I wound up bankrupt and homeless during the GFC in '08. Took the first two jobs I could find. Worked my ass off, 12-16 hour days, to recover from the bankruptcy. After two years, I had $9,000 to my name to go off and start my own company. Continued working insanely long hours while living in a tiny rented office for about a year, then I was back on my feet financially. Spent a few years traveling overseas, largely because it was a cheaper way to live, while continuing to build the business. Finally found an extremely successful marketing tactic in 2014 that fueled rapid growth of the business. Spun out a new business from the old one in 2015 as a SaaS tech startup, as well as bought my first rental property in 2015. Continued growing both companies and buying rentals. Sold the original business a few months ago and immediately FIREd.

The End.