I am Honest (part 2 of 2)
“I started with nothing and a criminal record. I don’t hide it, I am not embarrassed. I am not ashamed of where I came from. If anything, it made me stronger. When I was young, my Grandma used to tell me, ‘you have such gifts. If you could just use it for something legal’. She was such a nice lady, she used to have a huge yard and would pay me to pick the weeds and do some work on it. Sometimes I would sit by her veranda to smoke weed and read comics. She would often come out in her bathrobe and yell, ‘Duane, get a move on!’
In my late twenties, I saw an ad in the Bargain Finder that people were renting their trucks for hauling stuff. I had a 1979 Chevy and decided to do the same. I used to haul a lot of garbage and I had a lot of Kraft Dinner and cheap meals. Six years later I got myself a bigger truck and started helping people move and do deliveries. My Grandma was so happy when I called her one day to tell her that I had started my own business and had called it, Get A Move On. Her mouth just about dropped from disbelief. I had difficult days and put in hard work, but it paid off. You get out of life what you put into life. I’ve had my business for 20 years now. I have clients that call me back because they know I am honest and fair and I never hide the fact that I have a criminal record. Just because you went to jail, it does not mean you are a bad person. As a human being you deserve a second chance. I give people second chances and I am more than happy to share my story hoping that in the end, it touches somebody and helps them find the proper path. I now have a boat in the Shuswap lake and I take my dad fishing. I feel good about myself and feel accomplished. It is nice to have material things, but that is not what really matters. I always say, you only answer to one person in your life, and that is the person you see in the mirror when you brush your teeth. It is a good feeling when I look in the mirror. And that’s what counts.”