About

Welcome to Thrive Or Die Nation!!

Created by Aaron and Juwon

ThriveOrDie.com is a movement of people who are sick of the prescribed 9 to 5 lifestyle, the daily grind, the rat race, the unfulfilled life, and want to live life on their terms.

We provide resources and inspiration to escape the lifestyle of the working dead.

We were duped into thinking that life is only about going to college, getting a job, climbing the corporate ladder and retiring to the so called “good life.”

We want more! We want to make an impact in the world. Defy the impossible. Shred our comfort blankets. Live life on purpose. Make money doing what we love. Leap over the edge of possibilities, and push our boundaries further. Find true happiness. Eat fear for breakfast. Wake up everyday on fire! Enjoy real freedom. See all the world has to offer. Connect with thousands of amazing people. We want the “Great Life!” (yes we’re a “little” excited )

We believe that you deserve to make your own choices and live life on your terms. We believe that life is meant to be lived, not just survived.

Mediocrity requires the desire to survive. Greatness requires the desire to thrive.

Thrive Or Die!

What’s In It For You?

Disclaimer: This blog isn’t for everyone

This blog is for a person who has the desire and drive to turn their dreams into realities .  It’s for those who aren’t into complaining, but rather, changing. Changing themselves, and then changing the world.

We’re here to blur the line between entertainment, and inspirational personal development. We promise to give you the best content we have and open your mind to the power of a purpose driven life.

If you are ready to travel to the edge of possibility and then take the plunge, you are ready to join the ThriveOrDie movement.

“Everything we want in life is on the other side of fear, self-doubt, and laziness.”-Juwon Melvin

Welcome to ThriveOrDie.com!!

Who creates this stuff?

Aaron Madonna

Hi, my name is Aaron Madonna.  I’m an author and lifestyle entrepreneur.

Somewhere during my college years I found myself questioning my future. I was going through the motions and doing well in school. I had a world-class internship and the promise of a good job in the future. Everything was lined up for me, but I still felt incredibly lost and sad… I wanted so much more out of life.

All I could see was being trapped in a cubical for 8 hours a day for the rest of my life. I had an empty feeling in my stomach. I was hungry for more out of life, but didn’t know how to fill the void. I was lost.

That was until my friend Juwon introduced me to entrepreneurship and personal development. I was fascinated by how quickly my life started to turn around after reading “a few” books on business/self development. (Ask me if you want a long list of great stuff)

These books opened my mind to the fact that thousands of people are making lots of money doing what they love. After talking to a few of these people, it became clear to me what I had to do.

I dove head first into studying success and working daily to improve my life.  I loved it so much that I began sharing with others and found a passion for helping other people to grow and find their calling.

In Spring 2007, Juwon and I founded DreamReel Media based on our interest in business and passion for helping other people to realize their potential. Over the last 3 years we have given tons of speeches, written 2 books, and continue to produce entertaining content to inspire people to define and reach their dreams.

After learning about the clean water crisis, we couldn’t turn a blind eye. We knew we had to find a way to use our strengths, knowledge, talents, and energy to do our part and make a difference.

Soap is something we all use, but don’t really think twice about. We want to use soap to help raise awareness and funds to end the clean water crisis.

With this in mind we created LifeSoap Company

I live life with a new sense of purpose. I continue to read and grow daily and I promise to deliver the best content I have for you. I want to share and grow with you. We can’t succeed on our own. We need each other. Thank you for reading!

Juwon  A. Melvin

What’s up! Thanks for visiting! I grew up in a hard working, blue-collar household. My mom sometimes worked two jobs to provide for my younger sister and me. She did everything she could to make sure we had a better life and more opportunities than she ever had. But money, or worrying about the lack of it, was always looming over our heads.

By the time I made it to high school, I was a middle-of-the-road student with a B average. My mom sat me down one day and echoed words I won’t soon forget. She said, “Son, what are your plans after high school?” “I don’t know…maybe work, maybe college.” “Well there’s no way I can pay for your college. I’ll do my best to help you navigate the process, but if you want to go to college, you’re going to have to find your own way.”

At that moment, I began to realize how a lack of resources could truly limit one’s opportunities in life. And I vowed that money, or the lack of it, would never be a factor in how far I would go in life.

With this extra motivation, the help of my mom, and a great high school counselor (shout out to Mrs. Dauer), I was able to improve my grades a bit and find a way to make into college with scholarships. I decided to study business in large part because I didn’t ever want to have to worry about money again. Everyone I talked with said that people with business degrees earn the most money, problem solved.

While on campus, I got very involved in student leadership and organizations. Even had the good fortune of helping to start a few organizations. I found that I had a passion for building organizations and people. My favorite classes of all, in entrepreneurship, taught me the building blocks of how to turn dreams and ideas into realities.

Great mentors pointed me to a program named INROADS, where I obtained a nationally competitive executive internship with a major Fortune 500 company. The money was great! As a college student, I was making as much money as it took my parents 30 years of working in the “real world” to earn. They were so proud of me. So you can imagine how shocked they were when I told them I was leaving that company, with great pay, great benefits, and a fast track career, to start my own business with a meager $1,000. They thought I had lost my mind!

You can’t help what your called to do in life, but when life calls, you better answer. With my  business partner and great friend, Aaron Madonna, we took the plunge into entrepreneurship as young, ambitious, idealistic college students. We haven’t looked back since.

My life is about daily improvement. I have a near obsession with personal development. Then it’s about enjoying and appreciating the blessing of each new day. I’m maniacally driven to build great organizations and inspire great, everyday people to change the world. Thank you for joining on this journey.

We don’t have the luxury of being mediocre. And why would you want to? The world needs your best. Let’s change the world. Let’s make history. Thrive or Die!

Contact

Web Inquiries:
aaron@dreamreelmedia.com

Speaking Inquiries:
info@dreamreelmedia.com