In this first‑person motivational video, the speaker recounts the birth of his daughter on September 23, 1995 and the deep, unconditional love that reshaped his priorities. While running a demanding landscaping and nursery business—early‑morning trips to Louisiana, long days in the Texas sun—he realized he was missing the most important part of his life: being present for his newborn daughter. A vivid moment when his three‑month‑old daughter interacted with him sparked a painful realization that his child would grow up without a present father if he continued on the same path. He decided then and there to sell his company sight‑unseen, despite having no backup plan or alternative income. The sale, made to a trusted manager for a token payment, freed him to pursue a new career in real‑estate investing and lending—fields he entered with no prior experience or capital but with a fierce desire to control his future and be with his family. The narrative culminates in emotional scenes of his daughter’s first day of school and a broader call to viewers to make decisive, values‑driven choices, emphasizing that true success comes from aligning actions with the life one truly wants.
Chapters
On September 23rd, 1995, an amazing thing happened in my life. See, from my, my, my youth, I'd always envisioned getting married and having children. And the one thing that I wanted more than anything, first rattle out of the bag, was that I wanted an amazing blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby girl that just no matter what just felt like her daddy was everything. That when I came home from work, when I walked through those doors, she would come running up and jumping in my arms saying, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy. That's all I'd ever envisioned as a teenager and as a young adult. How many of you have had those kind of aspirations and dreams of creating this amazing family with your children, your spouse, all that? So that was what my deal was, that when I got married, I really, really was so enthralled with that day, September 23rd, 1995, because that little girl was born and I would do anything for that little girl. When I held her in my arms, when I saw her at the hospital, the very first minute she was born, I just— this fire came over me. That this was what unconditional love was. I mean, instantaneously that I knew what unconditional love was all about. And from that moment on, I told myself, I will do everything in my power to make sure that this little girl never loses faith in her daddy and that he is always her sounding board, always her protector, always there. To do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. And yes, I was going to spoil the crap out of her. That's how I envisioned it. That was my dream. And on that day, those dreams came true. And every day— so at the time we had a landscape company, and every day I would go off to work and I'd be out there in the Texas sun and be working hard. And in 2 days a week, I had to get up really early like 4 in the morning and load up my truck and trailer and head to Louisiana and buy a bunch of plants for the landscape jobs and for the retail nursery and bring those back. And every day, all the way down there, I'd be daydreaming about that baby girl. I wonder what she's doing today. How many of you have had those moments where your kids were everything that you ever wanted? And you daydreamed about the excitement and the joy. How many of you ever felt that? See, that's what I did. That's what shortened that drive down there to Louisiana in the morning. I would come back, I would drop those plants off, I'd go to the job site, we'd get the jobs done, and then I would head home and I would be home just in time to have just a little bit of time with my little baby girl and my wife. And I would kiss her and I would throw her up and I would hug her. And I did all this stuff because I just couldn't get enough of her. There was an emptiness inside because I just wanted to be around her. I was with her all the time. And it— one day she was about 3 months old. And I had been running this run every day. And I came home one day a little bit early. And as I walked in the door, my wife was just grinning from ear to ear. And she knew how much that baby girl meant to me. She knew that that baby girl had transformed my life. And she's grinning ear to ear. And I'm like, What's going on, baby? She goes, oh my goodness, you wouldn't believe what your daughter did today. And I'm like, she's 3 months old, she couldn't do too much. She goes, no, no, no, you don't understand. As I'm walking back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, I got her here in her playpen, I got her down there on the floor, and as I'm walking by her, she's watching me, she's grinning from ear to ear, and I'm grinning back at her, and I'm making noises, and she's reacting. It's so amazing to watch her interact with me, and she's only 3 months old. And I sat there and I went, you've got to be kidding me. My baby girl that means the world to me, that, that taught me how to love unconditionally, that I swore I would do anything and everything for her, is growing up without her daddy. You see, I'm out there busting my butt doing what I thought was right, doing what I thought I needed to do to provide for her, but the one thing that I wanted the most I wasn't doing was being a part of her life. The one thing was not being a part of her life, and she was going— and I'm thinking, I'm just playing this out. How many of you have just played out a scenario And like, that's not where I want to be. And that's what I did right then and there. I played out the scenario. If I continue doing this, do it this way, my little girl is going to grow up without me. My baby girl is not going to know her daddy the way I want her to know me. Will I be providing for her? Absolutely. Will I be putting food on the table and a roof over her head? Absolutely. But will I be living the life I wanted with her, I would not. And at that moment in time, I had to make a decision. See, the decisions we make shape our lives, but the life that we want should shape our decisions. And at that moment in time, I had to make a decision. Was I going to continue going down this path? Was I going to continue doing the same thing over and over, hoping, praying, thinking something would change. And I realized it wasn't. I had to make a decision right then, right there, and say, "This isn't going to continue this way." The very next day, I got up and I went to the retail store, the nursery, I gathered all my guys and said, guys, I've got an amazing 3-month-old baby at home that's missing her daddy. I've got a princess that I adore and I don't get enough of that's missing and living and growing up without her daddy. I'm selling the company. And I sold the company right then and there, sight unseen. To one of the managers and I said, buddy, you know this company as well as I do. You know all the clients, you know everything. Here it is, it's yours. Here's the keys. Pay me what you can pay me, 'cause I'm not doing this anymore. I'm gonna do something different. Now here's the funny thing. I never got paid a dime from him, but see, I knew that it didn't matter. It wasn't the price of selling it, it was the cost of not selling. I didn't have a backup plan. I didn't have another career. I didn't have another job. I didn't have anything. But what I had was a passion and a desire, a deep desire to be there for my family, for my daughter. And no matter what, I wasn't gonna continue down that. I was willing to make a major, major sacrifice to have a better future, a better opportunity, a better tomorrow, because the tomorrow I saw when I was sitting there, Standing there in that living room thinking what my wife was telling me was envisioning that, wasn't very bright. It was not very exciting. It wasn't what I had dreamt. So I made a decision right then and there to make an absolute change in my life, and I did. And at that moment in time, I was able to now start spending all my time with my daughter because then I found a career in real estate investing, in real estate lending, that gave me the freedom, the opportunity, and the financial rewards that I have today. And I saw every day with that girl. I took her to school on her first day of school. I cried. My wife and I stood outside the cafeteria windows and we're looking in as our little bitty girl dragging her little pink backpack, and we're looking through, and tears are running down my eyes. I said, that's my baby girl. That's my baby girl. She's grown up now. She's gone. She didn't even look back. We're standing here looking like a bunch of bawling babies, and she just kept on. She didn't look back. I can't believe she didn't care. But see, that's what's so powerful. That's what's so exciting. See, you have to make decisions. You can't just want, you can't just think, you can't just hope, and you can't just dream. You gotta want it. There's gotta be a fire, an emptiness inside you that says, "I want more." And if you want it bad enough, it doesn't matter how dark it is on the other side, you plow through it. You believe in yourself, you believe in the Almighty, and you believe in the opportunity so much You plow through it. And that's what I did. I walked into an industry I had no knowledge, no history, no money. I didn't even know how I was gonna pay rent, put food on the table, but I didn't care. What I did care about was now I was gonna control my future. I was gonna put myself in a position to control my future. And that's what I did. I made a decision. I changed directions. And I got everything that I ever dreamt of with that baby girl. What's the decision you need to make? What does tomorrow look like for you?
