Why I'm Passionate to Mentor Notary Public Loan Signing Agents

Mentoring is a passion of mine. Not only do I mentor thousands and thousands of notaries across this country, I mentor so many foster youth right here in San Diego. Why? Because I'm a foster youth. I don't say former foster youth because it's always part of who I am. And that's what brings me here today to Promises to Kids, a foster organization here in San Diego that the loan signing system supports by donating every single month. And so I'm here today to teach other foster youth to lean into the story, lean into who they are. Too many of us run away from our past versus leaning into our past because our story is our superpower. And when you can lean into who you are makes life so much more beautiful. So I'm excited about sharing my journey and my story about how I embraced my story and how that empowered me to help the thousands of thousands of notaries I mentor today. So I hope you enjoy the story. Hello, my name is Mark, and I'm also a foster youth. What I hope you notice right there is I didn't say former foster youth. I actually can't stand if people say former foster youth because, like, not all of a sudden we became 18, and all the traumas and trials we had as foster, like, all of a sudden disappeared because we're 18. Being a foster youth is something I will always embrace and something I'm proud of, you know, being former foster youth. I know I love promises so much, but they always say it. But I've been in your shoes. I'm still in your shoes. I know what it's like to feel unlovable. I know what it's like not to trust anybody. I know what it's like to walk around and feel, like, feelings of abandonment. There's no former nothing about that. It's former. It stays with you. But the key to moving through all those feelings is embracing who we are. And that's what I want to talk tonight. Because I know a lot of you guys here have a story just like mine. I know a lot of you guys are here to inspire others. My guess is here, everybody here wants to impact other foster youth in some ways. Am I correct with that? Does everybody want to give back? And that's why you're my people. I know what it's like because we've had so much help to get here. And so what I want to share today is the power of your journey. Because the best way you help other people is by embracing your journey and sharing it. That's how we make impact. That's how we help so many of you hide your story as if that is a black mark against you. But the truth is, our story is our superpower. We survived. We are better because of it. We know, unfortunately, not a lot of foster youth end up where we are today. You going to school, you making out on the other side. And so when did that not become a big deal? And so what I'm trying to share today is the best way we can impact others is. Is by embracing who we are. A lot of you are embarrassed of it. You're embarrassed to say you're a foster child because you feel like that puts a black mark against you. But here's the crazy part. You tell someone you went through foster care, they actually see you as a superhero. You are judging you more than other people judge you. We are the ones who are insecure when the rest of the world is like, oh, my God, Jake, you're amazing. You went through what you did. What? So if your goal is to impact others, it is not to run from your story. It's to embrace your story. I tell my story every chance I can get. I have someone from my team right now recording this because I'm not afraid of who I am. I know that if I can inspire somebody else, I've done my job. And the best part is, you guys are so inspirational, but you're not giving yourself credit for it. You walk up and talk to someone, and you won't tell someone for months that you've been in foster care. When you said that, they'd be like, dude, you're amazing. So when you realize that your story is the impact you want to make in this world is when everything changes. The most valuable thing I feel that a human can do for another human is to make them feel that they are not alone. So if you can make someone else feel like they're not the only ones, that's power. Does that make sense? Like, that's a superpower, and we have this superpower. So you getting on stage or you telling your friends, you telling your family, you go into an interview and saying, I'm foster youth, they look up to you. They go, oh, my gosh, you've been through what you've done. What? Oh, my gosh, it must have been tough. But instead, you hide it. Instead, you don't. You run from this. Instead of impacting the world with who you are, you guys should all write a book one day. You should scream from the rooftops who you are. The way you impact is by sharing who you Are not by running from who you are. And when I realized that, dude, everything changed for me. My life, my relationships, my financial life. Because people just want to know they're not alone. And we have a story to make everybody feel like they're not alone. Trauma is not a who had it worse than me game. Trauma is about letting people know that they're not alone. And if you need to talk about it, you just want to say it. Like, dude, I'm here. That's how you impact. And I'm telling you, our journey is our superpower. That's what I'm saying. It's time for you to start believing that. What I love about this crew is you guys want to get up and share your story. You want to get up and say something like, I am so passionate about who we are. I'm so passionate about, like, all of us just making it to the top because we all can. The only reason you don't make it to the top is because you're holding yourself back. The narrative's holding yourself back. You're not great enough. You're not lovable. You're not trustworthy. That needs to stop. Because if someone tells you a story, you don't judge them, do you? So why you think they're judging you? That is a you issue. I'm trying to help you get through. No one's judging you. Nobody says you're not lovable. No one says that you're not great. It's you saying that. We gotta change that narrative today because you are lovable. You are great. Trust comes slow, but you got to take a risk on people, man. If you don't take a risk on people, you're going to stay exactly where you are today. You got to take a risk on trusting. Baby steps. Part of trusting is sharing your journey, by the way. Part of trusting is sharing who you are, where you came from, knowing there's a chance that they may judge you. You're out there public speaking. You're sharing your story for promises. And by the way, I think promises is, like, the last person you need to worry about. I think the first person is you. For your friends and for your circle. Let them in. Vulnerability creates relationships. If you had a best friend, like, oh, you're not lovable. You're not great. You're not cool. You would, like, leave that friend, right? You'd be like, yo, I'm out. So why are you that friend to yourself? Why do you allow yourself to talk to you like that? Why do you allow yourself to say that you're not great and you're not deserving. I've been there. That's why I'm saying it. I'm calling you out. These are conversations you have. I guarantee it. But I wish someone told me that I am lovable. And you are, and you are great. And my story doesn't define who I am. I want you to realize that. I get emotional every time I talk about it. There's nothing more than I want than you to succeed. But you gotta want it. And when you do, life opens up. When you stop running from who you are is when your life will open up. You'll make more friends, you'll have more impact, you'll make more money. Do you know how hard it is to get where you are right now? So hard. And it's time you start giving yourself credit for that. Do we all understand that surviving our trauma is a superpower? Do you understand that? Because you realize some people don't, right? Realize some people go to the same journey you did and they're not doing so hot. So why aren't you giving yourself credit for making it through? Why aren't you proud you made it through? I'm here and I'm ready to take on the world. And people see that, they're going to hire you, they're going to buy your products, they're going to follow you on Instagram, whatever you want to do. I love this program because this is where you take your baby steps of embracing who you are, of embracing your journey. When you're talking about whatever it is, let's say you get a biotech and talking about the product. Once you're authentically passionate about it, be passionate about your journey. Share others that if you can make it, they can make it too. Because that's what I see right here. I see people who've made it through a war. We trip, we fall down. The next day is a chance to start over. If you can get through your journey of sharing your story through promises, you will change lives you've never met before. Imagine if you tell a story and some guy goes, oh, my God, I'm going to donate 25 grand over $25,000 due for promises, another foster child. Sharing your story impacts people you will never meet through this platform. And that's what I want you to think about. It's not about you. It's about who you're impacting. It's about who you're inspiring. So the point I'm trying to make is tap into your resilience. Tap into your resilience to be a better employee, a better entrepreneur, because your resilience is unbelievable. You could have cracked. Some of you guys did crack. But you put yourself back together. And you guys, more than anybody, can help people through their dark times. So embrace it. Because remember, the best gift you can give another human being is making them feel like they're not alone. They're not going through those struggles by themselves. They're not going through a black spot by themselves. And all of us out the window. You just can't be authentic. You guys feel me on that? All of it's out the window if you're trying to hide parts of your journey. Do you feel me on that? For our own worst critics, I think that goes almost without saying. But when you say, I don't want to share my story because you know someone's going to judge me. No one's judging you. So when you can flip that turn, your life's going to get better. Life will get better when you embrace your superpower. Your superpower is the strength to get through the stuff you went through. When I realized that, I'm like, snap. Nothing can stop me. What I'm trying to teach you now, no one told me. No one told me my story is my superpower. Nobody told me if I shared my story, I'd impact tens of thousands of people. And you guys have a unique story that can inspire the world. And I'm not saying saying that just to say it. You need to start believing that. Because when you believe your story will inspire the world, it will start with one person. It will go to two, it will go to three, and we'll go to 6 million. Your story will help another human. And that's what I mean by superpower Sa.