A 24-year-old who was forced survive on a packet of crisp and bits of bread for dinner now runs a successful business worth £80k.
Ted Lawlor, from Bromley, would often face a "cold, dark and hungry" childhood as his mum couldn't afford to pay for electricity or food
Now the 24-year-old is a successful businessman who is already worth £80,000 - just months after setting up his own business, reported MyLondon.
Ted said: “I remember asking my mum what was for dinner and she would say she didn’t know, when really she was hiding that she couldn’t afford to get anything in.”
He had a "really close bond" with his single mum Jane but said they would "clash" sometimes due to their financial pressures.
Ted would ask if they could go to the zoo or the park but he was too young to understand why they couldn't afford to go.
He also had an ongoing struggle with his mental health, which he faced throughout his younger years.
Ted had a retail job in his first year at university in 2017 when he hit “the worst year of my life”.
He explained: “I felt like my body was shutting down. One day I woke up and I had a scar on my cheek.
"The doctor said the depression had shut down my immune system. It was so weak that every time I touched my face a scar would appear.”
The 24-year-old remembered feeling hopeless and angry and seeing no future.
He said he got to a point where he didn’t care what happened and had nothing to hold on for and was thinking about attempting suicide.
He said: “That person in 2017 didn’t want to be here at all. There were days when I was considering how to end it all - but luckily I was too scared to act on that. I
"f I hadn’t done the things to change myself, I could easily have gotten myself into a whole heap of trouble. I would've been dead or in prison.”
Ted said he had nothing to lose by giving something a shot. He said he had always wanted to get into business but just didn't know how to, citing a lack of positive role models.
He described feeling like he had two options growing up: the "dark path" of drug dealing or the other path of going into business.
He remembered looking out of his window at The Shard as a kid and daydreaming about one day working in a similar building.
Ted decided to set up his nonprofit media group, If Only They Knew , which is “a hub for young business minds” and is now best known for its podcast.
He said this did help ease his depression but: “I was still feeling like I could give up really easily.”
It was an email of support from a former candidate of the hit BBC TV show The Apprentice that inspired him to continue. “She saved and changed my life,” he said.
Following the success of If Only They Knew, Ted decided to go into business with his therapist Robert Hisee, who is a bit of a celebrity in his field, in 2020.
Ted had been using the techniques of manifestation to heal from his depression and he wanted to share its insights with others.
He described the act of manifesting as “the process of creating a better life using the power of your mind” or “not letting the external stuff control the internal”.
When reflecting on where he was five years ago, Ted said: “You think of what could have been. I’m getting shivers thinking of it now.
"Things that bother most people now just don’t bother me at all because I know what could have been - it could be so much worse. I’m so grateful - it feels so good.”
