Growing up, I was the shortest kid in class, bullied, on food stamps, and working 40 hours a week to put myself through college

.
Nobody handed me anything.
And for a long time, I thought that was a disadvantage.
It wasn’t. It was my fuel.
Here’s what I’ve learned after 20 years in sales, coaching hundreds of reps, and helping build one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies:
Your pain is your pitch.
The moments that broke you are the same moments that make you relatable to every prospect, client, and mentee sitting across from you. People don’t connect with perfection. They connect with real.
If you’re trying to break into tech sales, close bigger deals, or build a personal brand — stop hiding your story. Your “chip on your shoulder” is not something to overcome.
It’s something to leverage.
3 things I wish someone had told me earlier:
✅ Your background is a differentiator, not a liability. Clients trust people who’ve earned something the hard way.
✅ Mentorship accelerates everything. I wouldn’t be here without coaches, programs, and people who believed in me before I believed in myself.
✅ Service is the best sales strategy. When you genuinely want to help people, they feel it. And they buy from people they trust.
What’s the chip on your shoulder that’s secretly been driving you this whole time?
Drop it in the comments. I read every single one. 👇