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Welcome to Real Life Survivor
We are a non profit organization, dedicated to fundraising for every cause, every condition and every circumstance, so no one ever has to suffer in silence or feel alone.
Your donations & proceeds from the sales of Real Life Survivor clothing are greatly appreciated, as they provide funding for this cause - and every little bit helps!
My name is Mike Dedoes and I am a
Real Life Survivor of Bullying, Low Self Esteem and people pleasing.
Growing up I struggled with ADD and a writing and learning disability. In school I was in slower classes and I rode the short bus to school. I remember getting picked last for team sports. I remember waiting to go last to talk in front of the class. I was bullied a few times. My heart would beat so fast when they would have everyone introduce themselves on the first day of class.
All of the things that happened early in my life lowered my confidence. I didn’t speak my mind, I was timid, I settled with my romantic relationships, and I had many friends because I wanted everyone to like me, I was a big people pleaser. I felt like I was being a different person to everyone that I was around. I wasn’t being the person that God created me to be!
When I went to college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I picked the IT field because I used to play video games every day. I thought, it’s something that I enjoy and I don’t have to get outside of my comfort zone too much to be successful.
During my first year at college my friend that I met in the dorm introduced me to weight lifting. I fell in love with the way it made me feel. I love the muscle pump and the endorphin rush. When I first started working out honestly, I did it to prove myself. I remember looking around the gym to see if any women were checking me out. I remember looking in the mirror and still not feeling enough.
Years ago, I decided to get certified in personal training. I tried to run a business by myself but wasn’t successful. This lowered my confidence even more.
In 2015 my brother introduced me to his customer that he was doing business with, he said " you may be interested in what she is doing as a career because I know you love fitness and helping people." In 2015 I joined her as a Beachbody coach. Coaching was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. Through coaching I met many successful mentors, I made a bunch of positive new friends, I read a bunch of personal development books, and I did a lot of inner work through this course called Power of I Am.
In 2019 I made one of the biggest leaps of my life. I moved out to Michigan to Tennessee after years of feeling fear about what might happen if it didn’t work out. I wanted to move away from the cold weather and I wanted to be close by the mountains to hike more. I put in my 2 weeks' notice and quit without a new job and I didn’t know where I was going to live.
Life is so much better in Tennessee!
I decided to leave my soul sucking IT job that wasn’t fulfilling me to work full time as a personal trainer at Fitness Together. I earned a promotion in my coaching business; I was agnostic and now I'm going back to church every Sunday. I was baptized this year! I proposed to my girlfriend at Sleeping Bear Dunes. She prayed that I would grow closer to God. I completed a Spartan Ultra 31-mile race. I earned top 10 in a physique competition. I am inspiring people all the time with my story.
I’m really proud of my achievements but what I'm most proud of is doing the inner healing work. It wasn’t easy letting go of limiting beliefs and habits that don’t serve me but it was worth it! I look back on what I went through and now see that God was there for me even when it didn’t feel like it. We can’t always control what happens to us but we can control how we respond. The hardest times in my life helped me grow the most. I now see that my greatest messes in my life are now my greatest messages to help others that are growing through the same thing.
