I joined Oakland PD when I was 23 years old.
Fresh out of the Marines and motivated.
Spent 7 years working my ass off.
70 to 100+ hours a week.
& I gotta admit, it was invigorating.
High-speed car chases. Running after violent criminals. Gang investigations. Shootings, robberies, murders. You name it.
I got addicted to the adrenaline.
I was known as the guy who would be EVERYWHERE, which gave me a bit of a reputation.
Then comes "the day."
Another normal early morning patrol shift.
Two of my officers respond to a call of a guy standing on a corner with a gun.
First thought is it's bullshit. 6:15 am. Yeah right.
Within minutes, everything changes.
I hear my friend say the worst thing on the radio…
"I've been shot."
My heart drops.
The suspect was still on scene, ambushed the officers, and they returned fire, hitting him.
The suspect flees on foot. We believe he's still armed.
He flees to a high-rise apartment complex and barricades himself in the lobby.
We surround the building, and I'm in charge. 50+ cops.
Finally, after negotiations and phenomenal police work from all the officers, he surrenders.
High fives everywhere.
"Great job, Gedam."
"Wow, Gedam, you handled that so well."
Talks of promotion from the command. Special assignments.
The normal bullshit.
Well, fast forward a few months, and this little "virus" becomes a big deal.
Then the mandatory vaccinations started.
Only one small detail.
I refused.
How did the government care about my "safety" all of a sudden?
Come on, I was a police sergeant in one of the most violent cities in the nation.
I knew the gig. So I refuse.
& if you want to know about going from "Hero" to "Zero," well, this is the definition.
All of a sudden, I'm "that guy."
People trying to convince me to do it for my "image."
I still refused.
I finally said fuck it.
I give my two weeks' notice.
Fast forward to the present day?
• Running a company from two countries
• Team members all over the world
• Retiring my parents
The ability to provide economic mobility to a team I'm proud to work with.
Everything always works out in the end 💪🏽
If you liked this post and want to hear more stories just like this one (there's a lot)...
Give me a follow @gedamtekle.
I made $100k in 6 months while working full-time.
• Didn't do dropshipping
• Didn't buy a Laundromat
• Didn't sell on TikTok Shop
I started a business that most people overlook because it's "too boring."
Here's exactly how it works:
I’m 28.
I run a 7-figure ghostwriting agency.
But 5 years ago, I was:
• Broke in a NYC studio apartment
• Burning every Army paycheck on failed businesses
• Watching my bank account hit $0 over and over
Here are the 7 mindset shifts that changed my life:
If my agency got wiped and I had 6 months to get back to $100K/month, here's exactly what I'd do:
• Quit stacking $2-3K retainers
• Stop taking meetings with anyone who has a pulse
• Skip the "grind 80 hours/week" hustle porn
• Fire my bottom 20% of clients immediately
• Position on potential and growth, not just fixing problems
• Identify the enterprise problems my ideal clients will pay big money to solve
• Build a pitch deck (stop winging it on Zoom)
• Pre-handle every objection in the deck before it comes up on the call
• Show case studies, wins, results - make them want to work with me
• Create an offer page that explains the problem, our process, and proof
• Run Meta ads with real budget targeting companies that can actually afford premium pricing
• Send value-packed pre-call emails that build trust before they ever get on a call
• Add qualification to my booking process to filter out tire-kickers
• Build a two-step offer: intro project at $6-10K, then ongoing retainer at $8-20K/month
• Follow up with every prospect on the 1st of the month until they tell me to stop
• Review every single sales call to find where I'm losing deals
• Double down on what's working, cut what isn't
• Close 10 Enterprise Clients at $10K+/month
• Hit $100K/month with better margins and fewer headaches
This is exactly how I scaled from $113K/month with 40 small clients to $426K/month with Enterprise Clients in 19 months.
Everyone thought I was stupid for buying ATMs at 21.
(But they didn't know what I knew)
Here's exactly what I did:
1: Bought my first ATM machine
2: Placed it in a local Mexican restaurant
3: Set my surcharge at $3-4 per transaction
4: First month: Made $252 from 72 withdrawals
It was okay, but I knew I could find better locations.
So I started targeting high-traffic, cash-heavy venues:
• Barbershops (consistent daily customers)
• Nightclubs (high cash demand on weekends)
• Cash-only restaurants (immediate need)
• Smoke shops (regular customers)
Some of these locations started making over $1,000/month per machine.
I kept reinvesting every dollar.
One ATM became 5. Then 10. Then 45.
Today, those 45 ATMs generate over $16k/month in passive income.
All because I ignored the doubters at 21 and placed that first machine.
If you're ready to start making passive income with ATMs…
DM me "ATM" and I'll show you how.