Olivia Burke
Those who dream of becoming a millionaire probably reckon that their job will be done as soon as they see seven figures in their bank account, but Mike Black decided to go back to the drawing board after hitting this milestone.
The businessman swapped his luxurious lifestyle for sleeping on park benches as part of a social experiment that he titled 'Million Dollar Comeback', which saw him drain his bank account, give up his car and ditch his home.
You may think this all sounds a bit bizarre, but Mike had a method to his madness.
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He started his first company at the age of 16 and admits he had experienced 'a lot of failures' as an entrepreneur, however, he was keen to prove to people that you can go from 'nothing to something' with a bit of hard work.
So, in July 2020, he walked away from all of his material possessions and began to document his Million Dollar Comeback on YouTube - aiming to show that he could make $1 million (£802k) in 12 months, even while homeless.
"I knew a lot of people who lost everything during the pandemic and they got really depressed," Mike explained in one clip. "I even had a friend that lost a $10 million business overnight."
The software development mogul, who runs Told Media, told viewers he wanted 'to inspire anyone who is starting over and provide as much informational value that he can', armed with only a mobile phone and one pair of clothes.
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He set quite a few ground rules too, explaining that he wouldn't be relying on his business connections or 'any of his resources' and that he was even cutting himself off from his loved ones for the duration of the social experiment.
As well as this, he ruled out starting another software development firm so that he didn't have an unfair advantage.
Mike battled through a tough first few days - sleeping on the streets and battling hunger - but his luck began to change when he shared a post on Craigslist.
He explained he was looking for a place to get his head down for free, in exchange for work, and later got in touch with a stranger who offered to let him stay in his van.
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This allowed Mike to really start working on his comeback and he came up with the idea to sell furniture he found on Craigslist for a profit, while also doing odd jobs such as telemarketing and delivery work in his spare time.
"One of the best things to sell are tables," the entrepreneur explained in another YouTube video. "I started taking ads on Craigslist in the free section, putting it on Facebook Marketplace and selling it for a profit.
"I acted as the middleman, handling all the logistics between the buyer and the seller."
On the second day, Black made $250 in profit and saved every penny, eating beans and plain spaghetti at mealtimes.
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By day five, he'd saved up enough money to buy himself a computer and over the next couple of weeks he managed to secure his own office space too.
Mike also found his own place to rent and really started to knuckle down with his Million Dollar Comeback mission, creating a coffee brand which donated its proceeds to animal rescue shelters.
"Look at where we're at right now," he gushed in another video update. We're not making millions of dollars, but look at this - going to be living potentially in a mansion rent free.
"I'm getting on calls with big tech companies pitching them on running their social media. I'm starting a coffee brand I have a coffee dude in Austin now.
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"I mean everything's going in the right direction," he beamed. "Three months ago I was homeless!"
Mike was making serious moves in the business world with his coffee brand and was well on the way to his million dollar target, but sadly, he suffered a number of setbacks during his project.
His father was diagnosed with stage four cancer - but knew his dad would want him to continue.
So he did, but Mike then faced a series of other major blows when he began suffering from health issues himself - including two autoimmune diseases and a tumour on his hip - which left him in agony.
The YouTuber was ready to throw the towel in, until fate intervened and a stranger messaged him explaining that his project had stopped him from taking his own life.
Mike ploughed on, implementing a subscription model for his growing business and commissioning advertising.
However, two months before his Million Dollar Comeback was due to come to an end, he made the decision to end the project prematurely as his ambitious challenge had really taken a toll on his health.
Updating his YouTube subscribers who had been intently following his journey online, Mike admitted his health had 'declined to the point that I need to start taking care of it' and that he had been 'dealing with a lot of things personally'.
He revealed he suffers from two autoimmune diseases which 'attack his joins' and also cause 'chronic fatigue'.
"A lot of what's come to light for me is what truly matters, health and gratitude," he said, after confessing he had been 'neglecting [his pain] because of the project'.
Ultimately, Mike made a total of $65K (£52K), which is still an incredible feat in such a short space of time while also dealing with a slew of personal issues - so, hat's off to him.
The main thing is, he is still very proud of himself too - and even if he didn't hit a million, he still proved his point.
"We should always remember to help those in need because it could be the opportunity that they need," Mike added.
You can catch Mike's full journey on his YouTube channel now.