A businessman has revealed how he turned his life around to become a millionaire after a gang attack left him fighting for his life in hospital.
Daeron Myers had a “tough” childhood, moving around multiple times and even having periods of homelessness before the age of 10.
He fell into a bad crowd early on in life and got involved with gangs and selling drugs.
READ MORE: ‘I’m an HR expert – THIS is how to get a job working for the Royal Family’
Daeron’s world came to an abrupt halt one evening, when he was 24, when he was stabbed three times in a bar brawl.
He was left with his intestines “hanging out” and was hospitalised for five days, before spending a further month at home bedridden.
The lengthy recovery gave the now 33-year-old dad-of-two a chance to “slow down” and re-evaluate his life, which turned out to be exactly what he needed.
“Going through all of that hardship has made me the man – and businessman – that I am today,” said the founder of Courier Business Academy.
“I think that dealing with life on the streets has actually helped me to become an entrepreneur.
“It taught me to be relentless and fearless, and able to bounce back from anything.
“While I’m using those skills in different ways today, it has taught me to put my best foot forward even when I wake up not knowing what the day will bring.
“I almost died before the age of 25.
“It was a huge wake-up call.
“I had a lot of people depending on me – several family members – so that would have been devastating, and I wanted to change for them.
“Throughout my recovery, I was finally sitting down, getting my thoughts in order and taking the time to think about what I could do instead.
“I was always a risk taker, and was always thinking outside of the box, so I applied that to my search for work.”
With a criminal record, Daeron’s options were limited.
He was low on cash but still owned a car in 2017, so when his uncle told him about an opportunity to become a parcel courier, managing his own schedule and getting paid per delivery, he jumped at it.
The work was simple: pick up shipments of goods from different companies – including pharmacies, hospitals, airline cargo and more – and deliver them to clients.
Daeron, who lives in Baltimore, Maryland, US, said: “The big appeal was being able to be my own boss.
“I didn’t need a big truck to do it – I could just earn money from my car.
“If I wanted to work longer hours and do some overtime, I could.
“Or if I didn’t want to work that day, I didn’t have to.
“It finally felt like the type of flexible, honest work that I needed.
“It was the new wave.
“I made $160 (£126) in one hour on my first day – then I was hooked.”
From there, Daeron built up a regular customer base of his own and was able to launch his own courier business a year later, rather than being subcontracted by other companies.
Soon after, he hired four couriers to work with him to manage the steady stream of work coming in.
He said: “My cousin saw me elevate and turn my life around, so I hired him to help him out.
“Next was my brother, and from there it was a domino effect.”
Twelve years on, the business is thriving with Daeron pulling in between $8-10m USD (£6.6-8m) a year.
After the turmoil throughout his childhood, he is also able to raise his own children – a four-year-old son and one-year-old daughter, shared with his wife, Kelly – to have a more comfortable upbringing.
Daeron said: “Thanks to my business, my kids get to grow up in a house and have their own bedrooms and a garden to play in.
“They both go to private schools and get the best education possible.
“My wife has also been able to retire at the age of 34 – she doesn’t need to work anymore, which feels amazing.
“We drive the cars we want to drive, take the vacations we want to take and live in a neighbourhood we want to live in.”
Daeron also serves as a mentor, having helped an estimated 500 people get into the business through Courier Business Academy – which teaches people how to use their vehicle to generate a fast income with courier work.
This has proven particularly helpful to people with a criminal record, who are still able to be in this line of work.
He added: “It feels like such an accomplishment to have been able to support so many other people wanting to change their lives in the same way I have.
“It keeps me going.
“To look back at where I started, it feels incredible that this is life right now.”
READ MORE: ‘I take my wife on six luxury holidays a year but work around the clock – even on our honeymoon’
