I felt like God was speaking straight through me -- he was telling my doctor my own diagnosis. I saved my own life that day. It was a crazy experience, but it drove me to want more success for my family in case anything ever happened to me again. Being a real estate agent seemed like the perfect answer.

I grew up in Houston in a single-parent home with my mom and younger sister. I was always seeking strong father figures during my childhood, like my basketball coach and my martial-arts instructor who was a former Marine. The third was my stepdad -- my mom remarried when I was in high school. Those three people showed me what it meant to be a good, honorable man.

I joined the Marine Corps out of high school because I wanted to travel and get into the fight; I guess I’d watched too many Clint Eastwood movies as a kid. In High School, I was a Junior Olympic athlete in judo and jujitsu, so I thought I was a real tough guy. Boy, was I naïve. I was humbled to find the Marines have a lot of World class athletes. Many of the guys in my platoon were Allstate football players, wrestlers, or golden gloves champions and we all wanted to be the best of the best. It was a honor to fight alongside these great warriors.

My job was to jump out of helicopters and rappel down ropes to an offensive or defensive position before or during a conflict. We were already in the Persian Gulf when 9-11 happened. After almost 6 years and two deployments it was time for me to come home. I credit the Marine Corps for teaching me self-discipline, motivation and respect. Most of all, I learned an incredible work ethic. Nothing pushes you harder than being a Marine.

After that, I pursued a college business degree and then got into the management-training program at Enterprise Rent-a-Car. I learned how to run a business from the ground up and became adept at selling, providing great customer service, communicating well and managing employees. Then I opened up a group of successful cell-phone repair stores.

By this time, I was married and had two sons. It was October 2017 and I was playing basketball with my kids when I blew out my ACL (knee ligament). As the week wore on, I felt more and more terrible. My wife eventually called 911. The paramedics rushed me to the hospital, where I was in and out of consciousness for hours.

The doctor came in and told me that I probably had a bad infection and he was going to give me some fluids and send me home. Suddenly, my body woke up – completely alert -- as if somebody else was speaking through me and I heard: “Don’t you know that in less than 3% of severe trauma patients, they experience deep-tissue thrombosis due to bones colliding and blood leakage into the body?” I had no idea where this came from or what it meant, as I had no medical knowledge or background whatsoever.

The doctor thought I was out of my mind but he agreed to do an ultrasound. They found blood clots everywhere in my calf as well as in my heart and lungs. I felt like God was speaking straight through me that day, telling my doctor my own diagnosis. I saved my own life that day.

I spent a week in the ICU (intensive care unit) and had a lot of time to think. I realized I wanted more financial security for my family. Being a real estate agent seemed like the perfect answer, not only could I help others, but I could also help and protect my family.

Being a real estate agent allows me to be there as a strong role model for my boys -- something I didn’t have growing up. It also allows me to help my clients find their perfect home and build a family or whatever their life’s journey is. The exciting thing is they get that pride of ownership and feel good about making one of the biggest investments in their lives.

What sets me apart from other agents is my life experience. Because of both my Marine experience and my prior business experience, I have all necessary skills to overcome any challenges and obstacles. I feel like God laid out the stones and I finally found the path.

But I still feel like there’s a higher purpose -- something left for me to do. When I’m gone, I hope people will say that I was a great father, a great husband and a hard worker. I’m always looking for opportunities to help other people or do something for my family. I hope, as my business grows, that I find ways to pay that forward.