GOD’S OVERCOMER: Illinois businessman Traveas Claypool goes from a dreaded life of selling drugs to a successful entrepreneur
Andre Johnson 
Not that I have already attained, nor am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14 KJV)
SEASON OF A TURNAROUND
Go ahead. Go right ahead.
Bring up Traveas Claypool’s checkered past all you want.
At the end of the real day, it’s water under a bridge.
Outdated information.
Old news.
In a nutshell, his dreaded past is just that: his past.
In essence, to grasp a thorough understanding of why Claypool — like many of us, if we’d be honest — endured his share hardships and turmoil in years past, look no further than the unfavorable cards he had been dealt during his upbringing in the rural town of Kankakee, Illinois — a Kankakee County establishment that is comprised of a population of roughly 26,024 residents, according to the latest U. S. census.
“I remember as a child, we would come home and we would not have lights or running water and, as a young kid, we had to share clothes,” Claypool told Making Headline News this week. “And as I grew up, I begin to indulge in criminal activities, started stealing shoes from the local shoe store.”
As Claypool explained, it was a turbulent, risky lifestyle by which he eventually had come to embrace, for the most part.
“I began to be fascinated with the lifestyle of a drug dealer,” Claypool recalls. “As a struggling young man, I watched my peers experience a better life and I wanted in. I was introduced to the drug game by one of my childhood friends, and I watched him go from struggling to having anything he wanted. I wanted the same thing.”
MORE ON CLAYPOOL’S VENTURE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4053055011389669
So desperately was Claypool in yearning for a favorable, prosperous lifestyle that he had ultimately become deeply engrossed in the fast money drug game.
So much, in fact, that his sold drugs on the rugged streets of Kankakee for roughly a decade-and-a-half — “through the age of 18 to about 32,” he said — a trend that would subsequently lead to a tumultuous dead end of sorts.
Claypool, as it turned out, had become a fixture for creating a cycle that was centered largely on selling drugs and going to jail, as a result.
“I would go in and out of prison for manufacturing and selling of drugs,” he said. “So, I remember sitting (in jail) and said to myself, ‘It has to be a better way to live than what I am living.’”
All things considered, prison essentially save Claypool’s life amid a dangerous lifestyle that had sent many of his peers to premature graves.
As Claypool recalls, 2009, by all accounts, was a defining moment for him as he began to take a thorough assessment of the lifestyle he chose.
“I began what we call personal growth,” Claypool explained. “I did know how to change, but (I questioned if) I had the desire to change.”
After moments of soul searching, amongst the things about which Claypool discovered was that he was equipped with the keen ability to change his ways.
Not just the ability, mind you. But a fervent desire, to put it more precisely.
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“I began to work a variety of jobs and God had blessed me to be able to connect with a Vice-President of a company that I was working for,” Claypool recalls. “He took me under his wings and began to show me how to become a better communicator and problem solver.”
And the rest, as they say, was history.
And just like that, Claypool’s divine connection with a number of successful business professionasl had ultimately given way to his steadfastly adopting a new lease on life — for the rest of his life.
Today, Claypool is an accomplish businessman in his own right as the mastermind behind Traveas Consulting.
Based in Kankakee, Claypool’s Traveas Consulting is a rising endeavor that is centered largely on his ability to fortify his immeasurable gifts, most notably as a life coach, mentor, and motivational speaker, according to detailed description of his featured venture on its Facebook business page.
“I work with individuals and groups of individuals to expand their thinking and change their mindset so they can achieve their goals,” Claypool said of his credible empowerment business venture that routinely services individuals and groups ranging in ages in 10-and-up.
Talk about a massive, tear-jerking turnaround in the life of a young, progressive Illinois businessman whose life — much to his delight — just keeps getting better by the day.
MORE ON CLAYPOOL’S VENTURE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4053055011389669
So go ahead. Go right ahead.
Bring up Claypool’s checkered past all you want.
At the end of the real day, it’s water under a bridge.
Outdated information.
Old news.
To refresh your memory, his dreaded past is just that: his past.
“Your mind is the master power that molds and makes us,” Claypool said of his fervent rise from turbulence to prosperity. “I want to tell my story…the way that I grew up and how (I’m hopeful) this will be my biography.”
A life-altering development by which no one should merely find surprising if it comes to fruition.
A RELATED STORY
For more information about Kankakee, Illinois Businessman Traveas Claypool of Traveas Consulting, to inquire about his services, a speaking engagement, or interview requests, connect with him via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4053055011389669. Send email to: [email protected].
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EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is the award-winning Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist or Instagram at @makingheadlinenews.
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