Jay Awal, an entrepreneur who began his journey as a creative director, starting a small Media Marketing Company, to then expanding to work in a niche-specific market; helping entrepreneurs cultivate their brand, building an online presence to generate culture and revenue. Yet, as time progressed his mission has evolved into tackling a global epidemic.
This global epidemic is something we all know too well: because the average person is unknowingly and voluntarily enslaving themselves to their finances.
Awal believes that if more people understood how money and the money systems of the world worked, then they would no longer settle for exchanging their time for money.
Having traveled to over 20+ countries, creating content and educating thousands on financial literacy, his journey to stand for this cause has just begun.
In this article, we will learn some of the painstaking obstacles he has gone through, how he overcame them & how he continues to grow through the obstacles of entrepreneurship and stay motivated.
What obstacles did you face to get to where you are now?
“Well, where do I start? I don’t share things like this to feel pity but more so to help you understand the thought process I endured to shape me into the man I am today. By the age of 5, my mother and father had gotten a divorce, where I was then made the “man of the house”. While having that responsibility meant the world to me, it meant protection, providing, and prospering as a man to eventually be the caretaker of the home. As any young man, I made a bunch of mistakes trying to fulfill that void. I worked 21 jobs before the age of 21, I made money and lost it all multiple times in what seemed to be prosperous business ventures. That’s when I looked up at the sky and said THAT’S ENOUGH. I dove into books, surrounded myself with people who made what I wanted to make in a year, in a week and decided to really go about wealth creation strategically and not just praying on my come up. Success isn’t an easy path. Although I’m just at the start of it, I’ve realized there is no testimonial, without the test. Some people give up, some people are crazy enough to keep going and I’m crazy enough to keep going.”
How did you overcome these obstacles?
“The most important thing with staying on track with your goals is discovering your WHY. I know this sounds cliche, but it’s the truth. Nothing else matters, as long as what matters most is what keeps you going. For some people that’s retiring their parents, breaking generational curses, providing for a loved one, doing what they’ve been told they can’t do by their 2nd-grade school teacher, the list goes on. For me, I have to succeed. No one in my family has ever been a millionaire. I’ve been told all my life to play it safe, to just follow the rules, to do as everyone as else and just accept to get what everyone else does. That’s disgusting. I don’t want to be like everyone else, not because I’m any better than anyone but because I deserve to become my best self. Providing for those that I love, not in scarcity but abundance. That’s how I’ve overcome and will continue to overcome everything and anything that life throws my way”
How will you continue to grow and succeed?
“I truly believe in balance, not balance in social life and work ethic. But balance in work ethic, meaning that unless I follow a daily regimen of income-producing activities and activities to stimulate myself to reach higher levels then I’ll be staying busy and repeating the same things over and over again. It takes a certain level of self-awareness and gratitude for what you already have in life to keep moving up the levels. What I’ve been taught by my mentors is to not get off the elevator. Once you reach a new level, you set your eyes on the next one. Too many people get off of the elevator after a little bit of success.”
What keeps you motivated?
“I mean, of course, remembering why I got started, the life I want to provide for my family, for my loved ones and myself. Ultimately though what keeps me going is traveling, seeing the world for what it truly is and not what the media wants us to think. It helps me appreciate what I have but reminds me of how hard I need to work to help the world have that same opportunity and access to information that I have here in America. The only way that’s possible is through the internet. So through the internet, I am building my empire.”