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his life , and the love he had for his business had turned toxic . His ex-wife insisted he stop his self-destructive actions and instead talk to other entrepreneurs and funnel that passion and desire that was once so bright into something that was useful beyond FUBU . “ She kicked me in my ass ,” he said .
John discovered that his focus was on the celebrity his brand was creating for him , and his initial love was getting lost in the shuffle . As his daughters grew , he was parenting them over the phone half a world away , dazed and hungover from a night of partying . His love had shifted from the goals and passion he had years prior as a young adult , and this time , John took his ex-wife ’ s harsh reminder to heart .
“ You ’ re not setting goals ,” he told himself . “ You ’ re out drinking and partying ; that ’ s not setting goals . You ’ re not doing your homework . A hot fashion brand lasts 5 – 7 years . And amore , love — do you love not seeing your daughters ?”
R - REMEMBER , YOU ARE THE BRAND
In redefining himself and discovering a new path , John learned that the way he was living his FUBU lifestyle wasn ’ t representative of who he needed to be . Sure , the hip-hop stars who were wearing his clothes were partying until 6 a . m . In fact , FUBU stood for “ For Us , By Us ,” and he was living the lifestyle that the movement , which began in the streets , had developed . But that ’ s where his growth stopped , and while the movement grew into new clothing and styles , John was stuck repeating the “ work hard , party harder ” lifestyle .
He took the tough love from his ex-wife , shifted his focus , and began working on a better version of himself to transform his life . The rap stars he once partied with were replaced with morning TV hosts and entrepreneurs working through the early vision of their business . When reality TV show producer Mark Burnett saw John speaking on networks like CNBC , he thought John would be a good fit for a little show he was developing called Shark Tank .
By the time he joined the Shark Tank team , John had learned a valuable lesson on vision . Instead of investing his lifestyle and work into the moment , John learned how he could influence the future , and it started with the budding business owners he met on Shark Tank . “ We don ’ t invest in brands ,” he said of his experience on Shark Tank . “ We invest in people . That ’ s the most important thing .”
John proposed that people should brand themselves with just 2 – 5 words . Those words will shape who you are and your goals at that moment . And as he was discovering what his personal brand was again and the value of investing in people on Shark Tank , he was living by the motto ,
“ I ’ m on a quest .” Those four words rang true for John as he was hustling at a higher level than ever before . This time , as his success grew , he expanded into industries he never even thought about before . His quest was partnering with real people , becoming synonymous with success , and celebrating the achievements of those he mentored .
With his newest sense of who he was and who he could be , John understood that he could communicate his value , and he began looking at others that same way . “ Any time you take a picture or post a selfie , your brand is being represented , and those 2 – 5 words are in there ,” John said . His brand was rising and getting stronger by the day . Nothing could stop him .
K - KEEP SWIMMING
On Good Friday 2017 , something almost did bring John ’ s latest growth to a halt , and John ’ s definition of his life would be boiled down into a new set of 2 – 5 words . That morning , he was admitted to the hospital for a simple hourlong procedure to remove a growth on his thyroid . Before being put under , the anesthesiologist asked John to think about what true success means to him . If he could think about his future , including his new daughter , the doctor told him , he would win before the surgery even began .
That surgery turned into a three-hour ordeal in which doctors removed a stage-2 cancerous growth that was set to overtake his lymph nodes and his brain .
That day , his 2 – 5-word motto turned from “ I ’ m on a quest ” to “ My health is first ,” John said . “ When I was under , I knew I was going to beat this thing because I was going to be here to be around my fellow sharks and walk my three beautiful girls down the aisle . Because you know what we do as sharks ?” he asked . “ We always just keep swimming .”
John ’ s life has been a series of obstacles that could have prevented him from building his empire . He didn ’ t let his father ’ s absence , nor his dwindling bank account , nor his spiraling while FUBU soared stop him from achieving the goals that kid at the Run-DMC concert set out to do . And on that operating table , John was facing another obstacle that threatened to sink him .
Instead , John kept swimming .
Business and life are full of hurdles , and there are times when we want to pack it up and call it a day . We can ’ t . If we want to reach new heights , we must have persistence , determination , and a ceaseless attitude of progress . We may not all be sharks on TV , but we can all learn to swim like one .
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