There will never be another me in this World . That’s why I will tell you what does it mean to be me.

I wasn’t born in a wealthy family. I wasn’t born particularly talented or skillful either. I was born just as I needed to be born. I was born as a Fighter in life and in sports called Taekwondo. I was born to find my own way and leave my own trail.

I was born as Damir Pervan, an individual who has potential to inspire millions of people with its life and make this World better place for his fellow humans.

When I was 5 years old, I began to stutter severely. My life changed but my fire to make a difference in lives of others never went away. Life can throw throw obstacles on you, but you have the power to decide how you respond to these obstacles. You can be bitter or better because of them. I chose the latter.  I never gave up and I never will because that is what it means to be me.

You ask me, what does it mean to be me? Well, persistence is another explanation. When I was training Taekwondo actively and competing all over the Europe, I couldn’t win a single fight. Even though I was the best performer in practice and sparring session, for 3 consecutive years I had a blockage in my mind which was stopping from expressing myself in a Taekwondo fight. I used to watch my team mates winning their gold medals while I was in the stands, in some lonely corner depressed and sad.

I never quit. I kept training and visualizing that my time is coming.

Then, at one tournament, I knew that I was going to win gold medal. I felt it inside so strongly that it’s my time. I told my coach, hey coach, just watch me, I am going to win a gold medal, I am ready. And I did, the entire audience that day stood and clapped while I was receiving my gold medal. I guess, things come to us when we are ready for them. Persistence is engraved in my heart.

Courage, confidence, belief are all my describing adjectives.  So, as I began this story, there will never be another me, that’s why I shout: watch my actions, watch my life because I can promise you I will leave my mark and everybody will know that I was here. This is what it means to be me.

There’s a huge misconception these days with us millennials. The problem is that all of us seem to think that our generation has such a strong entrepreneurial movement. In reality, what I believe, is that every generation has always had that same drive to change the world, it is just our human nature to want to make a difference.

But, our generation stands out more because we talk about it more. What I mean is that everyone always TALKS about the big things they want to do, but they don’t have the corresponding actions that are as big as their words.

There seems to be a gap between the people who talk all the time about it, and the people who end up doing what they said they did. In saying this I am not writing to discourage any of the readers from pursuing whatever dreams they may have, but rather encourage you to DO what you freaking want to do.

Here is what discourages a lot of people and stops them from making it. ITS NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS. It is just so common to say that someone wants to start their own business and “fire their boss.”

People say that building your dream business is not an elevator, but it’s a staircase. I FULLY DISAGREE. Staircases are harder, but they are ALWAYS going upward. The journey to success is far from a straight path. So let me summarize what my journey has looked like so far and I hope it will give you the inspiration to push past whatever hardships you think you’re going through and understand that it is all worth it.

It all began 5 years ago, I was sitting with my father and we discussed what, at the time, I thought was a terrible idea. I thought this in the back of my head but at the same time, I was able to look past that and picture what this small idea COULD become. It was an idea to somehow change the world, from a driving perspective. We wanted to leave a dent in the world and reduce driving accidents everywhere.

Our family had someone close lose his life to a dangerous driver and my father was determined to stop this from happening to any other family if he could. If anyone has lost someone to a car accident, you will understand the value of saving even ONE MORE life a year can have to hundreds of people. It began with a town in Lebanon.

We constructed an outdoor city where we tried our best to introduce driving rules and safety to kids at a young age. I thought “Why would a child want to drive by the rules when they could just drive recklessly?”

It was great at first, business was booming and all we saw was a taste of the success we dreamed of it creating.

Then the next year came around, and we got a taste of what it is like to lose it all. Slow days became slow weeks and then became slow months. Business became the nightmare that everyone wants to quit on. Employee theft occurred, customer ratings dropped, and obviously the revenue took a bigger hit then even Ray Rice could dish out. Too soon? Yeah my bad.
The next 4 years looked something like this:

• Spend money
• Lose money
• Find investors
• Lose investors
• Spend more money
• Lose even more money
• Want to quit
• Still want to quit
• Don’t quit
• REPEAT

We attended every expo for the industry. Spend countless amounts of hours and money on trips to Dubai, Europe, California, the Middle East, China, and Cali. All these trips were not for fun, and not one dollar came out of them, but to say the least a lot went in. Banks accounts looked low and it all looked like a waste of time. We were trying to bring the idea to America, but we didn’t have the money, especially now, or the selling point.

JUST as it seemed like it was time to give up, my partner told me that it was too far to give up on this dream, so we pushed…another 6 months. And just as it looked like it was the end, it all fell through in a matter of a week.

Investors starting blowing up our email accounts asking to be the first and we suddenly went from not enough to too much. So the first location opened up in July 2014 in Norcross, Ga. The dream has been finally manifested into a tangible reality. After all this leading up to this point, we had JUST started.

It took all this to make the business just OPEN. Fortunately in the first 6 months we have been awarded the best business by the City of Norcross. Something I learned on this journey is that If you have 6 hours to chop a tree down, it’s a lot smarter to sharpen your axe for most the time then cut then just start cutting.

Many people have an “idea” of where they want to be, but they don’t have the goal in mind. Imagine you start a road trip in GA. And you have no idea where you want to go, it would take you forever to finally get where you want to. You would have no idea what turns to take. Then compare that to a road trip where you began in GA and you know you want to get to Las Vegas. This time, even without a map, you will know which turns to take.

Every time to roads change, you’ll know exactly where to turn because you have visualized the destination.

This is how success operates. If you do not know what you want, you WILL NEVER GET IT. The business world is the fairest playing field. If you do not make a goal, you will never score. So I encourage you to make that goal, although it may change along the way. Time will change and your goal will do so with it, but running stray and hoping to live financially free one day is like being blindfolded and trying to drive somewhere.

One last thing before I end this article. If you have an idea for a business that you want to make. GO MAKE IT. DO WHATEVER YOU CAN DO TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Your mom, dad, friends, or you tell you its stupid then work twice as hard and prove them wrong.

If YOU think it is a good idea then I guarantee you there are plenty of people, out of the 7+ billion, that think its an amazing idea as well and are willing to be your customers. Just understand it isn’t a staircase, it isn’t an elevator, it isn’t a mountain climb. It is its own game.

And just when you think its not going to happen it does. So just like in sports or in the gym, when you want to give up, give yourself just as much time as you already have given to keep going. AND YOU MUST BE OBSESSED WITH IT. Because it will drive you crazy and if you don’t love it it will fail. IF YOU ARE OBSESSED, you will love the sleepless nights, you will love working 30 hours straight, and you will love every second of time spent.

So find what it is that makes you feel this way and create it, because you only have so many years to change this world. Start now and dent this planet in your own way. Who cares what others think, because once its done, everyone will be inspired by you and that in itself is enough to spark a change in this world.

Dare to dream. And if you are really berserk, dare to pursue.   The average person can dream, but not many pursue their dreams successfully. Be the one to stand out, be different, because why not?!

You are on this earth for a reason, so you might as well be influential. So much talent and many great, innovative ideas in the world go to waste because people, including myself, lack the drive, discipline, focus, patience, and support to keep going.

Dream number one:  My name is Madelyn Johnson, and I am currently in Vienna, Austria. How did I get here you might ask? I planned, pursued, and wanted this. I found out exactly what I needed to do in order to be here during this semester and made sure it was completed.

All of the paperwork, the coordinating, the documents that needed to be certified, the deadlines that had to be made- everything. So many tasks had to be fulfilled in order for me to be here, but with my persistence and my beautiful mother on my side, we made my dream become a reality. She’s all I had, but she’s all I needed.

With my passion, I strived for this dream to happen, and it’s happening.  

Dream number two: Heart pounding, head throbbing, knees shaking, and completely lacking composition, I waited for the announcer to reveal my name to the crowd.

When I was finally announced, I nervously made my way on stage. I was feeling as though my heart could pop out of my chest at any given moment, when the music started. Not feeling confident on what sounds may come out of my mouth, I began to sing.

The first phrase I sung turned all of the nervous energy I once possessed into power and liveliness. At that moment, I owned that stage, and no one could tell me anything different. All eyes were on me, and everyone was mesmerized by my stage presence. I never wanted that moment to end, and when it did, I knew I had to get it back, resulting in my current pursuit of a music degree.

Find something that makes you smile just thinking about it. Pursue something that brings you ecstasy. Indulge in an occupation that you can become obsessed with.

For Hit Records Worldwide, this path is music– it’s what we long for. Being a musician isn’t easy. In fact, it may be one of the hardest careers out there! With that being said, there will be days you want to quit, and you ask yourself “why am I putting myself through this?” or “what is all of this even for?” Those will be the days when the logical and rationale side of you try to take over. In this instance, don’t let it!

No one ever accomplished their dream being logical.

Your brain wants you to take the safe route and offers you this false sense of security, but your heart is really what you should depend on to push you through when you feel like all the effort and time you’ve put in may not be worth it.

We all have our different situations, bad days, and people who aren’t the best for us, but ultimately, how far you get in life is entirely up to you. “Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try.” I try to tell remind myself of this as often as I can and try to live my life by this.

So, how bad do you want success and happiness, and how far are you willing to push yourself to get it? We all have to work in this life. Why not make it enjoyable? Do not look back in your life with any regrets or the horrifying phrase of “What If.” We will all get there one day soon, I assure you, so keep pushing.