Tag: homeless

Here’s the true story of yet another person who went from homeless to great success using The Law of Attraction, The Secret, and other self-help books and principles.

I’m in Bangkok, Thailand as I write this.

I was flown here to present at a two-day seminar on The Missing Secret to success.

The people were warm and loving, the event was sold out, the traffic was awful, the food was amazing, and the Thai massages between my presentations were deeply and unforgettably relaxing.

But that’s not the good part.

One of the organizers is a young man from Sweden. His name is Andres Pira.

He left Sweden 15 years ago out of desperation.

He was 20 years old and unhappy.

His life was going no where, he was tired of the ten months a year of darkness, and he needed a way out.

His grandfather died, left him two thousand dollars, and he used it to buy a ticket to the warmest country he could get to fast.

That turned out to be Thailand.

But Thailand was not an easy road for a young man with no contacts, no experience, and no ability to speak the Thai language.

Within a short period, he was homeless.

He slept on the beach.

He was too embarrassed to ask his family for help.

He contacted a friend and confessed that he was desperate.

The friend said, “I won’t send you any money, but I’ll send you a book that might help you.”

A book?

Andres was upset.

He’s starving and his friend is going to send a book?

The book was The Secret.

Andres read it.

And as he did, something awakened within him.

He started to realize that his thoughts were creating his reality.

Since he was homeless, he didn’t like what his thoughts had created.

He decided to learn and use the Law of Attraction to create a better life for himself.

The next book he read was Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think and Grow Rich.

After that, he read my first book on ho’oponopono, Zero Limits.

He was committed to change his life.

He succeeded, too.

Today he runs 19 companies, has 150 employees, and is a billionaire.

He is one of the largest real estate developers in all of Southeast Thailand.

One of his biggest properties in 2018 will be managed by Best Western Premiere.

But he also owns a gym, a law office, a gas station, several coffee shops and more.

He’s only 35 years old.

He told me this story after picking me up at the Bangkok airport.

I was fascinated.

Even though I had just spent 24 hours traveling – with 20 hours of that in the air – I was engaged and wanted to know more.

“You have to tell your story,” I said. “This is inspiring. People look at you and see a billionaire. They don’t see the homeless man who read self-help books and took action to recreate his life.”

“I have never publicly told my story,” Andres confessed. “It would seem like bragging.”

“It’s not bragging to admit you were homeless,” I explained. “How is being homeless a bragging point?”

He laughed.

I told him of my own struggle from homeless through poverty on to global success.

I tell my story not to brag, but to inspire.

I wanted Andres to do the same.

“You are hosting your first event this weekend,” I said. “Why not stand up at it and tell your story?”

He had never considered that idea.

Andres was nervous, but I coached him on how to present his case.

To his credit, he agreed to make his speaking debut at his own event.

He did, too.

And he was great.

People loved this young man and his honest rages to riches story.

Andres explained how he read The Secret, and then moved on to other books by the teachers of The Secret, including me.

In fact, Andres is so grateful for my books and audios impact on his life that he is taking me to Phuket, Thailand for a week of rest, all at his own expense.

As we continued our ride, he told me of various turning points in his life.

One was about giving.

Both he and his fiancé decided to start giving on their birthdays.

The traditional custom in most countries is to receive gifts on your birthday.

But Andres and his soon to be wife liked the Thai custom of not getting but giving.

So on his birthday, he went to orphanages with bags of gifts.

His fiancée did the same on her birthday.

They felt fantastic in making a difference in these children’s lives.

But Andres discovered another benefit to this giving.

“Right then I noticed my businesses began to grow and multiply. Somehow my giving triggered a receiving that I didn’t expect.”

Of course, I’ve written about giving in numerous books, including Attract Money Now.

But it’s always fortifying to hear of others proving the power of giving.

The more I spoke to Andres, the more I realized he deeply integrated what he learned from me and other authors, and yet made it his own and went beyond it.

I told Andres that he needed to write his life story, including his life and business lessons, and his meditations and visualizations.

Whether he wrote it, I wrote it, or someone else wrote it, I could see it transforming millions of readers.

Andres and I will be spending more time together in Phuket, so I may be able to get a fire started under him to share his life with you.

I hope you find this story as inspiring as I do. Again and again, we keep seeing evidence that the Law of Attraction works. But you have to not just read about it, but also apply it.

Andres did, and look at him now.

You can be next.

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS – Great news! I convinced Andres to let me help him with his book. You can expect it in 2019. It’ll reveal his story, secrets, principles, meditations, extreme sports insights, multiple business practices, and more. Meanwhile, learn from him and his wife, as I have. My birthday is this month. I plan to turn the tables on custom and my past and make this 64th birthday one of giving on the day I usually receive. You don’t need to wait to your birthday to give. Look around. Someone needs your kindness. Why not give right now?

One of my greatest passions and ongoing commitments in life is Operation Y.E.S. (Your Economic Solution) – a platform to end homelessness by helping people create their own economic solution.

Fortunately, I don’t do this alone.

In fact, I have some formidable partners as committed as I am. One of them is the State Homeless Coordinating Committee for Utah.

They’re on it, you might say.

Since 2005, when they enacted their Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, they’ve seen a decline of 74%.

That’s impressive.

In fact, it’s put Utah “at the forefront of the national effort to end chronic homelessness by 2015.”

Part of their success has come from their early adoption of the Housing First program, which offers housing without bias to the chronically homeless.

This means that instead of placing people into transition housing and requiring their participation in certain programs (such as for substance abuse or mental illness) before they can receive more help, Housing First recognizes housing as a basic right.

The homeless get off the streets first.

The homeless are given a place to live first.

What Utah discovered is that meeting this need increases stability – which in turn supports real change.

Oh, and it saves money — money the state (as taxpayers) would otherwise spend on emergency services and jail.

It’s a win-win.

But it’s not just the chronically homeless that benefit.

They’ve found that by focusing on this particular group it “improves coordination and planning for housing and services for all of the homeless.”

Call it a “trickle-down” effect.

Since families with children are often the victims of homelessness, I applaud this.

Unfortunately, it’s children who suffer exponentially when exposed to this kind of traumatic experience.

According to Utah’s 2013 Comprehensive Report on Homelessness, “Children are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of homelessness. Homelessness often interrupts schooling and the development of positive peer and mentoring relationships. Homeless children frequently experience dangerous or unhealthy environments and may be more likely to experience homelessness as an adult.”

I believe education is a key to ending homelessness, both for the ones experiencing it and those who are not. Having faced it myself, I know that a major stumbling block resides in the many myths surrounding it.

Not surprisingly, Utah’s got that handled, too.

In their report, they identified the top four myths:

Myth #1 – People who are homeless stay homeless for a long time.

False: Only about 3% are considered chronically homeless.

Myth #2 – Most are single men.

False: Only 29% – the largest number are parents and children.

Myth #3 – The homeless population is transient, migrating to cities with the best services.

False:  Nearly 90% were in Utah when they became homeless.

Myth #4 – They are to blame for their situation.

False:  Many come from situations of abuse, illness and trauma.

In my own efforts to end homelessness and help people become self-sufficient and empowered through education, I started “Operation YES.”

With the help of Craig Perrine, we did a series of interviews with some amazing people who offered their expertise and know-how towards this mission. This series later became a manual called Operation Y.E.S.: Your Economic Solution.

Yes we can end homelessness

Essentially, Operation YES is a 3-part formula designed to help people see beyond the limitations and the traditional categories. It’s all covered in detail in the manual, but the simple version is:

1. Raise or rebuild your self-esteem
2. Think like an entrepreneur
3. Leverage the Internet

If you have a desire to be a part of the solution to end homelessness, you can get your own copy of the manual at no charge at http://www.OperationYes.com

Oh, and if you’re traveling this summer, I hope you’ll stop in Utah.

Let them know they’re doing great things there…:-)

Ao Akua,

Joe

PS — If you prefer a printed copy of “Operation YES,” it is available at Amazon for a small investment: http://www.amazon.com/Y-E-S-Visionaries-Reveal-Economic-Solution/dp/1499615426/

Resource: http://www.impacthomelessness.org/resources/docs/eis/Utah-Report-on-homelessness2013.pdf

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