People often ask me what drove me to follow my ambitions and build a CBD company. The answer is that as a child, I felt helpless witnessing my parents struggle with money and mental health.
I grew up in the Six Mile area in Detroit where poverty was the norm. My parents lived paycheck to paycheck and only bought necessities. I always longed for more. When I was 12-years-old, my father dealt with financial stress, which led to medical problems we could not afford to treat at the time. His health declined and he suffered a stroke. He passed away at the age of 44.
After his death, my mom’s mental health spiralled. She had a hard time dealing with his death and became depressed. As the eldest child, I was forced to grow up too quickly and become the head of the household. I tutored, worked at Dunkin Donuts, and sold candy during class to make money. I promised myself that I would never live in poverty again. I taught myself financial literacy, dreamed big, and hustled every day. With that grit embedded in me, I obtained a doctorate in pharmacy, started my own business, and bought four investment properties. Earlier this year, I quit my six-figure job to become a full-time entrepreneur.
I always wonder how my father’s health would have been had he had financial means to seek regular medical attention. Would proper stress management and holistic healing in his daily routine have given him a few more years? Would he have been alive today to see me succeed?
I guess the saying that ‘everything happens for a reason’ is true because if it wasn’t for my traumatic childhood, I wouldn’t have been as motivated to find ways to manage stress. One way has been incorporating CBD in my self-care. CBD is natural, halal, easily accessible, and has a very minimal side effect profile. I wish my father had something like this when he was under tremendous stress. I’m grateful that I was able to incorporate CBD into my mom’s life and that her mental health is in a much better place today.
Through my business, I have introduced holistic healing and positively impacted so many people by helping them take control of their lives. It’s a blessing to have the opportunity to educate many families within my community about mental health and the benefits of CBD.
