Daily Inspiration: Meet Argene Stone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Argene Stone.

Hi Argene, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
At a young age, I experienced abuse that many others also go through when they are too young to defend themselves. I was fortunate to have people in my life, some family and few friends, who helped me get through those difficult times as I grew up, and I hope others who face the same pain have someone there for them as well.

Growing up, I was a bit gullible and was often a pushover. I lacked confidence and didn’t believe I could achieve anything great in my personal life. I dreamed about bigger things and traveling the world, but deep down I felt unworthy of ever experiencing them. It was like I placed myself in a box and I didn’t have the vision or the know how to get out.

Even though I cared about people and tried to be friends with everyone, I was often picked on. I became the person others used as their punching bag so they could feel powerful and hide the struggles they were dealing with in their own lives.

I always had a desire to dream of something greater for myself. I imagined traveling the world and experiencing new things, but I often sabotaged myself and never took the steps needed to live the journey I truly desired.

One day I was watching the travel channel at my Grandmother’s house and while I was laying on the floor I reached up in the air and she asked what I was doing, I responded that I was wanting a rope to fall from the sky and pull me into the world of excitement, experiences and adventure. That motivated her and other family to help me and I began a new journey that created a lot of changes and opportunities.

I worked all through school and played sports which helped me understand to have a strong work ethic and work well with others, but I didn’t focus on my education.

During my Sr year of Highschool I started standing up for myself from being bullied but still didn’t have a direction on what I wanted to do with my life.

Because I didn’t take my education seriously I was told I’d be working where I was and I should accept that. That bothered me and I made the decision to start getting proactive and not just reactive.

It seems we have two sides within us, one, the good, where we desire to do good in our actions and how we treat ourselves and others around us.

Then two, where we can be bad in many areas where we hurt others in forms of abuse, bullying and controlling in order to make ourselves feel better at someone else’s expense.

It took me a while to realize that we choose what grows in our lives by what we feed and give our attention to.

With the help and love I received from all of the family and few friends I came to a decision to join the United States Marine Corps.

During boot camp I was average with the mindset to do what needed to be done to prevent drawing attention to myself and make it through to graduation.

I was still lacking confidence to accomplish the hard tasks that was challenging to me and I did my best to avoid any confrontation to keep the peace.

So many stories to share of my military experiences that has molded me into the man I have become and I share those stories of those experiences in my blogs and LIFTcasts and my sessions.

Towards the end of boot camp we had the opportunity to have family join us for a dinner and my cousin flew over and joined us. While we were eating our Drill Instructor’s would make the rounds and talk to our guests, which were mainly family. When our Sr Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Slaughter was chatting with my cousin that made the trip out he explained to him, because of my lack of confidence that I could not finish some tasks like climbing the rope, I was at risk of being dropped back causing me to graduate at a later date.

That hurt and motivated me all at the same time. After that night I turned the burners on and started attacking the tasks of the mission and not just try to cruise through them.

I then realized we go through the most impactful change when something in our lives hurts.

When I graduated Bootcamp I was strong in body, mind and spirit. In fact to much spirit, I was on a mission to put any and all in their place that hurt others. I became the bully to bullies and fell in love of the challenge of rough housing and picking fights. Yes, I know it was wrong but I was unleashed with action.

I used the excuse of all the built up pressure being bullied and being told that my self worth was nothing while I was hurting others.

I justified myself in all the wrong ways.

I had the honor to travel while I served and my last deployment was the one that became my last deployment.

I was deployed to Cuba where we fortified ships on the way to Cuba into small floating prisons so the Cuban Haitians that were defecting that processed with Visa’s was transported back to the USA.

At this time Cuba had a lot of immigrants fleeing to Florida. The people fleeing Cuba mainly wanted to get picked up by the Coast Guard in the security lanes off the coast of Cuba and start the process of getting Visas to enter the United States.

My overconfident self ended up getting injured being stupid which placed me on bed rest for a few days, then I moved to being on crutches.

Being injured my status was changed to light duty, I was tasked with a clipboard and forms to document the testimonials of why they were fleeing. This day changed my life forever, and put me on a course to start helping people and stop hurting them.

A young girl that was defecting began to tell her story that her and her toddler set out on a home built raft and desired to get picked up in the Coast Guard security lanes but instead was taken out in the opposite direction. After a bit of time she dozed off and was suddenly awakened by her toddler falling into the water. She quickly grabbed her child and started pulling the child back up but a shark latched on and pulled the child away from her.

I was hurt, broken and came face to face with someone willing to sacrifice so much just to come live in America. My body might have been broken but my heart was crushed. She ended her story with conviction that she still wanted to complete her journey and create something better for herself even though her child was not going to be with her.

This caused me to begin a different journey, a battle from within to change the way I thought and reacted to different situations and circumstances in my own journey.

I decided to discharge from the Marine Corps and start life over. I moved to Georgia not knowing anyone or much of anything and started a new journey of struggles and challenges.

I was attending IT school in the evenings after turning down a demolitions position the Corps had lined up for me. About two years into the program, a new instructor came in who had just been let go from IBM.

Instead of encouraging us, he filled the room with negativity. You could feel the energy shift as students who once had hope for their future started to doubt themselves. The evening classes we full of adults working toward making a career path change while they worked their day jobs.

I stepped up and excused the individual from the classroom and started speaking motivation and praising everyone for wanting to better themselves and take the challenge on of doing a career change.

About a week after that incident I was called to the office. I went in thinking I was in trouble but was praised for doing what I did.

The school asked me to start speaking at their career day classes on motivation, goal setting and enduring life’s challenges which lead to speaking at their graduation classes because I was able to take a position at IBM before I even graduated.

One day the school asked me to speak at a daytime career class so I had to get permission from my department manager at IBM to take off for it.

My department Mgr asked what I was doing so I invited him and he was pleased what he witnessed and asked me to speak at a few department meetings on occasion.

At this time I started journaling and writing material on a consistent basis and I began to discover a pattern to where I came up with LIFT. At first it was Leadership, Integrity, Foundation and Teamwork but over time Integrity became Influence. My content seemed to always come back to Influence and how powerful it is in every area of life.

That is just a few of the many details I wanted to share with you of how LIFT was created.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At first, it wasn’t easy. I had to learn patience while enduring many struggles and challenges. But once I decided to step toward a better future, I began taking new actions, adapting where needed, and pushing forward to overcome the obstacles in my path.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Being teachable and trainable, not only from what others have to offer me, but also from the lessons life experiences have taught me personally. This has been vital in creating beauty throughout my personal journey. One of my goals is to teach others this very thing so they might be able to enjoy their own beauty in their journey. This is a standard and way of life for my family as well as our supporters.

I have a deep passion for writing inspirational, thought-provoking, and insightful content that gives the underdog the opportunity to rise above the very things that try to hold them down. My mission is to inspire people to see beyond their struggles and realize the potential that already lives within them. I always say that it is ok to get knocked down but it is not ok to stay down. We must become proactive and not just reactive like I mentioned earlier.

Through my coaching or even from my previous speaking engagements with audiences big or small, I help others build their self-esteem, strengthen their identity, and develop the confidence they need to grow and reach new heights they never believed were possible. I encourage people not to live in the “what ifs” of life, but instead to step into a life of breakthroughs living fully and experiencing the passions and purpose they each deserve. This is my strongest message I can share. I always say we can’t hide, run or ignore the struggles and challenges in our lives but that we must be teachable, trainable, then be willing to embrace our challenges and start living our passions.

My goal is simple, to help people rise, grow, and live the life they were meant to live.

We offer our articles and downloads on our website, social media platforms, weekly emails, Tik Tok posts with lives, podcasts that we call LIFTcasts, ZOOM meetings and life coaching sessions.
I bring the characteristics and principles of the Marine Corps into the civilian life.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Starting your journey of personal growth isn’t just about having good intentions, it requires taking action, reflecting on your past and current experiences, and seeking the right support. I believe that true transformation begins when you commit to nurturing your character, being honest with yourself, and pursuing continuous growth that leads to experiencing breakthrough in your journey.

Your character, growth, and strength will help you endure and embrace life’s challenges, especially when you nurture your life with truth and honesty. By being honest with yourself and embracing the willingness to grow and change, you will unlock your true potential.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://LIFTwarrior.com
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