She was a high school drop out, who got divorced, and lived off welfare — and THIS happened.

4 min readNov 5, 2015

When I was a kid, my mom was on welfare. And my dad was in jail. And I was surrounded by other drug addicts in my family who would steal money from my mom.

Things were bad.

One time I came home from school, walked up the stairs to my bedroom, and my drug addicted uncle was drunk and passed out in MY bed.

What’s sad was, it wasn’t one time. It was several times a week. It was so common that I’d sit on the floor and play Super Nintendo while he snored away his drug-alcohol-induced coma.

And later, when I went to sleep, I’d smell the unsavory smell of alcohol on my pillowcase.

Welcome to my childhood.

Luckily, it didn’t stay that way. My grandma wanted more for my mom, and convinced her to go back to school.

And she did.

She worked full time, raised two kids full time, and went to nursing school full time. And by the time I graduated high school, she pulled us from the brink of poverty into a middle class life. I got computers, Jnco jeans, and most important: a clean bed.

My mom was a high school drop out. My mom married the wrong man and divorced him. My mom was surrounded by people pulling her down, and yet, she became the exception…

…And you can be the exception too.

That’s why, when I hear stats like:

* 9 out of 10 people fail their New Years Resolutions 1

* 17 out of 18 women make less than $100,000 per year 2

* 7 out of 10 adults age 20+ are overweight or obese 3

* 7 out of 10 long distance relationships fail when changes aren’t planned for 4

* About 9.6 out of 10 households pull in less than $85,000 per year 5

I get passionate.

Like you, I know what they say about stats. They’re not always right. But let’s table the validity of these numbers for a second…

What do you notice?

I’ll tell you what I see:

I see that things appear bleak for most people, but there are some people who DEFY the odds and become the exception.

You could be the 9 out of 10 people who fail their resolution…

…or you can be the one that CRUSHES IT.

You could be the woman who makes less than her male counterpart…

…or you can be the woman who forges the path for all women.

You can be the exception and 2015 is the year to do it.

Be the exception.

It will not be easy. And it will take a huge commitment from yourself to yourself.

But look at it like this: ever since I started Social Triggers, I’ve reached about 10 million people around the world. Out of 7 billion people, that’s basically 0%. It appears you’re already the exception to the rule in at least one way ;-).

Joking aside, I’m here to help.

You see, the last few months have been a huge learning experience for me, from both a personal and business perspective.

Maybe it’s because I turned 30. Maybe it’s because I was diagnosed with a heart condition (and luckily had it cured). Maybe there’s something else going on. I don’t know.

But things are real clear for me right now — and that’s great news for you… because I have a new mission here at Social Triggers.

And my mission is to help you be the exception. In all parts of your life.

You see, I’ve always struggled with the reason why I do what I do at Social Triggers.

Do I like the notoriety? Do I like the monetary success? Do I like helping people?

Of course. I LOVE IT.

I’ve been very fortunate. Yes, I came from an abusive childhood. Yes, I saw my mom turn it around by the time I turned 18. But this left a hunger deep inside of me that needs to be fed.

And I realized the only way I can feed it is by helping people be the exception.

That’s why:

* I want to help you make six figures (or yes, even seven figures) with your business.

* I want to help you become confident in everything you do.

* I want you to live off your passion and wake up everyday with a smile on your face.

In 2015, I want you to be the exception, and my goal is to help you do it.

So pay close attention to emails from me over the next few weeks. I’ve got a lot of stuff coming your way, and you’ll hear more about it soon.

Now here’s what I want from you:

What part of your life would you like to “be the exception?”

The Sources

1http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/ 2http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/06/AR2010100607229.html 3http://www.statisticbrain.com/americas-most-obese-cities/ 4http://www.statisticbrain.com/long-distance-relationship-statistics/ 5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States

Originally published at socialtriggers.com.

She was a high school drop out, who got divorced, and lived off welfare — and THIS happened.

The Sources

Written by Derek Halpern