as a broke entrepreneur—constantly reinforcing that reality. Constantly radiating this lacking energy. I’d never experienced bad luck. I’d only experienced the energy that I was putting out. By constantly wanting to be rich, I was unknowingly attracting failure, keeping me stuck as the broke entrepreneur I believed I was.

When I shifted my mindset to “I am becoming rich,” everything changed. I felt grateful. I felt excited. Every action I took, every move I made, was part of the process.

I didn’t know if this was really the secret or not. All I knew is that it made sense, and I was messing this up big time. 

It was time to get to work on becoming a master of my energy. 

 

THE MILLIONAIRE

I looked myself in the mirror and started to deeply reprogram my mind: "I don’t care what this mirror says—I am a young, rich, badass supercar driver ripping through life in my dream car. I am a master of energy. I am the greatest, most successful entrepreneur on the planet. I AM AN ABUNDANT AND RICH GUY! I’m just trapped in this broke guy’s body, and we’re going to get the hell out of here!"

From that moment, I started changing all the energy within myself. I wasn’t pretending; I was becoming. I was being. I radiated the gratitude that my higher self is rich. And I am my higherself. Which means I am Rich. THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!  Excitement, gratitude, bliss, joy, freedom, peace, love, self-love, worthiness. Every action, every thought, every ounce of energy I had would come from a place of abundance. To the real me.

I closed my eyes and let the visualization flood my mind. Live in the end, I repeated to myself. Imagine the feeling. Feelings are the secret. I focused every fiber of my being on living as though I was already a millionaire.

I pictured the details vividly. My friends and family were there, hugging me, congratulating me. I could see their faces, their clothes, the way their eyes lit up with pride. In my mind’s eye, I turned and looked into a mirror.

For the first time, I saw him—Millionaire Pete.

Tall. Proud. Radiant. Successful. I could feel the keys to my Lamborghini in my pocket. I could hear the roar of its engine waiting outside. Behind me, my family was celebrating, their joy echoing through the scene.

The feelings of accomplishment and freedom surged through my body like an electric current. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was no longer visualizing—I was living it. This wasn’t just imagination; this was reality. I AM a millionaire.

I repeated it over and over, letting the words seep into my very core:
"I make $50,000 every two weeks. I am beaming. I am alive. My whole body is exploding with energy."

I opened my laptop, the words pouring out of me like a flood. It was as if the greatest coach in the world had taken over my mind:


"Wow, Pete. You’ve waited your whole life for this moment. And now it’s happening. You’re becoming rich! You’re creating the most extraordinary life. You’re becoming the man you’ve always dreamed of being."

A stream of affirmations followed, each one planting new seeds in my subconscious:
"I am a genius. I am brilliant. I am a world-class marketer. Money is coming so fast it’s insane. I am a leader. I am an inspiration. I am unstoppable. I am making millions of dollars from my laptop. I am building a life of extraordinary wealth and joy."

I could see it all so clearly—surfing on golden beaches, driving my white Lamborghini, marrying the most beautiful amazing woman in the world, the sun shining down on my life of success. I wasn’t just daydreaming; I was there.

The energy within me was uncontainable. I felt alive, bursting with a certainty that this future was already mine. I could feel it in my bones, in my soul.

"This is happening!!" I told myself, "With all my heart. I am breaking through, busting through, screaming through, and unleashing a mighty roar of achievement."

One week later, I closed the deal with my ex-boss and a $3,500 wire hit my account. Tears of joy streamed down my face, dripping onto the dirty, cockroach-infested mattress in Las Vegas. It was my first big amazing moment that reflected the energy I was putting out. It was just enough to piece my life back together—a chance to get a new scooter, find a place to live, and, most importantly, get back to work. For the first time in months, my life took a step in the right direction. 

 

THE MISSION

Once the money hit my account, I knew it was time to get to work. I had just turned 25, and the clock was ticking. I only had two years left to realize my dream of becoming a young millionaire by 27. This was my shot to pull off the miracle, to make my dreams come true, and to craft a story that would be nothing short of legendary. There was no room for error—this was my last big swing.

After seven failed businesses, I’d finally learned an important lesson: starting my own business from scratch wasn’t the move. I didn’t have the time, money, or room for another failure. I needed to take a different approach. I had to become an apprentice to a master—to find someone who was already living the life I dreamed of experiencing—and do whatever it took to get in their world and learn everything they knew.

Through my marketing experience, I realized there was one skill set I had to master: media buying. If I wanted to become that young, rich guy, I saw only a few viable paths—poker players, stock traders, and media buyers. For me, media buying was it. The problem? Media buying requires money to spend on ads, and I didn’t have any.

You can read all the books in the world about running ads, but until you’re spending money on ads, you’re not practicing. And if you’re not practicing, you’re not getting any good. Now I didn’t have money to practice, no credit cards to lean on, and no time to waste. I needed to find a mentor and join a team.

I started looking around Las Vegas, searching for someone I could work with. That’s when I discovered a local affiliate network. The owner was a legend in the industry and they seemed like a badass place to work. They weren’t hiring, and no job applications were available, but I cold-called the owner anyway. I introduced myself as a local marketer who wanted to focus on media buying, told him I was looking for an amazing team to join, and asked if he wanted to work together. I promised to help him make money and proposed a profit-share agreement. To my amazement, on October 2015, he said yes. KABOOM BABY! WE GOT A NEW JOB! 

It was another positive energetic boomerang bouncing back into my life! Again I was getting back the excited rich grateful energy I was putting out. Showing up as another step in the right direction! We are onto something! 

This was the perfect opportunity to master the one skill I needed to achieve the life of my dreams. The path was clear, it’s all or nothing now! 

I take $600 of the $3,500 wire and buy a new scooter so I can drive to the office every day while dressed up like the world-class rich executive I’ve been picturing in my mind to give me extra energy and power. Check it out below. 



THE MASTERMIND

Now that I was in this new energy and had this incredible opportunity, I knew I had to give it everything I had. I couldn’t leave any stone unturned. This was it—my shot to make my dream a reality. I had to do whatever it took to succeed.

While preparing to start my new job, I was listening to Tony Robbins every single day. One morning, I heard him say something I’d heard before: “You are the average of your five closest friends.”

But this time, it hit differently. I paused and really thought about it. I was an entrepreneur, and I had six entrepreneur friends. But when I looked closer, I realized something: all my friends were broke entrepreneurs. I was the sixth broke entrepreneur in a crew of broke entrepreneurs. Nothing against my friends—they were great people—but my mission was to make $1,000 a day doing affiliate marketing online. And when I asked myself who in my circle was doing that? The answer? Nobody.

This was a concept I’d always heard but had never seriously put to the test. Now, with this new opportunity, I decided it was time to actually do something about it. I made it my side quest, my personal mission, to become close friends with five people who were all making $1,000 a day online with affiliate marketing.

I got to work right away, digging through the best paid online forums and started reaching out to high level guys who were in my field. The concept was simple: a free private group of 5-6 of us where we could all have a place to bounce ideas off each other and share updates onto what was going on. 

I interviewed each person one on one to assemble my dream team and within weeks I had my crew. Even though I wasn’t making $1,000 a day yet, nobody asked me if I was because I started the group. And once those calls started happening, my mindset and skillset skyrocketed. Watching how they thought, how they worked, and how they solved problems completely shifted the way I approached my own challenges.

We jumped on weekly video calls, sharing insights and brainstorming ways to level up. The energy was electric—everyone was committed to growth, and it created an incredible feedback loop of motivation and ideas.

The conversations in this group were better than any course I’d ever taken. Connections, deals, and solutions were all appearing. With every roadblock I had someone in my group knew the answer. I was leveling up like crazy. I didn’t have to figure everything out on my own anymore. By surrounding myself with people who were already successful, I started thinking, acting, and believing like someone who was successful too. My skills sharpened, my vision expanded, and soon enough, my results followed.

Two months after starting my mastermind, it happened. I finally cracked my first profitable affiliate campaign online selling brain nootropics. And one month later, I scaled that to my first $1,000 profit day. Tears of joy streamed down my face. After four long years of relentless struggle and pain, I finally made my first $1k/day. Here’s what the moment looked like.

THE MASTERS

I couldn’t believe the mastermind worked. That simple idea—you are the average of your five closest friends—worked. It completely transformed my skill set and mindset.

And as I sat there, I started to wonder: If this can work for $1,000 a day, could it work for $10,000 a day?

By now, I’d been actively looking around for people living the life I dreamed of—guys with Lamborghinis, mansions, and an incredible lifestyle that my soul thinks is super fun. That’s when I found JasonAGuru. An affiliate marketing legend who was iconic in the industry for being one of the biggest Facebook media buyers in the world. This guy was sharp, hilarious, and loved roasting gurus online who tried to make money selling courses. Naturally, I reached out to him.

“Hey man, I’ve got this mastermind group. It’s free. We just hang out and talk about media buying. You want to join us?”

Jason fired back immediately, “Yo, screw your stupid mastermind group. I’m not joining.”

“Why not?” I asked, genuinely curious.

He said, “Because you’re just going to take everything I know.”

I laughed and replied, “Bro, I’m not going to take everything you know. You don’t even have to share anything if you don’t want to. Just come hang out—it’s awesome.”

He wasn’t having it. “Nope. Not joining your stupid group,” he said, and that was it.

I thought, “DAMN!” and moved on. But then, the very next day, Jason messaged me again. “Hey, I’m still not joining your stupid group,” he said, “but my business partner, John, says he’s down.” AWESOME!!! I thought! 

Apparently, John’s this super friendly down-to-earth guy who loves living on islands, flying around in planes, and being financially responsible. 

Next thing I know, John joins the group. Week after week, he shows up, and we hit it off immediately. We start building this solid friendship. Meanwhile, my nootropics campaign started gaining traction, and it’s getting their attention.

Then one day, my boss starts stressing about how much I’m spending and forced me to pause the campaign. I tell John and they drop the bomb: “Why don’t you come work for us?”

These weren’t just successful guys. These were some of the biggest marketers in the world. I knew this was my shot. Without skipping a beat, I said, “Yeah, sure! Can I fly down and crash on your couch? I want to be 100% in—work on this 24/7. If I’ve got this shot, I’m going all out.”

John didn’t even hesitate. “Sure,” he said.

And just like that, I was in.

THE ISLANDER

I flew down to Hermosa Beach, California, set up a desk in John’s living room, and launched my first Facebook ad. That was the beginning of everything. For a month and a half, I worked obsessively, fine-tuning my campaign until it started gaining real momentum.

The campaign kept scaling, and being around John and Jason, two pros at high-volume ad spend, pushed me to levels I’d never thought possible. I’d tell them I was going to spend $500 tomorrow and they told me to spend $5,000 and quit being a little b*tch. I was being ripped up to their level. 

Day by day, the numbers grew:

  • Spend $2k, make $4k. Profit: $2k.
  • Spend $4k, make $7k. Profit: $3k.
  • Spend $7k, make $12k. Profit: $5k.
  • Spend $13k, make $20k. Profit: $7k.

These were affiliate sales so we had no other expenses outside of paying for ads. Meaning, profit was profit in the bank. 

Then one day, John casually mentioned something that would change everything: his wife, a beautiful French woman, managed multi-million dollar villas overlooking the ocean in the Caribbean. They were planning to move to St. Barths for the next year and a half.

“Want to come with us?” he asked.

It didn’t take much thought. I said yes.

Before I knew it, I was living in St. Barths, working from an office in a mansion perched on the side of a villa. My surroundings had completely transformed, but something even more incredible was happening inside me.

On my 26th birthday, I hit a milestone I’d dreamed of: $50,000 in profit in just two weeks. It wasn’t just the money—it was what the money symbolized. It was proof that my energy, my identity, and my belief system had shifted.

For years, I’d unknowingly identified as a broke entrepreneur, and that’s exactly what I kept manifesting. But over the past 12 months, I’d begun radiating the energy of a young, rich supercar guy. And now, reality was bending to match who I believed I was at my core.

That’s when I fully realized the truth: reality always aligns with the identity you hold deep inside. When I changed who I believed I was, everything changed. My life finally reflected the version of me I had envisioned, affirmed, and embodied every single day.



THE WIZARD 

But the identity transformation didn’t end there.

Four years later, after I just sold my skincare brand, got a huge bag of cash, and tattoo’d “Something Amazing” on my arm, I went to Costa Rica and vowed that I wouldn’t stop drinking Ayahuasca until I ran into God so I could thank her for the amazing work she’d done to change my life. It worked. After a batsh*t crazy adventure (which I go into in the Warrior For God book), I met God face to face and committed my life to follow her forever.

In return, God transformed me into a Wizard. My third major core identity. No kidding. I went to Tulum and picked up a badass green wizard robe, 10 golden rings with a different animal on each one, necklaces, ankle bracelets, bleached my hair blonde, and found a magic Harry Potter wand to travel the world with...