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November 15, 2024 11 mins
Welcome to Day 7 of the “Start Thinking Forward” 22-Day Challenge. Today’s episode is deeply personal and transformative, as host Brandon L. Draper shares his own journey of reinvention, resilience, and finding purpose after life’s greatest challenges.

From a dedicated soldier to a struggling civilian navigating heartbreak, family distance, and financial hardship, Brandon takes us through the journey that led him to a defining moment of purpose with Serebro AI.Through his raw, unfiltered story of setbacks, painful lessons, and hard-earned wisdom, Brandon inspires us to embrace life’s twists, find strength in adversity, and create meaning even in the darkest times.

Special thanks to our sponsor, Serebro AI, for providing the tools that helped Brandon find his path and now empower countless others to do the same. Ready to hear a story of transformation and rediscover your purpose?

Listen, share this episode on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you tune in, and join a journey that turns pain into power, failure into purpose, and dreams into reality.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/start-thinking-forward-podcast--1229199/support.
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 4 (01:30):
Welcome back to the Start Thinking Forward podcast.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
I'm Brandon L.

Speaker 4 (01:34):
Draper, and today is day seven of our twenty two
day journey together. Today I'm taking a different approach. I'm
gonna get real with you, share a part of my
story that's raw, painful, and at times heartbreaking, because it's
in those dark moments, in those times when life has
knocked us down, that we learn the most about ourselves.

(01:55):
We're going to talk about what it means to redefine
your purpose, to reinv vent yourself, and to rise from
the ashes of a life you thought was yours, only
to realize there's something greater on the other side.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Let's go back to the beginning.

Speaker 4 (02:12):
As a kid, I had one dream to be a
soldier just like my father. I remember those old photographs,
the ones with him in uniform, standing tall and proud.
I'd put on my own little uniform salute and think,
one day, that's gonna be me. And I wasn't just
playing around. I wanted this. I lived and breathed this dream.

(02:34):
I worked for it every day until it became my reality.
And for a while it felt like this was it.
This was what I was born to do, what I'd
do for the rest of my life. Being a soldier
wasn't just a job. It was an identity, a purpose,
and when you feel like you're living your purpose, there's
a certain piece that comes with it, a certain strength.

(02:56):
But life doesn't always work out the way we planned.
When my military career ended, it felt like a piece
of me had been torn away. It was like waking
up one day and realizing everything i'd built my life around,
everything that had given me a sense of meaning, was gone.
I wasn't a soldier anymore. And the thing is, no

(03:18):
one prepares you for that feeling, for that hollow emptiness
when you lose the identity you've clung to for so long.
And that wasn't the only loss I was facing around
the same time, my personal life was unraveling. Relationships that
once felt solid fell apart, My marriage ended, and I
found myself separated from my kids. People I'd loved, trusted,

(03:42):
and built a life with were suddenly distant. It was
like everything i'd built, everything i'd believed in, was slipping
away all at once. The icing on the top my
mother had passed.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
A little over a year prior.

Speaker 4 (03:57):
Then there was the heartbreak that goes beyond law, the betrayal.
I had someone who turned into an enemy overnight, someone
who once held my trust in loyalty. That person became
a source of pain, someone willing to tear me down
to make sure I felt every ounce of that hurt.

(04:17):
This wasn't just a breakup. This was a battle for
my peace of mind, my spirit, my sanity. I'd lie
awake at night, broken hearted, disillusion wondering what am I
even supposed to do now. When you hit that low,
when everything you've ever known, everything you've ever believed in,
shatters around you, that's when you start questioning everything. I

(04:41):
was disappointed, depressed, lost in a fog, trying to figure
out where I belonged in a world that didn't seem
to have a place for me anymore. But here's the
thing about hitting rock bottom. You have two choices. You
can stay there wallow in it, or you can pick
yourself up, even if it means crawling it first.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
And that's what I did.

Speaker 4 (05:02):
I had to make a choice to rebuild, to reinvent myself.
It was slow, painful, and at times almost unbearable, but
I found my way back inch by inch. I knew
I had one thing I could rely on, my voice.
I'd led people in the military, I'd inspired people on.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
The field, and I knew I could still do that.

Speaker 4 (05:23):
So I decided to create something meaningful, something that used
my voice, my experiences, my pain, and my passion. That's
how Pinnacle Point Publishing came to be a platform for storytelling,
for transformation. I wanted to create something that could help
others see their own worth, find their own path, and

(05:45):
tell their own stories. But even then there were challenges.
People who said they were my friends, who claimed to
support me, started taking advantage. I'd pour everything I had
into these projects, sometimes undercharging some time sacrificing too much,
only to be left high and dry.

Speaker 3 (06:04):
When things didn't work out.

Speaker 4 (06:06):
I was underpaid, undervalued, and worst of all blamed for
everything that went wrong. Lesson learned, Never expect someone else
to value your work as much as you do. Never
let anyone undervalue your worth. My price is my price.
If I say it's ten thousand dollars, it's ten thousand dollars,

(06:28):
not four thousand, five hundred dollars, not a penny less
that's not arrogance, that's respect for my skills, my time,
my life experience. It was another painful reminder that no
one was going to take care of my dreams the
way I would. No one was going to protect my
future the way I had to. So I pivoted, and
that next move had to be my best move. I

(06:49):
had to go all in, but in a way that
honored me, that respected my journey, and that kept my
integrity intact. Then came cerebro Ai. This wasn't just another
business venture. This was the culmination of everything I'd been through.
This was a chance to take the leadership, the discipline,
the resilience I'd learned in the military and apply it

(07:12):
to something transformative. I had a purpose again, a reason
to keep going. Cerebro Ai was about more than just business.
It was about helping others about using technology to empower people,
to give them the tools they needed to succeed. With
cerebro Ai, I found a way to bring everything i'd learned,

(07:33):
everything i'd struggled with into something that could make a
real difference. It was like taking everything I knew about
leading people in the military, strategic planning, positioning, resilience, adaptability,
and channeling it into a platform that could help businesses thrive.
It was about transferring those battle tested skills into something

(07:53):
that could empower others to win, to grow, to succeed.
And it wasn't just about business. It was per It
was about turning my pain into power, turning every setback,
every disappointment, every betrayal into something that could help others.
Because here's the truth, when you're down, when you're struggling,

(08:15):
you're either gonna let it crush you or you're gonna
turn it into something that lifts you up. And with
cerebro Ai, I chose to rise. When I look back
on everything I went through, the relationships that didn't work out,
the family members who closed their doors, the friends who
took advantage, I realize now that it was all a

(08:36):
part of the journey. I wouldn't be here speaking to
you today if I hadn't gone through every single one
of those moments. There's a saying there are two types
of pain, the kind that hurts and the kind that
changes you. I had to go through both, and I
wouldn't change a thing because each lesson, each tear, each heartbreak,

(08:59):
may made me stronger. It taught me resilience. It taught
me the value of loyalty, of commitment, of integrity. It
taught me that when you hit rock bottom, the only
way out is up. So if you're listening to this
and you're going through something, if you feel lost, broken
or betrayed, I want you to know that you're not alone.

(09:23):
There's a way out, there's a way forward, and sometimes
that path forward requires you to let go of the
things you thought you needed, the people you thought you
couldn't live without, and the dreams you thought would define
you today. Cerebra Ai isn't just a business.

Speaker 3 (09:42):
It's a movement.

Speaker 4 (09:43):
It's about empowering people, about giving them the tools they
need to rise above, to scale, to succeed. And the
people we help they're not just clients, they're partners in
this journey. I want everyone who walks through our doors,
everyone who joins our platform to know that they're not
just another name, another number. They're part of something greater,

(10:06):
something that's built on integrity, resilience and purpose. Because at
the end of the day, that's what this is all about.
It's about using everything you've been through, every failure, every setback,
every painful moment to build something that makes a difference.
And if my story, if my journey, can help someone

(10:27):
else find their way, then every tear, every scar, every
ounce of pain was worth it. So here's my message
to you, the listener. Life will knock you down. It
will throw things at you that you never expected. People
will leave, dreams will shatter. But in those moments, you

(10:47):
have a choice. You can let the pain consume you,
or you can let it transform you. You can stay
down or you can rise. And when you rise, you
rise with purpose, with strength, and with a clarity that
only comes from surviving the storm. If you're on this
journey with me, if you're ready to turn your pain

(11:08):
into power, then keep listening, keep pushing, keep moving forward. Together,
we're building a legacy, a future that's grounded in resilience,
in purpose, in integrity. And to those who have supported
me to the true friends, the partners, the clients who
believed in this vision. Thank you You've been part of
this journey and together we're creating something that.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
Will outlive us all.

Speaker 4 (11:32):
Before we close, I want to give a special thanks
to cerebro Ai, not just as a sponsor, but as
a platform that transformed my life. Cerebro Ai gave me
the tools I needed to rebuild, to find my purpose
to rise, and now.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
It's here to help you do the same.

Speaker 4 (11:52):
With cutting edge technology, resources and support. Cerebro Ai isn't
just a tool, it's a partner in your journey toward greatness.
Thank you for joining me today, for listening to my story,
for being a part of this journey. If this episode
spoke to you, if you felt something shift, then share it.
Share it with someone who needs a reminder that they're

(12:15):
not alone, that there's a way forward. Until next time,
keep thinking forward, keep rising, keep believing, and remember your
story isn't over. In fact, it's just beginning.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
People are driven by the search for better, but when
it comes to hiring, the best way to search for
a candidate isn't to search at all. Don't search match
with Indeed, the hiring process can be slow and overwhelming.
Simplify hiring with Indeed. Indeed is your matching and hiring
platform with over three hundred and fifty million global monthly

(12:51):
visitors according to Indeed Data, and a matching engine that
helps you find quality candidates fast. Ditch the busy work
Indeed for scheduling, screening, and messaging so you can connect
with candidates faster. Join more than three point five million
businesses worldwide that use Indeed to hire great talent fast.

(13:12):
Listeners of this show will get a seventy five dollars
sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at
indeed dot com slash pod Katz thirteen. That's Indeed dot
Com slash pod Katz thirteen. Terms and conditions apply.

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