{"id":35179,"date":"2015-08-26T22:17:17","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T06:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=35179"},"modified":"2015-08-28T10:01:37","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T18:01:37","slug":"10-life-predicaments-tried-derail-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/10-life-predicaments-tried-derail-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Life Predicaments That Tried To Derail My Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/p>\n

GIVING UP WAS NOT AN OPTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

During my life journey, I was using painful and uncontrollable situations as motivation to keep going. We all know life is not easy, it teaches us difficult lessons that make us scratch our heads and ask why me? The reason I\u2019m writing this post is to inspire and give people hope. Are you\u00a0going through some tough times right now? Don\u2019t give up. Here are ten things that happen to me that did not deter me from living a positive life.<\/p>\n

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  1. School \u00a0<\/strong>I attended One of the lowest ranking schools in California. When I was in Jr High my math teacher decided to beat me up in front of the school faculty. An IPhone would have come in handy that day. By the way, the teacher retired with honors years later. At 17 I dropped out of high school and got my GED. But I kept moving forward and did not give up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. City <\/strong>I was born and raised in a small border town Calexico, CA.\u00a0 Not only does it have the worst unemployment rate in the US at over 25{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c} it\u2019s one of the top 3 hottest places in the US. \u00a0It gets over 120 degrees in the summer time. By the way, when I was younger I tried to fry an egg on the pavement. If you like your eggs over easy Calexico is the place for YOU!. But I kept moving forward chasing my dream.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Drugs <\/strong>Illegal substances were a part of life especially living in a border town. At age 13 I started smoking marijuana and experimented with cocaine at 16. Years later I started selling drugs. Fortunately I wasn\u2019t good at it. After a couple sales, I was arrested for selling to an undercover police officer. After successfully completing the court requirements I kept moving forward and not give up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Hospital <\/strong>During my journey I landed in the ER four times. Unfortunately, they were all stress related. One time I\u00a0was experiencing cloudiness in my eyes and could not see. I thought I was having a stroke or going blind. It was all work related stress. My advice is to find a job that feels like a hobby. But I kept moving forward and not give up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. Homeless <\/strong>In 2012 I was homeless living in a hotel with a family of four. After I had run out of money, we stayed at a friend\u2019s living room floor for a couple of months. There was hardly any room for my son who is 6\u20193\u201d tall. But I kept moving forward and not give up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
              \n
            1. Money <\/strong>Not having enough money to pursue my dream motivated me to keep going. For example, I recently wrote and published my book for $200.00 by outsourcing all the work overseas. My book cover cost me $5.50 on fiverr.com. At one time, money was a roadblock in my mission but I kept moving forward and not give up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                \n
              1. 25 jobs <\/strong>The average jobs someone has in one lifetime is 12-13. I\u2019ve had 25 in 20 years searching for my dream job. I probably experience over 200 interviews and submitted over 1000 applications. If you don\u2019t like where you work leave, it\u2019s that simple. Find your passion and happiness by doing something you love to do. Having so many jobs did not stop me from achieving my dreams. Go with your gut feeling and don’t listen to anyone.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                  \n
                1. Speaking <\/strong>Growing up I was always getting teased by my brothers for speaking and writing in Spanglish, which is 50{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c} English and 50{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c} Spanish. I would always mix both languages when speaking, it was embarrassing. You think that stop me from following my dreams. Obviously not going to school did not help. Most of my friends spoke Spanish, so that\u2019s all I knew. \u201cYou are the average of five people you hang out with\u201d But I kept moving forward and not give up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                    \n
                  1. Depression <\/strong>Combining all my trials and tribulations were too much for my mind to handle. In 2007, I experienced what most people call a nervous breakdown. My mind reached its limit point. \u00a0Imagine living a 30-minute movie in your mind of the worse horror movies combined, and you\u2019re the victim in the film. The thought of suicide did come up during that scary episode. But I kept moving forward and not give up.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                      \n
                    1. Health <\/strong>After two MRIs they discovered a brain tumor when my daughter was two. She had no mobility at the time. After installing two shunts\u00a0that are valves, my daughter\u00a0began to walk. \u00a0Now she’s 17 and doing great!! A couple of years ago my wife was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis, and she was only in her 40s. \u00a0After continuous fighting, she has managed to defy all odds and increase her bone density 75{54c12dad2cc2b53ae830e39915b1a3e70288dbcbbeb8bbf8395437c5dc3c512c}. \u00a0But we kept moving forward and never gave up.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Are you giving up on your dreams?\u00a0 From speaking Spanglish to winning two international speech contest at Toastmasters.\u00a0 Not being able to write a sentence to writing a book and becoming a blog contributor to three major websites.\u00a0 From going through a nervous break down to having a peace of mind and helping others improve their lives. You have the potential to do great things. Life is too short to be unhappy. Keep moving forward and don\u2019t ever give up. You never know it could be worse.<\/p>\n

                      ———-<\/p>\n

                      Joe Rodriguez who authored 25 To A Happy Life is a \u00a0Coach\/Speaker. From being homeless to suffering a nervous breakdown to working 25+ jobs in 20 years searching for happiness. 3 ways to reduce stress sign up here \u00a0www.joerodriguez.co<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      During my life journey, I was using painful and uncontrollable situations as motivation to keep going. We all know life is not easy, It teaches us difficult lessons that make us scratch our heads and ask why me? Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10792,"featured_media":35202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,3709,32,9,6],"tags":[4653,406,4631,66,3637,2054],"yoast_head":"\n10 Life Predicaments That Tried To Derail My Dreams<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"During my life journey, I was using painful and uncontrollable situations as motivation to keep going. 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