Story of the homeless man: Part Two

The Laptop Which Cost Near Starvation

Sean Ian Riley
Nov 5 · 6 min read

“A five part introduction to Sean Ian Riley, the homeless guy with challenging mental health, who is building a publishing brand through poetry, self help and niche topics. With plans to become a property tycoon by building a portfolio of HMO investments. You know the usual. The unexpected.”

The laptop which cost near starvation

This post is a follow on from; When your back is against the wall take drastic action. For the people who wanted to uncover more from, story of the homeless man, and for they who wish to become part of this real-time-tale.

Alas, there was a dramatic turning point. That turning point led to “The laptop which cost near starvation and I am very thankful.

It’s an honour and a privilege to share my journey with you. As a mainstay,
it’s real and it’s raw. You have read the first post, so…
We’re good right?

If you haven’t, yet, then it’s well worth reading part one first.

Decision to change - continued

You may recollect;

While lay on my friends sofa, I remembered the old term which has helped me time again: “When your back is against the wall take drastic action.”

Here you can learn what happened as a result of that decision to change.

See life was in a pretty bad place. I was a mess.
The shell of a man from past.

In the mirror, the face appeared to be that same guy. Sure, a little thinner. A little more graying hair, particularly in the beard scrub. Overall, I looked like the same dude. Same eyes found themselves staring back as normal.

Homeless Hotel Selfie

Events and circumstance had pretty much broken me down.
So I went and did the unthinkable.

I decided to make a real effort to ask for help.

How to terrify someone who has BPD?

If you would like one guaranteed way, How to terrify someone who has BPD?
Tell them to go and seek help. Seriously.

Sounds like the start of a bad joke doesn’t it?

Well unfortunately, it is not a joke and seeking help is difficult. This is probably true for most people in general. But when a person experiences a mental health related illness seeking help becomes an entirely new ballgame.

A minefield almost.

An over-thinker will obviously over think. An introvert will naturally avoid social situations. Someone whom experiences burn out, overload or overwhelm will, undoubtedly, become exactly that.

And so the self fulfilling, antagonistic, prophecy shall play itself out.
No exemptions.

I just so happen to be one of those types of people.

Roll your eyes or discriminate, I don’t much care what people think about it. Asking for help is just bloody difficult because mental health is very a private thing. So too is homelessness. Feeling less than everyone in society.

The angel and the bull

So, we gets on our merry way asking for help.

Doctors appointments, emails, phone calls, housing evidences for the authorities who continually stall or fall short. Whilst persistently trying anything and everything possible that would help to improve the situation.

For a long time, it appeared as though nothing was happening. Even when writing this page. The feeling of barely treading water.

While tussling with the bull (bullshit) trying to fix my life, I was fortunate enough to discover an angel. A lady who gets paid to help societies lost folk.
The best mental health professional I have ever met.

She is brilliant at her job because she just acts on a human level.

So the angel lady, who cannot be named for data protection law, actually began performing miracles. Or something to that effect. The impact.

Step by step, week by week, we met and worked through problems. She pulled strings and did some crazy magic to help me behind the scenes too. While all of this was happening, the big bullies at the council were doing their thing.

Homeless Hotel Room

Eventually that led me to being placed in a hotel. Not such a terrible place. The people were cool enough. Just not home.

I needed the laptop which cost near starvation

Being vegan does not help, when storing or cooking food impossible.

French fries, chippy chips and fruit became a full time dietary must. This creates another secondary problem. It’s a daily drain on income. The spending just never stops. At least until the money runs out. Then you are screwed.

A bit of hunger never hurt anyone. Did it?

Three days and one tin of soup. Spicy carrot and lentil. Had to boil the damn thing in a travel kettle. Button, click. Boil, click off. Button on, hold down. Rumble rumble. Chug. Click off. Rest. Click on. It’s an adventure every time.

Homeless Hotel — Travel Kettle

All for the sake of making a decision eleven days prior.

Since life was at a standstill and a home was not on the immediate horizon, it was time to pull MYSELF OUT of a hole. It was time to get to publishing and create some value for people.

I needed a laptop so bought a shitty, old Toshiba Satellite. It cost Eighty Nine English pounds from my living budget. Food was the sacrifice.

Was hunger worthwhile?

Remember in Part One, we discussed “taking drastic action” as a survival mechanism?

The Laptop which cost near starvation was also driven by the same principle. Indeed, so too was the hunger which resulted as a consequence. I call this the price of action.

So, was hunger worthwhile?
What do you think?

If you continue to follow this journey. If you share with your friends, so that my experiences might inspire someone, or give hope to another person…

You can follow along by reading: Story of the homeless man: Part Three — A road to redemption. This next installment shall be fun. An adventure attending a property investment event at, The Theatre of Dreams.

Drop your thoughts on this post or on social media. I would love to know what you think?

YOU ARE SPECIAL BECAUSE …

If you continue to follow this journey. If you share with your friends, so that my experiences might inspire someone, or even give hope to another person, then all my hard work and the struggles will have been for a worthy purpose.

There’s a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE reason for sharing this story with you.
I aim to be a living example how ANYONE can turn things around.

If you read along, you can share my journey BUT
if you JOIN ME on social media below

Connect — Facebook
Share — Instagram
Tweet — Twitter
Press — LinkedIn
Watch — Youtube

And SHARE with your family and friends…

YOU can be PART of this story!!

If poetry is your thing — My work is available on Amazon Globally

Mad World: A Selection Of Poems

Street Man Speaks: Musings Of A Homeless Poet

Poets Do Not Die

Just 250,000 readers would fund my dream property AND
that’s how I plan to turn my life around.

Thanks for your time and your support.

You are awesome.


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Sean Ian Riley

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No Fluff Books Founder, Author/Publisher, Mental Health Survivor, 7 Time Homeless Warrior, Vegan Earth Hippy. Welcome. Follow along to become part of my story.

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