I was born (November 23, 1980) and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri, where there is 1 degree of separation and baseball is religion.
I went to college like everyone else because I didn’t know what else you were supposed to do after high school. Besides, entering the real world of responsibilities at the age of 18 was just not even fathomable then.
Ended up going to the ultra prestigious, Missouri State University. Barely graduated from that place with a super “C” average and a degree in Computer Information Systems (yawn).
After school, I knew that I had to start a career with a company that specialized in something that I found intriguing or I was doomed. So, I ended up getting a gig at Hobbico Inc. They’re a company that produces radio controlled cars, boats, planes, helicopters, etc. I was into this stuff pretty heavy growing up. Almost every weekend my Dad and I were out R/C racing, it was our thing. So it was love, or I thought.
This was my first taste of life as an adult. Full-time gig, with full-time bills. The job wasn’t what I expected and Champaign, Illinois didn’t really have a scene for young professionals. If you’re twenty-something and single it’s a place where you’d be bored out of your mind unless you frequent bars and University of Illinois college functions all of the time.
I ended up working the 9-5 life from 2005 to 2010. I had excelled at every job that I held and by the end of my stint, I had pretty much mastered the art of playing the “I really give a shit” charade until one day, I woke up and lost my touch. I felt like I was going to die of brain atrophy, if I didn’t leave the corporate world. Like seriously, I would get headaches that had to be from atrophy. Straight up.
Before I decided to leave my job, I had been studying everything I could in the field of residential real estate because I knew that entrepreneurship was my only ticket out. The plan was to get my real estate company to the level where it could replace my income before quitting. However, that plan fell thru along with my patience. I got to the point where I would rather have lived out of my car than to endure another day in a cubicle. So I sold most of my stuff on Craigslist, gave the rest away, stuffed my 1998 Pontiac Grand Am with the rest and I bounced to my Mom’s basement with bank accounts in the red and all. It was then, when I was able to finally get into a rhythm of working for myself without distraction.
By 2011, I was finally starting to make a couple bucks with a few deals closing which enabled me to go on a few trips outside of the States. I learned a lot about other cultures, life, and myself overall because of those travels and the year 2011 was officially when my goals and priorities in life changed.
Some of you reading this may know me from my previous blog, JustinMcClelland.com. On that blog, I focused mostly on the business of real estate and my trials and tribulations as a new entrepreneur in that field.
I created MyInnerG, because I wanted to read a blog that was more comprehensive and in align with my life. I didn’t want to be exclusive to real estate anymore, but rather more educational, entertaining, and far from monotonous.
And about the name MyInnerG. One of my favorite songs is by Lupe Fiasco and it’s called, “I’m Beamin”. In the opening line of the 1st verse, Lupe says, “I get my energy from my inner-G”. That quote stuck with me ever since first hearing that song because it applies to me personally so well. So I must define what “Inner-G” means to me. Inner-G is that “G” deep-down inside of you. ”G” as in gangster. Gangster as in brave, powerful, brash, risky and overall…just dope. Such are the traits required to accomplish anything noteworthy in life.
