With hard work and determination, anyone can be successful. It doesn't matter where you came from, how much education you have or who you know. My success story shows how a kid destined to fail can succeed.

     During my senior year in High School, a teacher told me " You will either be in prison or dead within a few years ". These words hurt, but he was absolutely correct. I had poor grades, stayed in trouble and college would never be an option for me. There wasn't anyone to catch me when i fall, no one to ask for help or give me support. That was the biggest turning point in my life. I decided i was going to win!

     As soon as i graduated, i went to work for a local E/I Construction Company. They hired me to hold a slow sign for 10 hours a day ( too low on the totem pole for the stop sign). Even though i had the worse job in the company, i gave them my best and absorbed every bit of knowledge i could. After a few weeks a foreman noticed my determination and drafted me into his crew as a helper. I worked myself to the top of the Instrument Department, then the Estimating Department, went Corporate and at 28 years old i was one step below the Vice President.

     I had worked 60+ hours a week for ten years and with my second daughter on the way (my first two were 15 months apart), i needed to be home more. Needed to be the best father i could be and make sure i could be there when they needed me. That led me to Mustang Engineering.

     Mustang was a perfect fit. They had flex time, good benefits, excellent pay and a perfect atmosphere. I hired in as a Senior Level Scheduler which was way below my abilities, but i wanted to just do my job and go home. I was hired in 2008 and tried my best to hide in the shadows and be a nobody and was happy with the situation.

    We had our third and final child in November 2009 ( finally got my boy) and then the downturn hit. I was layed off in March 2010 and was devastated! I had never been laid off, fired or anything like that! This was the lowest moment of my adult life and i didn't know how to act. I called my Department Manager constantly and to be honest, I'm not sure i could have made it through that without him.

     I had been without a job for about 2 months, when i got an unexpected call from from another E/I Construction Company. This company was the biggest competitor to my first company, which put me in a huge moral dilemma. On top of that the pay was really low, but i needed to support my family.

     After all the the hurdles were jumped, i finally started with this new company and i hated it. On my third day, i got a call from my Mustang Department Manager. He said that he had some part time work and wasn't sure how long it would last, but i was the first person on his list to call. I accepted it, drug up from the construction company and started back at Mustang the next day. Maybe i should have felt bad for it, but i didn't.

     I had went through hell for two months and never want to do that again. The days of hanging in the shadows were over and i learned my lesson. I turned back into an unstoppable machine on a quest to be the best. Let me take that back, i am a unstoppable machine and i am one of the best.

     Some would consider me uneducated cause i don't have a fancy degree. Some have even made the mistake and thought they were better than me or more worthy. They don't realize i have self taught myself and " i cant" or " i don't know" isn't in my vocabulary. While they were partying at A&M on daddy's dime, i was becoming an icon.

I just turned 33, have a wonderful wife, three precious kids and a life any man would die to have. That teacher made me and hopefully i can thank him someday.