Sam Evans was just 23 years old when she was offered her first line of cocaine at the funeral of a friend who had died from a drugs overdose.<\/p>\n
Having been through a heartbreaking abortion, suffered horrendous bullying and in mourning, Sam was at an all-time low so she said yes.<\/p>\n
Within six weeks, the now 42-year-old was taking cocaine every day, spending hundreds each week. Her weight dropped from 147 pounds to 112 pounds, and she was signed off work.<\/p>\n
It sparked a spiral of addiction that saw Sam, from London, forced to declare herself bankrupt aged 30 after getting into $54,109 of debt to fund her habit.<\/p>\n
Now, Sam has turned her life around, earning up to $13,527 a month as a life coach helping others overcome adversity, and she has written a new book The Cognitive Switch.<\/p>\n
Taking drugs was a cry for help that no one could hear. I was unhappy and had been since I was little. I was desperately seeking love, Sam said.<\/p>\n
It led me into toxic relationships, and because of the way I was behaving, no job I had lasted more than 18 months.<\/p>\n
But through the work Ive done on myself with coaching and therapy in the past five years, I believe what I go through Igrowthrough to help other people. That I needed to go through the pain, come out the other end, and show people how they can do it too.<\/p>\n
Sam grew up in East London in a predominately white British area, in a strict Indian family with her two younger sisters.<\/p>\n
She felt as though she didnt fit in at school, and was bullied by classmates who racially abused her. At seven, she remembers praying to god to take her back.<\/p>\n
I didnt fit in because I didnt look the same. Other kids would tell me I was dirty because of my skin color.<\/p>\n
My parents were very strict, so I didnt feel as though I could breathe without getting into trouble. It was the same at secondary school. I tried desperately to fit in, but friends would disappear quickly.<\/p>\n
At 15, Sam had had enough of living at home when her parents divorced, so she went to live with her grandparents nearby, who allowed her to get a part-time job in Topshop.<\/p>\n
But Sam would spend every penny on clothes and became addicted, hiding her haul in her wardrobe.<\/p>\n
I loved the new outfits and little tops, but I wasnt allowed to wear them.<\/p>\n
After completing her GCSEs and A-levels, Sam studied an art foundation course, then a massage course, but she left both without finishing.<\/p>\n
At 18, and teetotal, she started socializing and met her then-boyfriend, falling pregnant when she was 20.<\/p>\n
I didnt know what to do, so I had an abortion. Id only told my ex, so he came with me to the clinic. When I came round after the procedure, I was screaming at him to leave me alone.<\/p>\n
I split up with him and felt numb. Abortion was frowned upon by my family, but I eventually told my mom and she was really supportive, but I was deeply heartbroken at what Id done.<\/p>\n
Within the next year, Sam was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, just as she was going to launch her own business, a retail store selling womens clothes.<\/p>\n
Then, at aged 23, one of Sams friends died of an accidental drugs overdose. And her world came crashing down.<\/p>\n
I was offered cocaine at his funeral. At first I said no. But I was at an all-time low, and Id never let go after having an abortion. When I had a taste of cocaine I thought this is amazing, it numbed my pain.<\/p>\n
Within six weeks, Id been signed off from work, my weight dropped. I was addicted.<\/p>\n
I was doing a gram a day at $67 a day. I started borrowing money from friends, taking out loans and maxing credit cards to fund my clothes and drug habit. I was spiraling out of control.<\/p>\n
Working in the financial industry as a PA in London, Sam started going out clubbing.<\/p>\n
At first, she would spend $676 a night, buying everyone drinks and drugs so she felt in control.<\/p>\n
Sam would also spend $1,352 per month on clothes, opting for designer brands such as D&G, Versace and Prada.<\/p>\n
I just didnt care about myself. I ended up rowing with my real friends who wanted me to stop taking drugs and found other people who wanted to take cocaine.<\/p>\n
Id get out of my head. Sometimes Id just go off on my own, jump in a taxi and go dancing, even though I could barely stand up. Im so grateful nothing happened to me.<\/p>\n
I had no sense of responsibility, and all my jobs were on short-term contracts, so Id either get sacked or the contract would come to an end and they wouldnt ask me to stay.<\/p>\n
Sam ignored her increasing debts, which were racking up interest every month.<\/p>\n
By the age of 25,Sam was $54,109 in debt. So she took out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement with a company who called her over the phone and started paying off $574 a month.<\/p>\n
But her partying continued, and at 27, she met her ex-boyfriend, and she began to shut out her friends and family.<\/p>\n
I pushed for us to move in with each other, despite friends warning me he was a bad influence. Wed stay at home doing cocaine, sometimes staying up for days.<\/p>\n
People were calling me a junkie. You can see in photos how dark and sad my eyes were. I was a wreck.<\/p>\n
This carried on until I was 29. Then we split up, and I was devastated. I found out he hadnt been paying the rent, so I had to pay the arrears.<\/p>\n
I then had a call to say my IVA had been conning me, so none of my debt had gone away. That money I had paid every month for five years just disappeared.<\/p>\n
I then lost my 30,000-a-year ($40,000) job at a bank and had an emotional breakdown. I hit rock bottom.<\/p>\n
Sam managed to pick herself back up, but it took seven months to find a new job because of her bad credit rating.<\/p>\n
Aged 30, she started working at the Bank of America, moving into a new flat and she cut down the amount of drugs she was taking, but she was still addicted.<\/p>\n
The following year, at work, Sam met her now-husband Barry, now 45, and it was love at first sight after a whirlwind romance, Barry proposed to Sam on her 31st birthday in 2011.<\/p>\n
Having found someone who gave Sam the security she longed for, she quit her drug habit overnight. She found a different high in life.<\/p>\n
We had moved into his house in South East London, and I was pregnant with our first child when Barry got down on one knee, and I said yes straight away.<\/p>\n
Sam suffered postnatal depression after Joshua, now nine was born and decided to quit her banking career to become a Montessori teacher.<\/p>\n
After welcoming their second child, Micah, in 2013, Sam started to work in network marketing, which introduced her to positive affirmations and the benefits they had on her mindset.<\/p>\n
This led her to the world of coaching, and in 2018, she started to work with therapists and mentors to peel off a layer at a time.<\/p>\n
It was a really emotional time I would cry a lot during these sessions as all the negative emotions from my past would come to the surface.<\/p>\n
I got to the root cause of why I had turned to drugs and had become addicted to buying clothes.<\/p>\n
In 2018, Sam who is now a qualified Emotional Quotient Practitioner and Hypnotherapy coach set up her own businessSam Evans Global,where she helps clients through personal crises and meet their professional goals.<\/p>\n
I help people who feel stuck and like theyre going round in a vicious cycle and no matter how hard they push themselves they feel like theyre going backwards.<\/p>\n
I rewire their thinking, to forgive the past so they can achieve what they want, whether thats in a relationship, in a business or as a parent.<\/p>\n
Through one-on-one and group sessions, Sams business has soared, with her earnings topping $13,558 a month.<\/p>\n
Sam charges $2,700 a month for her one-to-one program, and offers these or group sessions, which vary from $405 to $1,600pp per month. Her clients are based in the UK and the US.<\/p>\n
On top of this, she also earns money from book royalties, her practitioner courses and training other coaches.<\/p>\n
She has written about her experiences and coaching techniques in a new book calledThe Cognitive Switch: Turn off self-sabotage and turn on self-empowerment like a flick of a switch.<\/p>\n
Ive shared these powerful tools to allow readers to take ownership themselves. I tell them how to do it, and guide them through the process, and they know that Ive been where they are.<\/p>\n
The book put every single piece of information in my brain together. It was like everything I had been through had led to this point.<\/p>\n
I now feel aligned and now feel content. I understand why I went through everything that I did. I now know my purpose, more than ever, and I now know that my purpose is definitely bigger than me.<\/p>\n
This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Follow this link:<\/p>\n
I was bankrupt at 30 from funding my cocaine habit now I earn over $13,000 a month - New York Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sam Evans was just 23 years old when she was offered her first line of cocaine at the funeral of a friend who had died from a drugs overdose. Having been through a heartbreaking abortion, suffered horrendous bullying and in mourning, Sam was at an all-time low so she said yes. Within six weeks, the now 42-year-old was taking cocaine every day, spending hundreds each week Continue reading