My Story
“If You Want Something You’ve Never Had, You’ve Got To Choose To Do Something You’ve Never Done!”
At 37 years old, loving life and WINNING, the question I get all the time is, “Coach JC, how did you become so successful at such a young age?”
First let me ask you, What is success? What is WINNING to you?
I believe I am WINNING in life and I’m about to show you why and how.
Check it out…
You have probably heard it said before…
It’s about the journey! Success and failure just don’t happen. You don’t just wake up WINNING or losing one day.
I believe it comes down to the events that happen in your life and how YOU CHOOSE to react to those events. We go through things in life for a reason and how you choose to react will determine if you WIN or lose. I believe that anyone can WIN. There is a secret to REAL Success. There is a RIGHT game plan on how to WIN. It’s about Creating The Winning Mindset and taking the RIGHT game plan and executing those small simple discplined things to WIN each day.
I also believe in being real and if you are going to bring me into speak or want me to coach you then you better know who I am and what I’m about.
Here is me being REAL! I believe my story will motivate you to live the life you were born to live my friend.
So here is my journey…
Humbled Beginnings.
I was born and raised in the beautiful state of New Jersey. The Garden State Baby! Born in Newark and growing up on the Jersey Shore I learned many valuable life lessons. Growing up in a single-parent home, I was taught early on about hard work. I watched my mom work multiple jobs to provide for myself and my sister and at a young age we learned how to work hard. The struggle to pay the rent, moving from winter to summer rentals, visiting therapists and visiting food pantries on a weekly basis was all preparing me for today. My mom also taught us to always put others first and treat others with compassion and to value our health as it’s our most valuable asset. The lesson that was instilled in us the most was to trust in God. Those lessons have served me well my entire life and are the foundation that has helped me WIN in life, but there is more…
My mom would always tell us that we could be anything and do anything that we wanted in life. So, I believed growing up that I would be a rapper or a professional athlete in the NBA. Come on! Every white boy in Jersey at some point thinks they can rap or play in the NBA! After high school, I had opportunities to participate in athletics at the collegiate level. You ask, “how did a Italian kid from Jersey end up in Oklahoma?” Never say Never, that’s how! In 1999 I found myself out in Oklahoma at Oral Roberts University (ORU) to pursue a basketball career.
Key To You WINNING “Dreams can come true! It’s time for you to awaken your dreams or to start dreaming big!”
The POWER of CHOICE!
This is when I truly started to discover the power of choice. At this time I made a choice that would absolutely rattle “My Story” You know, the story I created for myself and my life. We all have one. You know, the story you create for yourself at a very young age. What your life will look like when you grow up. What you will do, who you will be…that perfect picture for your life. I was going to be that professional basketball player in the NBA. The one that was going to make all the money so that his mom would never have to work another day in her life and to be able to help others.
The choice I made was to abandoned the values that my mom raised me on and that choice led me to one bad choice after another. At 23 years old I found myself at rock bottom. In Oklahoma by myself , on my own, going through the worst tragedy a human being could possibly imagine. I ended up in the fight of my life to be a father, in a 600 sq ft apartment, face down contemplating taking my life. I was down and out, not knowing where to turn and even contemplating if it was worth living any longer. I was depressed with every negative emotion you have ever seen on one of those feeling charts. Desperate with many sleepless nights, questioning “why me?” “What about my story?” I tried to keep it together while dying on the inside. It only got worse and now it was out of my control as I ended up over $400k in debt. The choices others chose to make started to determine my present and my future and I had no control of it. All because of one choice I made.
Key To You WINNING “Know who you are and what you stand for!”
The DISCOVERY!
With a great support system from back in Jersey and a few people that chose to care about me at this time, I enrolled in VBI, Victory Bible School. Believe me, at this time it was the last thing I felt like doing.
I sat there crying outside and inside just wanting things to change and continually hearing many of the things my mom engrained into us at a young age.
At VBI there was one class that changed my life forever! Ron McIntosh started to speak on “Renewing the Mind” I started to buy in. Desperate and needing something different I started to create a new story for my life. I took these biblical principles and began to post them around my 600 sq. ft apartment. I started to create a game plan so that I could renew my mind and try my best to re-create my story. I started to notice a difference in how I felt… So I dove deeper in and along with these Biblical principles I started to study anything that I could get my hands on when it came to mindset and thinking and how the brain works.
Key To You WINNING ” Stop choosing to go by how you feel and start to choose to act accordingly to how you want to feel!”
IT’S MORE THAN JUST A WORKOUT
I needed an out. Growing up as an athlete and always enjoying the training and preparation part of it, you know, the time in the weight room, lifting weights and conditioning. I was always around the gym growing up and my mom instilled in us the beneifts of living a healthy life( before I went off to college at 18 years old I only ate fast food 3 times in my life. Once my Aunt took us to McDonalds and 2x’s my dad took me for a Big mac and Burger King) So at this time needing and out started to dig a little deeper into training physically. I knew that for me to overcome this tragedy I had to be in top shape mentally and physically. Powerlifting, Olympic lifting, bodybuilding, I did it all, I read all the magazines, articles, and researched the journals. I even knew very well how to use tadalafil for training, although I did not use it. With the hard time I was going through training was an escape for me. A way to relieve stress, become strong physically and mentally. I started to discover that there was alot more then just the physique benefits. My energy was increasing, my mental state was improving, and my quality of life was increasing. I felt better and my confidence and self esteem was returning. It was at this time that I knew Fitness and Health would be a HUGE part of what I would do in life in creating my new story.
Key To You WINNING “Your most valuable asset is your health. Take control of it today and watch your life drastically improve!”
YOU CAN ONLY CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL!
Was the situation changing, no. Was I changing, yes. I started to realize that the mind is an incredible thing and even though I couldn’t control the situation due to other peoples actions that I was going to choose to control my life. Was it easy? No way! But day after day, week after week, month after month it became REAL and my life started to improve. The situation at this time got worse but I got better. What looked impossible I made a choice to make it possible. Where there was no hope I was on a mission to create hope. When I felt sad, I chose to change to create happiness. When I felt depressed and lifeless I chose to take action to stop it. I CHOSE TO CONTROL ONLY WHAT I CAN CONTROL and I did this through what today is known as my system, “The Winning Mindset”!
My new story was being created. I chose to pursue athletics in a different way since I wasn’t playing any longer. I made the decision that I would become a Director of Strength and Conditioning at the Division I Level. After years of hard work and STICKABILITY, before even graduating I landed the Director position as the youngest Director of Strength & Conditioning in the Nation.
I began working with some of the top athletes in the world and loved every minute of it. But, I knew there was more…I was placed in this position for a reason at this time in my life. Just training them physically wasn’t enough. What if the same gameplan I used to pull myself out of this downtime I used with the athletes to increase performance? BAM! Suddenly my role on the team changed. I was able to coach these young men and women(kind of funny that at this time many of the athletes I was training were my same age) on achieving their maximum potential physically but ultimately ended up coaching them on more than just that. I was coaching them spiritually and mentally… I was coaching them on how to WIN on the playing field and court but also on how to WIN in life!
Ironically, at the same time I was coaching others to live their best life and perform at the highest level, I was really struggling and my tragedy was not improving but actually getting worse. This wasn’t going to stop me! As hard as it was I was so mentally locked in and focused on the end result that nothing was going to stop me. I started to truly see that my coaching to others was truly helping them, these athletes were winning and the teams were winning(the athletics programs that I worked with in the next few years experienced some of the most success in ORU history) and it was at this time that I realized my calling in life was a lot BIGGER.
Key To You WINNING “Once you change your thinking you can change your life!”
DO WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOU DO
Through implementing my Winning Mindset system, coaching others and a great support system I continued to grow mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Please don’t be mistaken… At this time life was trying to crush me…it wasn’t easy, but through it all I began to realize that I could live a life of complete health, abundance and happiness and that I was going to WIN. I CHOSE to not go by what the situation was telling me or by how I felt but instead I CHOSE to be so dialed in to WIN that I acted accordingly.
At this point I was WINNING in my fitness and WINNING mentally and even though going through a challenging time felt like I was still winning in life, doing what I love to do and impacting lives. There was still something missing for me… I needed more. Due to the situation I was going through I was struggling financially, it was costing me a lot of money, money that I didn’t have. I was now in debt and selling everything I had including my baseball card collection(the one that my dad started for me including Babe Ruth’s, Mickey Mantle’s and big time players). My family gave and loaned me money and I exhausted every avenue. I knew that for me to WIN it was going to take money. The one area I had to still WIN in was my WEALTH. One phone call at that time changed my life… The extent of the call went like this, “You can choose to find a way to do what you love and make money doing it or you can do what alot of people do in life and go pursue something just to make money and not be happy in life”
I decided at that time that I was going to find a way to do what I love and make money doing it. And I was going to do this the rest of my life.
Key To You Winning “If your not having fun it’s not worth it. STOP NOW and START OVER! You can do what you love to do and make money doing it!”
3 BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
I love to read and have built a pretty impressive library(my wife thinks Im a nerd) I always didn’t enjoy reading,… I was an athlete! but while I was needing answers at this time I read anything I could get my hands on. So I wanted to give you 3 books that changed my life and could do the same for you if you allow them to.
The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren, really helped me to identify my life’s calling. I began to truly understand and know that my purpose was to help others become successful and assist them in discovering their own purpose in life.
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, showed me that ultimately anyone can be wealthy and have what they want out of life. The key to a person’s prosperity is being prosperous spiritually, mentally, physically and financially, and if any of these components is missing, then true prosperity cannot occur. My purpose and desire is to help others achieve their prosperity.
And finally, The Bible, has also been life-changing for me. The word of God can transform your life, if you let it. I began to realize that God had placed a calling on my life and was preparing me to coach, teach and inspire others. God has blessed me with certain talents and gifts and wants to see me use those for His glory. I knew that true success, for me, would come when I was helping others become successful, helping others WIN.
Key To You WINNING “Reader’s make WINNER’S! Just one book could change your life if you allow it to!”
Ok, back at it…
A SENSE OF URGENCY
I had to create wealth, I needed money to help my situation. It was the only way my situation could improve. And I was going to do it doing what I love to do in coaching people in both the physical and the mental. I invested in a real estate course at this time that I invested $197 for.
Key To You WINNING “Are you investing in yourself or spending money? To WIN start investing in yourself!”
I found a way to make money. I teared this course apart and researched all I could on making money through real estate. I even flew out to Arizona for a week and did an apprenticeship under my uncle who had experience in real estate. I flipped and wholesaled homes to put some money in the bank so that I could win.
Key To You WINNING “Develop a sense of urgency! Be willing to do whatever you need to do to get you there. How bad do you want it?”
It’s 2006 and I was set on 2 things, turning my situation around and doing what I love to do. I started a company called, Dynamic Sports Development and I traveled to local high schools to coach and implement strength and conditioning programs into athletic programs. There was a need and I was going to fulfill it doing what I love to do. This consulting company has now turned into one of the top sports performance training facilities in the Nation and myself and my team have the honor to train athletes from 9 years old to some of the top pro athletes in the world. If you are an athlete or know an athlete that wants to WIN as an athlete and WIN in life check it out…
Dynamic Sports Development – Serious Athletes. Serious Results.
In 2008 still the Director of Strength & Conditioning at ORU making only $28,000 a year I was determined to find other ways to make money doing what I love to do. I had to in order to WIN. With the money I made in real estate I started Bootcamp Tulsa. With 8 women from a local church and BAM! I took the same mindset system, that I used to pull myself out of the downtime, the same system that I used to train the mindsets of the athletes and now would use it to help people lose weight. I realized that this was the secret to REAL Success…
Bootcamp Tulsa turned into Tulsa’s # 1 Fitness Program for Women with now 5 locations we are blessed to coach and EMPOWER Women in Fitness, Nutrition, & Life! If you are a woman,know a woman or have ever seen a woman then you have got to check out Bootcamp Tulsa. Bootcamp Tulsa- Empowering Women In Fitness, Nutrition & Life
It was at this time that someone believed in me and said, “You have a message that people need to hear. You need to write a book!” So, within 6 months I wrote and published my first book, The Secret To REAL Weight Loss Success. Today I am blessed to reach a large audience through my 4 books:
The Secret To REAL Weight Loss Success- Your 27 Day Body Transformation Gameplan
The Secret To REAL Success – How To Have Anything You Want In Business & Life In Only 27 Days
The Secret To REAL Athlete Success – How To Create The Winning Mindset So That You Can Win as An Athlete and Win in Life
Fit First Responders – How To Be Your Best Physically, Mentally, Spiritually So That You Can be Fit For Duty & Fit For Life.
If you are serious about WINNING you can pick your copy up now, Coach JC Books and Products
I have been blessed and privileged to start a non-profit, Fit First Responders where we are responsible for training our nations finest and bravest Police, Fire Fighters, Medics, National Guard and Military. www.FitFirstResponders.org
I have developed and created www.FFRonline.tv, have two podcasts that are inspiring and motivating people to WIN ALL DAY and started and operate one of the fastest growing Social Media Marketing Agencies in the Nation.
THE RIGHT PEOPLE AT THE RIGHT TIME
Key To You WINNING “Contacting is a one time thing, Connection is a lifetime thing!”
Throughout this challenging time and journey of my early life it was always amazing how the right people at the right time were brought into my life. I am a strong believer of divine appointments. I am a strong believer in the RIGHT relationships.
My family(Mom, Dad, Sister, Aunts and Uncles, etc…) kept me together.
I could take all day but the bottom line is my family and the friends that God brought into my life at this time helped saved my life. These people kept me going. I thank these special people from the bottom of my heart.
During this time I also met Jodi, who is my wife today. She was there to keep me going when I didn’t feel like it and started to believe in me WINNING as much as I did.
Key To You WINNING “You create your story! This is the greatest game you will ever play in…Your Life!”
So here we are today and I am blessed and privileged to use my story to impact the lives of others.
I started by asking you a question, “What is Success to you? What is WINNING in your life?
For me it’s about life balance. It’s about WINNING in my Health, WINNING in my Wealth, and WINNING in Life(spiritually, emotionally,relationships, family, work, etc.) That is True Prosperity! That is WINNING!
It’s about FREEDOM. It’s about prospering so that I can help others prosper and WIN.
That’s my story. Was it what I planned at a young age? No!
Do I still wake up and think about being a rapper? Sometimes.
Do I still dream about playing in the NBA? Absolutely.
Will either of those ever happen. No.
I have chose to create a NEW story for my life and use my past failures to create future successes.
I have chose to WIN.
You can do the same my friend and I would love to help you!
It’s your story…
You create it! You own it!
You can WIN anytime you choose to and I’m here to help you do just that.
Discover what it is you want. Why you want it and create your story.
Once we do that we then use my, “Winning Mindset System” so that you can WIN and WIN ALL DAY.
If you really just wanted the short version of who I am and what I’ve done you can check out my BIO. COACH JC’s BIO
Thanks for investing your time to hear my story!
