The Story Behind The
Army Of Angels

TRUE STORY from the Founder of Army of Angels, Brandon Northwick…

There I was, 25 years old, living at my mom's house, lying in my bed, sweating with my pulse racing - feeling completely scared.

Terrified, actually...

I had no idea what I was doing with my life, and all I could think about was not being that 62-year-old food server who stares at the young hostesses every day, wondering where the hell my life went.

I remember - every night - these night terrors and panics I encountered. Of course, some would be worse than others, but they happened so often that they not only became predictable, but I almost got used to 'em. If you've never experienced anything like this, believe me when I say it's a very humbling experience.

Especially when it's an experience that spans over five years of your life - for me: it was from when I was 22 to 27 years old. I think I started to experience those night terrors because nobody ever pushed me in any direction my whole life. 

Nobody ever showed me what to do or what my options were.

I started to feel trapped...

Now, I was told growing up, "Brandon, you can do anything!" and, "The sky's the limit!" which did help...but never was I shown how to accomplish those dreams.

I remember having to learn almost everything on my own...

So those night terrors, I genuinely believe, were there to tell me about my future.

To remind me that the longer I did nothing about changing my routine, the worse things would be.

Now, being 36 years old at this time, and looking back on when I first became a server, which was when I was 16 years old, I started to ask myself,

"Do I know how to make money doing anything else?"

That's a humbling question..go ahead and give it a try:

How many ways do you know how to make money?

Does the answer surprise you?

After I asked myself that question, I became petrified; I knew that if I ever got hurt or wanted to move to another state, I couldn't take my income with me.

Once that feeling settled in, I felt trapped...

Another thing that stuck out to me as if I wanted to save, I couldn't do it consistently. How could I, as a food server, when there's no way to always predict how many good nights (or bad nights) I'll have throughout the week?

Figuring all this out on my own made me feel insecure about my entire situation.

The only thing left for me was to take control of my entire satiation, but before I go into that - let me start from the beginning so you know where it all began...

The Beginning

 I'm 16 years old, and I just walked out of my mother's house (what I thought would be) for good. I had nothing to my name other than the clothes I took with me, my "I can do anything" attitude, $300, and my determination to make it on my own.

I knew I needed money - and I needed it fast. I needed a place to live - nothing fancy, just a roof over my head.

The fastest way I knew how to make this happen was by doing what I saw other people my age doing - selling weed. There are many things that I would do differently if I had the chance. For starters, knowing what I know now about business, I would've never gotten involved with that kind of hustle.

But at the time, what did I know?

I was a high school kid who thought it would be best for me to leave my house and move out on my own. Granted. Some circumstances called for the decision to be made but still - I was just a kid.

My older sister and I could come together to find an apartment in a run-down part of our neighborhood.

Not the nicest of places, mind you; the complex had a police substation in it if that's any indication. 

But hey - a place is a place.

I had to pay rent, and the only way I knew how - at that time - was to hustle and make it happen on my own. So I did this for a while; then I saw what my sister was doing...

When I heard my sister say she made $100 in tips one night, I was immediately interested in the restaurant industry.

I thought, "If I can make $100 per day - legally - I'd be able to do whatever I want." haha.

Little did I know that she didn't make $100 every night, and neither would I. Or that only $3,000 per month is barely enough to keep afloat.

I searched endlessly online for restaurant jobs that were available and lined up as many interviews as possible. I finally got hired on my 6th interview. I think it was because I finally learned that I had to persuade the Boss to believe that not having any experience is good.

I've always loved making money, and I figured if I had 24 hours in a day, why not have two full-time jobs, right?

I can still have a life, right?

"I'm young," - haha

I ended up with two restaurant jobs from the age of 16-20, working for about 70 hours a week on average.

That sounds terrible!

Just typing it hurts my eyes... I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy.

If I loved what I was doing, that would be another story. But one thing that got me to look into building my own company, educating myself in online marketing, mastering online sales processes, and perfecting lead generation is the passive income aspect of it all.

I wanted to be able to make money when I wasn't working.

Especially when I think back at how I was breaking my back for ten years in the restaurant industry.

I started as a busser. Then a food runner. Next was a server. Then a trainer.

Finally, an expediter - because I really thought about going full-time into upper management for a while.

I honestly enjoyed everything I was doing at one point. I just disagreed with the money I was getting paid. I had a cap on how much I could make, but as I soon figured out, anybody does when they trade time for money.

Now, things are different.

I've learned how to get a return on my time - all day long, year-round.

Despite my situation, I managed to kick some serious butt and still graduate from high school. I continued my education with my career choice of selling Real Estate, becoming licensed at twenty years old.

I had to quit one of my serving jobs so I could focus more on selling real estate.

Becoming a 20- year-old licensed Realtor was one of my highest accomplishments. It felt amazing. I passed the test the first time and told myself, "I'm going to make a million dollars in the first three years."

The Problem

Unfortunately, without a great mentor and a solid plan, I had zero shot at my goal. So, when I left my second job to focus on real estate, I had no other choice but to make my new business work.

Did it work out?

Let's see...

Fast forward three years later, and I only made 30K in commissions - after racking up just over $20,000 in debt, mind you - so we can agree that's not the best first 36 months.

At this point, I figured it was about time to look for another route.

Instead of looking for a new mentor and following my dream of making millions selling real estate, I went back to the restaurant grind full-time...

(Bad choice)

... and that's when I started to have those night terrors.

"Why would you do that?" you may ask. "Why not just find someone new to teach you the right way to be a successful Realtor if that's what you really want to do?"

To be honest: I was scared to reach out and ask people to guide me. I didn't think I was good enough to be mentored and thought I was wasting their time.

I also thought (plenty of times) to myself, "If I did get a mentor, what would they make me do?"

I was worried about getting outside my comfort zone, even though I claimed to be majorly confident in front of everyone else.

Now, does this sound like I was ready for success?

One Of The Saddest Days Of My LIFE

I went back on my word after telling myself, "once I get licensed as a Realtor - I will never fill out another job application again. EVER."

Three years after I began my journey, I filled out multiple job applications. I stood in front of businesses with hundreds of other applicants, fighting for a position.

...looking to get hired by someone else.

How many times would I have to go through this type of experience before I started to think, "maybe there's a different way to make something happen?"

I started to learn more about personal development and how to build successful businesses from scratch, and I just immersed myself in it. I'd spend hours reading and implementing new strategies and old strategies to test and see what works.

After I got hired (again) as a server, I'd spend my entire shift thinking, "What else could I do?" Basically, I was spending my time at work absentminded of what I was being "paid" to do.

Although, "paid" is subjective.

There was actually a point where I was walking out with only$7-LOL, I mean, $7!

How insane is that?!

Whenever I tell people that it would cost me money to go to work, they don't believe me but think about it.

The gas and food to eat would cost me money; the required outfit costs money, all to end up negative $32 for the day.

And you see, that's when personal development comes in very handy. haha

All joking aside, that's just not the life I wanted for my future family or myself.

I do remember a time when I loved serving tables. Going to work, the people, the parties...I had this fantastic job. I was making $300 - $500 every shift.

But those gigs aren't as standard or as easy to get into, so when I had to tuck my tail between my legs and get that job again, it was at the-must-work- because-you-have-to-pay-bills-job, and that job sucks!

I worked like this for almost five years until I was about to turn 25, and that's when it happened.

That's when I learned exactly how people that are worth a lot of money became so valuable.

Do you want to know the trick?

5 Steps To Living an Abundant Life:

Here's the trick:

1. Feed yourself with valuable information - Biblical Teaching

2. Define your purpose - Knowing why you're here will pave the way for the direction you'll actually go. - The Gospel

3. Take action - Do the things necessary no matter how uncomfortable, and lean on your mentors or those who will guide you. - Pastors, Teachers, Church Leaders

4. Develop strong friendships by believing in that purpose and standing firm, no matter what. - Fellowship

5. Learn a creative way to stand out and bring that information - that vision - to the masses. Sharing the Gospel.

That's it! ;)

After a long time of looking for the right people to follow, I finally discovered my purpose through prayer.

Sara (my wife) brought me to a new church one afternoon, where I knelt and prayed to Christ to save my soul.

After that day, I started to see the world differently and (almost) instantly began to receive enormous amounts of new ideas. Finally, after about six months of prayer, I found my purpose. I realized that my vision was supposed to be revealed at precisely this time in my life.

And that's when it hit me like a ton of bricks...

The moment I experienced this "a-ha" for myself - I instantly knew what I had to do.

First, I had to start a new business. Nothing in Real Estate but something even more significant.

Making this decision would mean I'd have to lay it all out on the line again.

But that didn't matter to me; it never mattered to me. I had already made up my mind, and I knew I was going to see success.

I had my faith, purpose, and determination backing me up now...which is more than I ever had before.

The Ridicule

The people around me all thought I was crazy. They've seen me attempt multiple start-ups in the past, only to watch them all fail.

So when I shared with them that I'm starting a new foundation - you guessed it: they straight up laughed!

They didn't think I could make it.

I knew this would be a struggle at first because I've been through a few start-ups and had a pretty good understanding of how the first couple of phases go.

Or, at least, I thought I did.

I knew there would be a learning curve, but I didn't think I was that far behind when it came to operating a business.

I was actually surprised!

In the first two years of running my consulting firm, I learned (and earned) more than my previous fifteen years.

Crazy, right?

It's all about focus and where you want to place yourself.

I was tired of playing small and only looking forward to the weekends at local bars or a friend's house. That's how I was spending my time in my teens and early twenties. Instead, I wanted to look forward to going after my major definite purpose.

That's what got me excited.

When I started focusing on the bigger picture, my entire life changed.

The Ultimate Realization I Was Waiting For

On May 29, 2012, God brought my daughter Savanna Genice Northwick into my life.

I was 26 years old at the time, and if I hadn't learned about a new way of building a life, I'd be at the mercy of "my boss." I'd be at the mercy of how much time he'd allow me to see my family and how much he thought my time was worth.

The thought of living like that got me fired up, so I went to the drawing board to do something about it. I knew something had to change when I looked into my baby girl's eyes for the first time.

Having my daughter led me to my big "WHY."

I realized I wanted to help more than just my own children. I discovered I wanted to help my friend's children, your children...I want to help every child feel like they have a family, home, and a place to grow.

That's when God revealed my purpose to me. I will help 1,000,000 young kids and teenagers over 20 years create financial independence and find Jesus.

I will do this by having a large team teach these kids the subjects no school is teaching right now.

Business. Faith. Finances.

The subjects that our kids need to have are what they need to fulfill their own purpose.

The type of school where they get empowered and learn firsthand how to bring any vision to life... and this will happen.

I plan to build a massive facility and create relationships with those who also share my vision.

My daughter, Savanna, was the spark of this big dream, and Christ is the catalyst. But nothing will stop me from my mission!

How will I make all this happen, you ask?

My Solution

If I'm serious about accomplishing this dream of mine - this vision - I'd have to find a way to make money when I'm not actually working. I'd have to find a way to create long-term income from something I've done once that pays me over and over again.

So I created Northwicks Consulting.

Mainly, I learned upfront how to systematize everything and automate the things required for businesses to grow and scale predictably. And now, I focus on helping others do the same.

Needless to say, the journey had its frustrating moments because I had unreasonable expectations, and I wasn't doing what I was being taught or told to do in the beginning.

Everything I thought I understood, I wasn't implementing to my highest caliber. Unfortunately, that behavior led to minimal success in the first 12 months of being in business.

After 12 months of very little success in my online business, I asked myself: "what do I do next?"

I could do one of two things:

1. Throw in the towel because I have "failed" so far.

2. I could keep going - find a new mentor and just tweak a few things along the way.

Instead, I chose to pick myself up, found a new mentor/consultant, and went back to it for the second time. I got rid of my ego and truly embraced the learning process.

I knew what I wanted, and I knew I didn't have it yet...

I saw other people with the same talent or worse, using their God-given abilities to do things with their business that I wanted to do with mine. I planned to stay laser-focused, so I dropped everything involved and moved my family from Las Vegas to Texas.

Why Texas?

Following my dream. Living in Texas had been a dream of mine since I was 20 yrs old, and I knew if I wanted different results, I'd have to do things differently - including choosing a new environment.

Moving to a new state solely on a vision and faith is a liberating - sometimes nerve-wracking - experience.

My Final Chapter (For Now)

At the end of the day, I love what I do now. But things are way different than they were only ten years ago.

I went from sweats and night terrors to sleeping peacefully throughout the night. I get to wake up next to my beautiful wife & watch my daughter Savanna, and two sons (Lex & Luke), come running up to me at any time throughout the day.

These are the experiences and memories that'll never be taken away from me.

By making that one decision to go back and fight, I literally bought the first ten years of my daughter's life...and those memories will forever be with me.

Most fathers only get to spend about 1/8 of their time every day with their family, and that's only if the kids are awake. I've been able to spend every waking moment with my little "captain" (that's one of our inside jokes).

Now, I'm helping other business owners create sales and marketing systems that create predictable and scalable growth.

It's been a blessing to have come this far, and I can only thank Christ for who I am today. I could still be hustling in the streets, risking everything, and wasting my God-given talent.

...but when I went from serving tables and serving the streets to serving the Lord, I'll be honest: my life completely changed. I finally started to attract more of the people I wanted in my life.

Coincidence? ... I don't think so.

Honestly, what would that do for you if you could start brand new with a large group of people who want to listen to you and encourage you to go after something big!?

When I did that, I saw a shift in those around me and myself. Of course, it didn't happen overnight, but when the people closest to me saw the change, they thought, "If he can do it, so can I."

That's what we call inspiration that motivates!

When you decide to build your future in your mind and then get to work bringing it to life, you always inspire others to do the same! That's what I specialize in. And that's what's going to help bring families closer together in the next 20 to 50 years.

You can decide later in life to do what you want or start making it happen today!

The first step is getting right with God by believing in Jesus, asking for repentance, and being born again. The second step is to find the right community. The third step is to engage in purposeful prayer to help reveal your major definite purpose.

Finally, it's all about taking action.

We walk each person enrolled in the Army of Angels through each step.

If you’d like to volunteer, donate, or get more information about the upcoming education & community center near you, visit the corresponding page.

Living to Serve,
Brandon Northwick