Gentleman, love the show. I always struggled with putting into words how I felt, the drive that I had, the will to overcome. But it wasn’t until I heard your show for the firs time, that it clicked, Never Quit. My story isn’t near as inspiring as others I’ve heard on your show, but my life has been a struggle and I feel I’ve done well, considering.
My mother abandoned me when I was 6 months old. My father didn’t know what to do with me so he dropped me off with my grandparents. When I became too much for them to handle, I was returned to my father and new stepmother. For the next 4 years I was mentally and physically abused. In an effort to help me, my half sister managed to locate my birth mother. With no where else to go, I decided to see if I could make a life with a woman that didn’t want me from the get go, half way across the county. And as my life would have it, her husband kicked me out and her only words were, good luck. I managed to graduate high school and was forced to move back to my father’s until I was a legal adult. This was the lowest point for me. I’d been shuffled around and not wanted for so long that I finally snapped, and made a stupid decision that would cost me greatly, but would also turn out to be a life changing, never quit experience. I robbed a fast food restaurant with two other guys. This landed me with a 10 year sentence, 7 years served, with Arkansas finest. I went into a state penitentiary at the youthful age of 19, at 160lbs. with little life experience to prepare me for what I was about to go through. Not that anything could have prepared me, but the introverted, shy, frail teenager that I was, was far from what I needed to be when I walked off that bus and into those gates. What the next 7 years showed me, was that I had it in me to ‘never quit’. Faced with life or death situations, not knowing what was waiting for you around the corner, fight or flight all the time, and the later not even an option. I grew up quick and once I found that I had what it took to survive, I knew it was up to me for here on out. The day finally came when I was able to breath fresh air again. Reintroduction into the real world was just as brutal as the first time, but I managed to find a job and I met a lovely lady that showed me what love was all about. We’ve been married 6 years and have two beautiful daughters, a house on 6 acres, a life I never thought was possible. I listen to your show as a reminder, that just because I’m not fighting for my life now, doesn’t mean I need to forget about that drive that got me here. Your program is motivational to say the least, and I look forward to each new episode. It really makes a difference.