Early Years

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I was born in Indiana in 1994, and it was a bit of a rough start. I was born with pretty severe asthma, so I would spend the majority of my first years in the hospital. My mother was of European descent, and my father was Puerto Rican, African American, Native America, and Hawaiian. As a child, my mother and father weren't on the best of terms and ended up divorcing by the time I was 2. My father moved to North Carolina, and my mother remained in Indiana. I often traveled back and forth from one place to the other while my parents were still around. This didn't last long, by the time I was 7, they were no longer here. Nevertheless, it made me a strong, and one-of-a-kind person.

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School Years

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Growing up I always had a desire to learn, and understand. Having to be a major source of knowledge, discipline, and faith for myself at such an early age, began to shape a man at a young age. When I lost my parents I was heavily influenced by my grandfather, who was a successful man, compared to any other man I had as a role model. He worked at Allison Transmission and also spent some time as a realtor. I remember he had Seadoos, and we would often go to the lake, that was one of my favorite things as a child. I had a lot of energy, so I often found myself playing sports. This is where a lot of self-discipline began to develop. The first organized sport I joined was track and field, and instantly I found success. In my first year running, I made it to the Junior Olympics in the 400-meter dash. Which was crazy in itself. I was not as good of a sprinter, more of a mid-distance runner, specializing in the 800, but my coach had thrown me into the 400 alongside my fellow teammate Jaylen. We were on the backstretch, and I was just out of the top three, which was what you needed to qualify. Then out of nowhere, my teammate stopped, I kept running and ended up getting third and advancing to the JO's. All stories don't have a good ending because I wasn't able to go. After all, it was in Oregon, and I didn't have any parental guardian who was able to come with me. I ended up finding redemption the next year, and the Junior Olympics were held in my hometown, Indianapolis. I ended up making it again, this time qualifying in the 800, which I felt more confident in. Sadly, the confidence couldn't compete with the sheer talent some of these other kids had. I think I ended up finishing bottom two, but I was still proud of my accomplishment, and my coach was as well! I grew up without much, so eventually after building muscle and growing, I began to need money to feed myself, and buy the things I would need to compete! This lead me to steal from grocery stores, it began with me just stealing enough to eat and not go hungry, but it slowly progressed to stealing alcohol that I could sell to the kids that were in high school. I did this for a while and began to amass myself quite the fortune in my eyes. This led to me getting careless, and eventually, I was arrested and taken to juvenile detention. I was released eventually to an uncle who was also a soccer coach. I didn't end up running anymore as I began to turn my focus toward playing soccer. This would become a major outlet for me, and propelled me into an even stronger, and wiser man. I think more than anything I was avoiding whom I wanted to be and instead being whom others wanted to see. I had a good time in school.  hung out with all the crowds, and did all the things. I would go to sporting events, parties, and even debates. I was learning a very important lesson, and that was balance. I didn't have much focus in high school other than making it out, and I think that's why I don't remember much. Not many memories were created at that time. I had good friends and had a lot of sex, but never felt fulfilled. I would say this is a time when I started to develop my confidence in my body, but it wasn't because of school. I would spend a lot of time online sexting with random women. I got joy out of erotically telling women what I wanted to do to them. This entertained me, but it also gave me a better understanding of what women enjoyed from a man. I was not the attractive guy in my school... but I had a reputation for being able to use my tongue, and also was blessed to be born well hung. Although at the time I didn't quite have the respect for women that I would later develop. I was at a crossroads in my life, I could choose to settle and find a woman, or I could keep hanging with the boys and running around in the streets. I choose the streets, and jail chooses me. I ended up getting arrested just after turning 18 and spending 6 months in jail. I hate to say it, but jail is one of the best things that happened to me. It wasn't jail itself, but having that opportunity to be isolated, to be with me, to learn who I was. I mainly read books while I was in, played a lot of cards, and rekindled my love for chess. I was able to focus on myself, and take time away from some of the habits I had been building. Eventually, it was my time to get out, and I had told myself I would be a new man, I wouldn't go back to doing all the old things I had been. I had a year of probation, and some community service to deal with, but it wasn't anything I hadn't already dealt with. Too bad things couldn't go quite according to plan, I ended up getting picked up by an old friend who had a joint rolled for me, and this is when I knew it wasn't in my best interest to stick around. I called my probation officer and told her I would be moving to North Carolina, she wasn't exactly okay with it, but I knew it was best for me, so I bought my ticket and flew the next day! This resulted in me having a warrant, but it wasn't anything that would be taken seriously.

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Pre-20 Years

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Things were a little rough when I originally arrived in North Carolina, but eventually, things started to smooth out and that is when I ended up at one of the best places I would ever encounter... Boone, North Carolina. Nestled on the border of NC and Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountains, is a small town, home to Appalachian State University. I had a cousin who ran track out there, and I ended up moving in with a few of his old teammates up there! At this point in my life, I was ready for anything, I had spent so much of my life bouncing around, I wanted direction. I had positioned myself around what I had identified as two men that could be role models, and wow, was I lucky! When I moved in with them they only had a couch in the living room, but they both welcomed me completely. I went down to the Country Club one roommate had worked at and got a job on the spot. I met the incredible Chef George Meyers, and we instantly clicked. He could tell I was a man of integrity, I just need the right guidance. He asked when I could start, and I told him "yesterday". I started in the dish pit, I had no problems with this, it was actually quite enjoyable, and allowed me to showcase my work ethic, and also abilities to multitask. I slowly turned into the guy everyone knew at work, and I was loving it. I began moving up, and eventually, I would be the only chef in the kitchen on slow Sunday nights. I'm talking I would only make food for the Club Staff. Nonetheless, I was learning to be a respected member of a community, and it felt great. Not having family growing up, I had never felt this, and this is when my passion for connection to other people developed. I also had never been around people of such status in life, it was all positively transitioning my thoughts, and ideas on who I was and could become. The country club was seasonal, so I ended up going to where the other roommate worked which was a resort, which happened to be one of the top 20 in the south at the time. It was a truly incredible place. The people were great, and the actual property and grounds were just stunning! Chetola Resort at Blowing Rock would become my next place of employment, and I was so excited to work at such an establishment. I carried an attitude that many to this day will still remember there. I said good morning to every member of the staff every time I walked in, and it was a big staff with multiple departments. I was working for the event staff, setting up conference rooms, weddings, and other events held on our grounds or in our many boardrooms! I did that for a couple of months, until one day they were renovating the hotel area, and I was recommended by the owners to the project manager, for my great work ethic. I ended up working with the renovation team for another few months and at that point, they were finished, but didn't want to get rid of me... so they stole me! Lol, it was quite dramatic as my old department didn't want to part ways, and the new felt they had the owner's blessing. I enjoyed the more labor-intensive work, so I was happy to be moved to the Property Management team. We mainly focused on building decks on all the timeshare units, and also any structural repairs. Then eventually the lake needed to be dragged, and I'm sure you guys can guess where this led. The owners thought it would be best if it was just done by our staff, so they bought a dredge and started a dredging company.. lol. With no experience, they knew I would be the perfect guy for the job because work ethics and wisdom trump all! I did it, we had a good time learning and dredging our lake at Chetola, but unfortunately, this would end badly. I would end up breaking my hip one day on the job. This came at a time when I had already started questioning if I had chosen too early to start working my life away. At this point, I had been working a 9-5 and at the country club seasonally for around 2 years, and I wasn't sure it was worth it. When I broke my hip I finally got the courage to end my employment and do something bold.

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Adult Years

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After breaking my hip I had finally decided I would do something different, but what? I had already moved and tried starting fresh, and that worked, it kept me out of trouble and helped me grow into a man, but I didn't find the fulfillment in life I truly sought. Well winter was coming, and I hated winter, so I began thinking along those lines. No more winter. Endless summer. Hawaii came to mind. I knew my family has origins there, but I had never met them. I didn't know anyone in Hawaii, and until I started looking I didn't know it was 5 islands! Oh boy, what was I in for! I went online and started looking into how I could travel with little to no money, and that's when I found WWOOF (Worldwide opportunities on organic farms). This was incredible I found a site that has host families that will host you on their farm for free and feed you! I began searching in Hawaii, and just looked for the farm closest to the ocean, this lead me to The Fehring Family Farm. I messaged the man of the house Bruce and asked him if he would like to have me come down and work on his farm. I was excited and wanted to go them, but my hip was still recovering.... but as soon as it did. I bought my ticket, loaded my backpack, said my goodbyes, and left for Hawaii. I landed in Hawaii with a little over $400 to my name, I was nervous but immediately greeted by Bruce at the airport. I was so nervous I had to hug him. It was night when I arrived, so I had no clue what anything looked like. He took me back to his farm and I meet the other Woofers as we were referred to, then I went to sleep. I woke up to things I had never seen before, smells I had never smelled. Due to time change, I was up extremely early, so I got on maps to locate that beach I knew we were by, and ran down to it! I I would do this every day, and work around 4 hours a day for 5 days a week. They would feed us, but it wasn't enough for my energy output, so I began working extra hours for some extra money, my $400 only went so far! I ended up working on the farm for around 2 years before heading over to a different Island and trying to live a monetary life. I started selling vacuums door-to-door. This was actually when I met the first person that I talked with and they suggested I become a life coach, so I spent a good bit of time on Oahu, redirecting my focus towards that! I wasn't sure how to go about it, so in the beginning, I offered my service for free, just to get feedback, and learn how to better manage it, but it wasn't a good decision. I was able to help others, but I ended up draining myself mentally, and physically. At this point I realized I wasn't living a sustainable life, and needed to get a grounding, so I called the Fehrings, and they said they would love to have me back. They bought my flight and I was back the next day!

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Where I Am Today

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When I arrived back on Kauai, I was so grateful. I can't explain in short what that island feels like, I can just say you feel it. I was so alone when I had come back, and it was great to be greeted by family. I remember asking on the way to the farm about the workers, and I still remember them warning me about Tara at that moment. If only they could see us today! Anyway, I get to the farm and quickly fall back into the swing of things. They brought me back as a farm manager and were going to pay me for the majority of my hours, so I was feeling like giving my all to them! It was business as usual I quickly started getting projects done, finish my first day, go for a surf, and when I return... I see Tara. She was just walking into the farmstand, but I couldn't help but follow. I walked inside and started talking to her, and eventually even said "I don't know if I'm nervous or it's cold but I can't stop shaking." I thought she was so cute, and I was so alone I just wanted anyone to comfort me. I spent the next three days getting to know her and trying to convince her t sleep with me, but she was resilient! That didn't last long, we would eventually sleep together, and never really stop. That was back in 2018. We ended up leaving the farm when I broke my ribs and started to work and build our lives together. Once I was healed I began working as a roofer, and she was working on a ginger and turmeric farm. We did this for about a year, and that feeling hit me again, the feeling that I was wasting my life! Tara and I discussed how much we could make if we sold everything. When we got our number I started looking into ways I could use the money we would get to make more money, and I learned about the stock market. Once I learned about the market I would spend every waking moment studying charts, indicators, and patterns, it was quite grueling but worth it. Eventually, it just started to click, and I knew what I was going to do. I told Tara we should sell everything, invest a portion of it, and travel with what's left over. The plan was that as we traveled the investments would mature and we would gain passive income... I normally try to undervalue things when I brainstorm, but wow I didn't expect to make 6 figures in only a couple of months off a few thousand. This was just good timing, right when the pandemic hit, I had seen Kirkland cheap and just bought more than anyone probably should have, but it played to my advantage. We had just returned to the states from traveling to; Indonesia, The Philippines, and many other countries, and now we were home and wealthier than ever. This was my first time having money, so I wanted to handle it well, so we spent the next year pretending we didn't make all that money. I have always seen money change people, so I thought it would be important to show ourselves we could have money and live like we didn't! I reinvested all the money into an ETF so it could just sit and I wouldn't have to worry as much about it. I also took enough out to open a new account and began learning to day trade. This was a great learning curve because I lost so much money when I started day trading, it made me appreciate doing it when I was able to afford it. I feel if I didn't have excess money I would have been very disheartened and turned away by my 5 figure losses at times... Over the next few years, we would travel around here and there, but never really settle. Finally, in January of 2022, we decided on moving to Puerto Rico, and that is where we are to this day! Thank you, I know it was a long read, but I hope you have more insight into me, Jaylen Alston.