{"id":255231,"date":"2026-04-07T16:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T20:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/?p=255231"},"modified":"2026-04-08T09:28:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:28:40","slug":"from-receiving-support-to-becoming-the-support-michaels-success-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/from-receiving-support-to-becoming-the-support-michaels-success-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"From Receiving Support to Becoming the Support: Michael’s Success Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michael is enrolled in two of Operation HOPE’s flagship programs: Credit & Money Management<\/a> and Small Business Development<\/a>. Working with Financial Wellbeing Coach Liz Joiner over the last year, he has built a foundation for financial stability and a legacy through entrepreneurship. As a result, a goal that once felt out of reach \u2014 buying his first home \u2014 is now within sight for next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Michael’s story in his own words.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At age 60, while living in a sober living house (a house for folks recovering from either an alcohol or drug addiction), I met Liz Joiner, a coach with Operation HOPE. The thought of someone supporting me in becoming successful in business and handling finances seemed like a really good idea for me and my recovery. I promised her I would schedule an appointment to meet. I was not aware of the impact she would have on my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two areas of my life were about to improve significantly: financial maturity including credit building, and business development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding financial growth \u2014 financial literacy was not taught in my family. Even though my father had grade-A excellent credit, it was not something he taught me. Before meeting Liz, I had never been able to save money beyond a single two-week pay period. I never had any savings. I have never carried an active credit card account past six months without it being canceled due to nonpayment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for business development \u2014 over my adult life I attempted several businesses that never got off the ground. From selling Malcolm X tapes and books by African American authors in the late ’80s out of the trunk of my car, to creating a nonprofit organization that addressed social justice concerns during the summer of George Floyd’s death, I never had the ability to create something sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Since February of 2025, I’ve been working with Liz as my coach. In that short period of time, I’ve become a published author, created a YouTube channel focused on spiritual wellness content, and developed a workshop that guides people through a journaling process that leads to healing and wellness. I have the beginnings of a faith-based spiritual wellness coaching business. In January 2026, I facilitated my first Fortitude Foundations Workshop as a Recovery Wellness Coach, hosted by the Salvation Army Jacksonville Area Command. The plan is to continue growing my faith-based coaching business through book sales, facilitating workshops, and personalized wellness coaching \u2014 primarily through virtual platforms and YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am experiencing the longest period in my life of maintaining a checking account in good standing. For the first time, I have built savings exceeding $2,000 and have begun investing in stocks, even on a small scale. I currently maintain two credit cards in good standing \u2014 one of which I’ve held for over a year \u2014 and my credit score is steadily improving from fair toward good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most significant addition to my financial lifestyle is that I now regularly have conversations with my adult daughters about generational wealth, savings, and investing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through encouragement, leadership, and consistent coaching, my life is better. I’m grateful to Operation HOPE and Liz Joiner for their investment in me, which has helped place my life on a purposeful path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information:\u202fOperationHOPE.org<\/a>. Follow the HOPE conversation on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> or LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael is enrolled in two of Operation HOPE’s flagship programs: Credit & Money Management and Small Business Development. Working with Financial Wellbeing Coach Liz Joiner over the last year, he …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":255237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[64],"class_list":["post-255231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hope-stories","tag-cmm"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255231"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255243,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255231\/revisions\/255243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/operationhope.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}