Mario had made it.  

He and his wife just closed a $186,000 deal with AOL.  This was their big break.

They were driving from Baltimore to Dulles, VA to a signing party – a champagne-filled celebration of the great work they’ve put forth and the bright road ahead.

That’s when they got the call.  There was a new Director at AOL.  All deals were being paused. No champagne, no party.  

A few weeks later, the deal was off.  

Mario and his wife quit their jobs to make this dream happen.  With a 5-year-old son, they cashed in their 401(k), built up credit card debt and found themselves flat broke.

Then the 2008 recession hit.  

Rock bottom.

His mother-in-law was buying his family’s groceries.  He went to the Coinstar just to get money for gas.

On one particular day, he went to “go get a coffee.”  He sat in the Starbucks parking lot and never got out of his car.  Instead, he cried. And cried.

Rock bottom x 2.

His dream in 2007 was to host a nationally televised talk show.

So how did he win an Emmy this year for his talk show “The Never Settle Show”?

Clear Vision

n
Mario broke down exactly what he wanted to achieve in his plan and broke that down into small, achievable steps along the way.  He turned his annual goals into monthly, weekly and daily goals and got to work.

Support System

He and his wife had a system.  If one of them was “down”, the other had to be “up.” If they were both negative, there would be no chance of

winning.

Put In The Work

Mario had an obsession and put in the work.  His niche in the market was making complicated technology easy to understand for the “average Joe.”  This earned him serious airtime on national television. Not as a host, but as a con

tributor.
Feedback

& Gatekeepers
When Mario built enough credibility with the national audience, he pitched his idea to all of the major networks – an interactive talk show.  One where the audience gets to choose the topics, have a live vote on the direction of the show and each show is wildly different from the last.  

When no major network bit on his idea, Mario came to the realization that these people should not and could not hold his destiny in their hands.  They were merely gatekeepers. Using his knowledge of technology, he funded the show and got it aired on Facebook Live.

So here he is.

5 days before our conversation, Mario was on stage holding his Emmy proudly.

His speech?

“Don’t let anyone hold the destiny of your dreams.”

You control your life.  If you have a dream, it’s up to you (and your team) to make it happen.

Don’t listen to the naysayers or the dream-killers.

Go out and get it done.

Thank you, Mario, for the further proof that it can be done.  

Now, time to get Emmy #2.

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