Poverty is horrible. What it boils down to is total deprivation. Do not worry; I am not talking out of the top of my head. I have been there, done it, got the tee-shirt. It taught me how to survive and it taught me how to say €Never again€ and mean it.

The price of poverty is multi-faceted. It is the loss of dignity, loss of self-esteem, loss of friends and, sometimes, family. It is the cost of not being able to get a hair cut or buy a suit for that job interview, sometimes inability to maintain personal hygiene. it is not being able to buy the kids new shoes or a decent winter coat. And, probably the biggest cost of all, you become a pariah to society. Nobody wants to know you when you are poor, nobody wants to help you, to feed you.

I particularly remember one bitterly cold Christmas when the children were young. I had lost my job, had a huge mortgage which I could not pay, no heating (I could not afford it), and an income of just $45 a week to support myself and my three children. Out of necessity we became vegetarian and I saved for a month to afford a chicken on Christmas Day. We went out into the woods and foraged for old wood to bring home and light a fire. That part was fun. We had no carpets on the floor - well, just one, and no curtains at the windows (we lived in the country and were not overlooked), but it made the house very cold. I bought three yards of thin red ribbon and we plucked a branch off an evergreen in the woods, planted it in a pot and cut the ribbon into small strips which we tied on the tree in bows. We found a few sparkly baubles and, presto, we had a tree of our very own and then the children brought in armfuls of greenery for decoration. The house looked stunning. All I could afford to buy the children as presents was a chocolate orange each. We actually managed to have a really good time, though, and the lack of material benefits was offset by the fun. You see, the material aspect of poverty is not necessarily the worst part.

Nevertheless, this, for me, was just about the worst period of my life. Recently divorced, probably (as I now understand) having a nervous breakdown, not being able even to heat the house for the children, not being able to buy them a present each for Christmas - it was all horrible. I was too embarrassed by my poverty to contact erstwhile friends and I could not possibly tell my family what a mess I had made of my life. But the very worst part was not seeing any end in sight. THAT is what was debilitating. My conclusion is that, for all of us, poverty is bearable provided we can see an end to it. And there is never a reason for there not to be an end, as I was to discover.

After Christmas we had to sell the house and find somewhere else to live. I found a job which I hated but it paid me a salary. I rented a property and got in a tenant (helped me to pay the rent). Slowly, slowly, we started to climb back up again. My children are grown up now and never mention those days, except one son who refers to them only as €our dark days€.

Anyone who is living in poverty - I absolutely empathise. What DOES surprise me, however, is that so many people just give up, accept their lot, accept that they will never again be able to do the sort of things the rest of us take for granted, like giving presents to our kids, eating turkey at Christmas, buying a warm sweater when you need it. Not big things, just decent daily living things. That is depression, and poverty breeds depression.

NEVER, EVER give up. Never, ever accept that this is your lot. You do not need qualifications, you do not need to be clever or young or able-bodied, maybe you do not even need a job, you CAN and SHOULD be able to earn a living. That takes us on to €jobs'. Society seems to have a €job mentality' but, in times past, the vast majority of society was self-employed. What is wrong with taking the plunge and becoming self-employed? Upfront investment required? That is not always necessary. In my business, you do not need upfront investment. Uncertainty? Irregular income? Surely that is better than NO income.

I did it. I started my own business, became self-employed and, yes, the first few months were tough, but I held fast to my goals (kids are a great motivator) and I made it. My business is in the health and nutrition industry and, guess what, I spend my time helping others. I help them with my products and I help them by bringing them into my business and coaching, training and mentoring them so that they, too, can achieve just as I have done. I teach them to do exactly what I do. I get a hell of a kick out of doing that. And then, when they start the journey towards becoming millionaires - well, so exciting! But I do not talk about that to those who are starting from the poverty line. It is just too much for them to believe - that they, too, might one day become millionaires, so I simply train them to make a decent living. Little do they know, that is just the start.

If you would like to know more, leave your details on my website: http://www.fitforlife.toolsrock.com/10milindex.html?id=698. Anyone reading this article could do my business and be successful. Short of money, want to earn a bit extra in your spare time, no job - no problem. People join us for all kinds of reasons and from all kinds of backgrounds and we NEVER turn anyone away.