I went to prison in 1998. I served 3 years. When I got out, all of my friends abandoned me. I literally had nobody but my parents. My sister's didn't want me being a bad influence on their children.
Initially I stayed with my parents and I got a job working with heavy equipment. I saved up and bought a car I saw on the side of the road. I fixed it up and sold it. I profited $2300. I thought to myself, "That was fun! I'm going to do that again!" so I did. That year I flipped 7 more cars and made about $13000 total. I used that money to petition the court to expunge my record on the basis that I was a combat veteran and a first time offender. I then took out a small loan to use as capital to start my own small used car lot.
I got a floorplan which is a line of credit used to purchase cars. That was 8 years ago. I now have a net worth of around $4,000,000. I have branched out and have 3 dealerships and various real estate holdings.
All of my old "friends" have reappeared after abandoning me and I am friendly towards them but that's about it. I surround myself with successful people who can help me in my journey.
The one person who never left me was my wife who I met within days of being released. Everyone thought she had lost her mind by going out with an ex con. Her friends abandoned her for it. Her sister disowned her. She has never wavered. Not one time. Together, we went from poor to wealthy and she has believed in me 100%. We rarely socialize with friends because we would rather spend our time together.