Your pain is your platform is probably the last thing you’re thinking about. Honestly, I know it was for me when I was going through my heartbreak. When I was going through it I didn’t see it. Looking back, I realize now that my pain was preparing me. It was shaping me and molding me. My pain was the catalyst for my platform. It was through my pain I built Banking from Breakup™. Facts!

That goes to show you the power of pain. Had it not been for my breakup I would not have built my business. Basically, my business was born out of my breakup. Weird, right!? Here's the thing, I'm nobody special. I am a regular woman who decided she was not going to let her breakup break her. Instead, I was going to find a way to benefit from it in some way or the other. And that's exactly what i did. So, I am here to let you know that you can do the same, if you choose to. 

As cliché as this may sound I believe that there is a purpose for our pain. Without pain, we would not make changes in our lives. Pain is our life’s way of getting our attention. Whether it is emotional or physical pain there is a reason for it. Pain is not always pleasant, and we would rather do without it. But I’ve learned as unpleasant as pain is, it is a necessary and inevitable part of life. So why not learn to roll with it? Some people are only meant to be in our lives for a season, not a lifetime. So we must learn the lessons and move on. Think of your pain as the key to unlocking your life. It opens up more possibilities than you an imagine. It did for me. 

Truth, I wanted to hide my breakup, not highlight it. I was embarrassed and hurt. But I knew deep down I was being called to use my life, use my breakup to show other's what's possible beyond breakup. My pain became my purpose and my platform. I turned my breakup into something beautiful. Instead of seeing my breakup as bad, I chose to see it as my "beautiful" breakup. 

“Your pain will either be your prison or your platform... it's your choice!” - Carl Lentz

You can choose to heal, or you can choose to be a hostage to your hurt. I remember after my breakup I was so angry and bitter. But as time passed I realized that my ex was not thinking about me or how I was hurting. He was living his best life and here I was falling apart and feeling a hot mess. Talk about a wake-up call! When I thought about it, being angry was not serving me. It was not helping me to live my best life. In fact, it was anything but constructive. So that's when I decided to let the hurt go and heal from it. I refused to let my pain over power me or paralyze me. Instead I chose to use it to propel me towards my goals and my purpose. I used it to build my platform. 

Your healing is in your hurt. When you acknowledge your hurt you can start to heal from it. But when you hold on to your hurt it paralyzes you and makes you a prisoner of your pain. Ignoring your pain or avoiding it doesn’t make it go away. It is when you accept your pain that it gives you permission to move on from it and to overcome it. Which allows you to take control of your life and gives you a platform to change and transform other people's lives. Someone needs you and is waiting for you to help them. You are the answer to someone else's problem. You have the opportunity to make a difference in the world and in someone's life by being you. You have gifts and talents that you can use to be of service to someone else.  

Our pain is there to teach us and to prepare us for future pain. It’s also there to help us help others. It is in helping others with similar pain that you build your platform. In essence, your pain is really not for you alone. When you think about it, it's there to help others with their pain.

Now think for a moment. How did you work through your pain? What was your process and the steps you took to overcome your pain? Now, what lessons did you learn from your pain? When you answer these questions, you start to formulate the foundation for your platform. By documenting your own process and lessons you now have a roadmap to help others navigate their own pain.  You have the pillars of your platform. 

What would happen if you turned your pain into your platform? How would your life be different? How many people could you help? It is how we use our pain that changes our lives and the lives of others. Oprah is a perfect example of turning pain into platform. Oprah did not have a stellar childhood. Her childhood was plagued with repeated sexual abuse, trauma and extreme poverty. She was raped at the age of nine and pregnant at the age of 14. The baby later died.

When you think about Oprah's situation, her upbringing was preparing her for her success. She learned to “never waste an opportunity to improve or achieve something more”. She has said that, “successful people learn to see opportunity where others may not, and they are open to new possibilities and quick to try something new.” Oprah learned to turn her wounds into wisdom. Now today she is one of the most world-renowned, successful, richest media icons of our time. Her current net worth is an estimated $2.8 billion, according to Forbes Real Time Net Worth rankings.

Basically, Oprah has turned “her mess into her message; her trials into her triumph, her test into her testimony” and her pain into her platform. If we can learn one thing from Oprah is that she never played the victim in her life. Just look at what she has been able to do with her platform. Everyday she gets to change lives. We cannot be Oprah, but we can use our pain to build our platform to change and transform other people’s lives right where we are.

Pain is transformative. It allows us to relate to others who are experiencing similar situations. So why not use your pain to be a blessing to someone else. When I was hurting from my breakup what got me through was being there for someone else. It made me feel like I was being of service. I felt useful and appreciated. It took my mind off my own pain. You never know what someone else is dealing with or facing in their life. Your pain is not an obstacle, but an opportunity to reach out and help someone. As I said before, you are the answer to someone else's pain. Your pain is your platform. It makes you qualified to help and to be a support for someone. So, don't see your pain as a problem, see it as a platform.

If you are tired of being heartbroken and broke and you are looking to do more and use your life to help others, here are some key steps to start transforming your pain into your platform.

• Step 1: Acknowledge your pain.
• Step 2: Accept your pain and own it.
• Step 3: Mine the lessons from your pain. There are powerful lessons that your pain has taught you that you can use to help someone else.
• Step 4: Write down your process of what you did and how you worked through your pain. (The thing is you don't have to be 100% healed from your pain to be of service. But you do have to be willing to want to help someone.)
• Step 5: Identify who your can help and what problem you can help them solve. Your pain is not yours alone. It is there to arm  and equip you so that you can help someone else.
• Step 6: Find a coach or mentor you can trust to help you find your path to profit and to build your platform. This is exactly what I did and it was worth the investment. You can try to figure it out on your own. Trust me it will take you a ton of time. Working with my coach shaved off years!!!

You may not have had control over your breakup. But you do have control over how you use it. You have the power to change your life and the life of others. Your breakup is a blessing. It is your superpower. 

What if there is a program that could help you turn your pain into your platform. What if there was someone who could help you build your platform step-buy-step so that you could leverage your pain, use it to your advantage and profit. Dr. Tracy Timberlake was my answer. *Instead of hiring a therapist or a going to see a counselor after my breakup I chose to do things differently. I hired a Business Coach and Strategist.  This is your average or typical approach. But I really don't do typical anyway. I decided to work with Dr. Tracy in her 7-month mentoring program Platform. This is what worked for me. (*Disclaimer: I'm not suggesting to not seek appropriate help. If you need professional help please seek out the appropriate provider.)

I knew that I was not alone in my heartbreak and that there were other’s who have experienced the same thing I had went through. But I didn’t know how to pull it together. I had no clue where to start. That all changed when I met Dr. Tracy Timberlake.  Dr. Tracy Timberlake is an Online Educator for Entrepreneurs, Digital Strategist, Business and Life Coach, Speaker, and an Award Winning YouTuber. Think of her as the Hitch of Online Entrepreneurship. She knows her stuff! She has been helping people to realize their dreams and build their platforms in the digital space.

Here's the thing, your dreams won’t wait for you. So, if you are ready to make your dreams a reality, build your platform and to transform your pain into profit you don’t want to miss this. Check out Platform. It was the best decision that I made for myself! Because at the end of the day, your pain will either be your prison or your platform. You decide!!!!