From job centre to Manager in just 3yrs…

I claimed benefits and struggled to get a job for 3 years!

It was the darkest days of my life full of drugs, alcohol and lonely nights, I knew deep down I was made for something bigger and better, I just didn’t know what it was.

I lost my way, my pride, my joy and there seemed to be no way out for me, all I had to keep me going was hope and faith.

I decided it was time for drastic measures so I got my license to become a security guard (the last job on earth I wanted). This was desperate times for me.

If I was going to be a guard I was going to be the best guard in England…

I got a job interview in Essex which is far from where I live in London, I remember feeling nervous that very morning and slowly talking myself out of going, I made the justification that it is too far and I probably won’t get the job anyway. I decided not to go, I felt shit about my cowardly decision and went back to bed to dwell immediately.

I received a call about a week later from another company coincidently enough in the same area. I thought this is a sign from the big man, this is my second chance.

“You can change the whole game with just one choice”

I traveled 2hrs for my first interview in 3yrs, it turns out he liked the fact that I’ve travelled so far for this job and 20 minutes later he shakes my hand and tells me I start in 2 weeks. This is my first experience of success.

I left the office and punched the air like the ending of an 80's movie…

I tasted happiness for the first time in a long time

In the beginning it was manic hours and I was travelling all over the place until I got my permanent spot. Harvey Nichols.

It didn’t take long before I grew my reputation within the company and became a valuable part of the business, I used to work 70hrs over a 6 day week Mon-Sat for only £6.20 an hour, it was hell.

After a year of hell in walked a girl that would change my life forever. We worked side by side for months and in that time we got to know each other inside out, she was the heaven inside of my hell.

This is where I learnt that a great woman can push a man to heights one can only imagine, she made me want to be better.

So I became better..

I made a 5yr plan to become an electrician and in the end working my way up to become a Maintenance Manager. I decided to marry the love of my life and go back to education. I saved up 4k and with the help of a 3k loan I booked myself on an electrical course to become an electrician, this was a 6 month intense diploma from ground zero to level 3, it was the most challenging 6 months of my life, I studied around the clock and became obsessed with passing. Considering I failed school completely this was quite an achievement for me.

Once I finally passed all my exams I started applying for every maintenance job going, I got a job interview at Virgin Active, I wanted it so bad and I prepared my arse off for the interview, revising my answers and learning about the companies values and history. I did not get the job.

My first taste of failure

This failure ended up playing a very important part to my later successes. Instead of losing hope I carried on applying until I got another interview, this time with the biggest water company in Europe, the job wasn’t quite what I was looking for but I went for it anyway. Once again I prepared for the interview and to my delight I got the job later on that day which made for a great evening may I add.

So here I am working as a Technician, beaming inside knowing I made it out of the security industry (which seemed impossible at the time), but yet I became unhappy and lost once again, I can’t believe I feel like this, I am married to a beautiful strong woman with a great career in my hands, this was very stressing for me.

Once again I thought if I was going to be a Technician I would be the best Tech in the water business. As hard as I tried I couldn’t find the right motivation to flourish within this role so I tried getting into the maintenance side of things, this proved to be difficult if not impossible without me doing a 4yr apprenticeship, which in my current situation of being married and 26yrs old it wasn’t looking like a great option.

I decided to leave.

I thought of Virgin Active and how they didn’t take me on due to my lack of experience, I had been out on the field for a year so surely this was experience enough. I wrote to them and sent my CV once again with a bitter taste in my mouth. They replied, they want to give me an interview. Holy shit!

So here I am again preparing for failure number two, well at least that’s what I initially expected. Once again I prepared for the interview, the only difference being I have a year of experience I didn’t have before…

And a point to prove!

Turns out I had a great interview with the help of using every technique I had learned and I got a call for the second interview, this time with the big boss, this is further than I got last time.

Hope starts to build.

“At first you don’t succeed, try try again”

A phrase commonly used but not commonly practised.

I was at work and I received a phone call from Virgin Active, my heart immediately starts racing, I remember thinking I cannot handle another failure.

I got the job.

This was a turning point in my life. So far in just two years I have proven to myself:

• There is such a thing as true love
• Failing aids your future successes
• It’s never too late to get an education
• Achieving something hard makes your life easier
• Never settle if you are not happy with something

These are just a few lessons I have learned.

Carrying on with the story..

My manager catches wind that day that I am leaving, he drives back from a meeting to sit me down and talk to me, we talk about why I am leaving and if there is any other role within the company I am interested in. This blew me away, for the first time in my life I felt valuable and wanted.

After some deliberation he offered me a promotion as a Technical Coordinator and a pay-rise (which was 5k higher then what Virgin were offering). I was happy enough with my recent job offer and now I am just lost for words.

So I rang Virgin back to tell them unfortunately on this occasion I will have to decline their offer, an unbelievable moment I might add, it felt like telling a girl that turned you down that you have got with someone hotter, childish maybe but I kept it professional as you should never burn bridges you might one day want to cross.

I put this promotion down to pure attitude and reputation, two things that I continuously try to improve on everywhere I go, it certainly wasn’t my site knowledge or experience as I had only been there just over a year.

This time I was happier then I have ever been with a job but still I am feeling this is not for me… BUT I knew for the first time that I was on the right path and that I was getting closer.

So I spend the next 9 months building relationships with the managers and everyone on site all the while learning what it takes to become a manager, I do this by reading books such as “Rules of work”, “Rules of management” and various management guides. I start preparing myself for the final transition as I know that is definitely what I want to be, it was the paramount of my 5yr plan.

This part of the story is the magic moment, everything I have worked hard for and all the studying, failing, job hunting, reading, watching videos and seminars, stressful nights, arguments with the missus, depression, after all of that carnage comes a golden moment that could make you believe in God if you were an atheist.

I was out with my wife having a drink in a beer garden and I turn to her and say “I wish the maintenance manager would just leave so I could jump into that role” believe it or not the very next day Beth the Maintenance Manager tells me she is leaving the company. Now if that is not unbelievable enough, I am the only person she tells.

“This must be a gift from God”

And so I utilised this unbelievable opportunity and took full advantage, I went home that night and made a list of why I would make for a great Manager, a few days later I see the gates open and my Manager tells me Beth is leaving, I hit him with my pitch and he agreed on everything, this is what I call seizing the moment by solid preparation.

A few weeks later I get my 2nd promotion within a year and I am now a Maintenance Manager. Now I am happier then ever before and I now know the formula to success and that failure is a part of the journey. I hit the end goal of my 5yr plan in just over 2yrs, I achieved this by working hard, making the right choices, educating myself and building a belief inside of me that I can achieve anything I want.

My next 5yr goal is to become a millionaire and to help a million people.