MY STORY
I’m excited that you are taking an interest in me and the Millionaire Challenge. I really wanted to spend some time sharing with you about my background. I know that bits and pieces have been talked about here and there on the internet already. For those of you wondering how it all fits together, here are the real details.
When I was just starting out with the internet I was 17 and ready to jump in anywhere. Seriously, I had big plans and an even bigger drive to get me there. The truth is, not a lot has changed. I’ve just picked up some valuable lessons along the way.
My First Mentor
Thankfully, it didn’t take me long to find my first mentor, Harry Dann. I was young, ambitious and yes, I put an ad in a paper for a business deal. Sounds silly now, but back in 1993 this is how things were done, or so I thought. Around the same time, in fact shortly before I started conversing with Harry, I was a potential mark in a Nigerian scam. It still makes me laugh to think that I was about to fall for this, being how common they are these days. However again, it was 1993 and I was very hungry for any sort of action. Thankfully three days before I was going to fly to Lagos, my parents physically took my passport from me. Remember, I was seventeen at the time. At least one mistake sidestepped.
My relationship with Harry grew as I called him all the time for advice and to get some traction on the business deal I had advertised. Eventually in April of 1993 Harry invited me down to the Bahamas to watch him work. I knew right away that this guy was all I had imagined and I was convinced that mentoring would shape
my business life. I stayed in the Bahamas for some long trips, hanging out with Harry and seeing how he did business.
As with any good mentor, Harry helped me funnel my energy in the right places “Go where the money is” was his advice. I was back in England and hungry for the internet to make me money. I was working on these real estate sites and I wasn’t getting any traction. So Harry brought up the idea of working adult sites. At first the idea just didn’t appeal to me. I thought they were overly saturated and I didn’t think I could carve something of worth there. But Harry encouraged me and I started in the adult Internet industry.
Start in the online Industry
Now, the adult industry was a tough cookie to crack. I was being scammed left and right. I was working every waking hour trying to make it work. I was driving a cab at night to pay bills, and really working hard on these adult sites. However, it just wasn’t working.
Eventually, I came upon a site that I could really sink my teeth into. It was a membership site that promised recurring income. This was my big break. Within a few days I had a paycheck for $250! My first money made online! It was exhilarating.
From there I became the sites biggest affiliate and biggest earner. I went from four sites to 32,000 in 18 months. I had a staff of 26 people and went from that measly $250 to $2 million in a year and half! I personally went from $452 to $177,000 a month. I was living in the Bahamas now, as you can imagine, I was living the dream.
I got together with my staff in Columbus to talk over the idea of making our own site. We budgeted $150,000 and were ready to roll. We spent 10 months developing and making a fantastic product in the AVS (Age Verification Service) field.
July 18, 2001 – My first big hurdle
Our site is ready to go and we launch. Seemingly overnight the site I previously worked for was launching a legal campaign against us, accusing us of stealing intellectual property. Each and every one of the 32,000 sites we had made (and sold to someone else) was closed. And in addition, our current site was stonewalled. We truly had a fantastic product, but would have been stuck in a legal battle we couldn’t afford.
I kept the staff on for four months, trying to see our way out of the mess. Due to this whole situation, I was then completely broke I had lost £3 million and deeply in debt. The first time I went to the mountaintop and was beat down.
2002 – Bankruptcy
Living back in the UK, trying to find a way to pay my debts I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe that all that money was gone. And frankly, I didn’t really have a choice but to declare bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy in the UK is a little different than in the US but no matter where you live bankruptcy feels like failure. It was a whole new low for me and my ego.
Plus, the vast majority of my debt wasn’t to banks or credit cards. It was to friends and family. So even though through bankruptcy I was legally forgiven, I was morally obligated to pay that money back. In fact, my great parents had even put up money against their home. I certainly wasn’t going to let them lose their house over me!
So I needed a new game plan. Unfortunately when you feel cornered you consider options that are well outside your normal ideal. And though I had never been a drug user before, I got in touch with a friend of mine who knew how to grow marijuana.
So, like the workaholic that I am, I studied up like crazy. I started with four plants in my garage and though I never sold them, I very well could have. Then the business side of me kicked in and I thought about expansion. I took the money I could have made with those four plants and figured out that with a larger commercial space I could grow lots of plants, go through 4 rounds of growth and be good.
I wasn’t looking to start a new career in dealing pot. I wanted to get out of debt and I was desperate for a solution. I just wanted to pay off debts and get my feet back underneath me. I was married and had two kids, I needed some cushion. I needed a way out.
The Worst Day of my Life
So there I was working at a Pawn shop and running this pot growing space. I was not the person I wanted to be. I had started smoking my merchandise and was drinking. I’ve never been a drinker; the whole situation made me a completely different person. I was so amazingly stressed and I was extremely unhappy.
Then one night my wife is very unhappy. Something isn’t right. The truth is, nothing was right at that point. That was the night she left me. And I can honestly say, out of all the hard times – this was by far the worst day of my life. I had never had such a heart wrenching experience.
Little did I know that during this whole time, my marijuana plants were about to land me in jail. Evidently, one of the air conditioning units used in the space caught on fire and the sprinkler system flooded the entire space. Neighbors had called the police and shortly after my wife left me I was arrested for marijuana growing
Jail and New Beginnings
Though I was told I was going to get one or two years, I actually was sentenced to four years. Yet, for a year of that sentence I was out on work release and had the ability to stretch my horizons. In fact, many of the people in my life like my parents and friends were amazingly supportive throughout this ordeal.
I studied internet marketers and other great people like Frank Kerns and Anthony Robbins. I was truly moved by Kerns’ book Mass Control in particular. In fact, it was really a combination of Frank Kerns course, the research I was doing into the Quaker faith, exercising like never before, loosing 50 lbs and the support of
my family that made my life in prison bearable together. And more importantly, it helped me start to look forward to see what I could do once I left prison.
The Challenge
And that’s where the Millionaire Challenge picks up. I have had the great opportunity to work with Brad Gosse and others as I move through this journey to a million dollars in 12 months. What’s really important to me is that I show people the genuine way to make money online. I want to become one of those mentors that I have adored throughout my career. And most importantly, I want to impress upon you that the past is the past and the future is the future. I am just as ambitious as I was at 17. I am always looking forward and I believe that if you do the same only good things will come of it.
Join Me On The Journey !
Mark Lyford
Contact: Mark Lyford:
Email: mark@marklyford.com
Phone: (UK) – 44 08448 201 201
Fax: (UK) – 44 08448 202 202
Web: www.marklyford.com
Visit My Sites For More Information
www.millionairechallenge.tv
www.joinmeonthejourney.com
www.marklyford.com
www.internetmarketingpass.com
www.lyfordgroup.com
Download Mark Lyford’s – My Story
Mark Lyford is an Internet Marketer, Entrepreneur and Success Enthusiast . Visit his website and signup free to get blog updates by email. Mark is starting on a journey to turn his life around, watch him every step of the way at : www.millionairechallenge.tv. While your at it follow him on Twitter ( www.twitter.com/marklyford)
