Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pierrejerry St Gelus. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Pierrejerry, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents are hard working. If there was one thing they taught me is to do the right thing always and never complain. This actually has been the theme of
my life. My parents are some of the most inspiring people I know. I remember
there was a time for at least 5 months straight, we would go to bed hungry. Some
nights were so rough that we would put a quarter of teaspoon of salt in a cup of
water, stir it and drink it so it makes us feel full. This was probably one of the
hardest nights of my life. I remember some of my siblings would cry and our
parents would gather us all together and speak encouraging words to us.

I am sure they wanted to cry in front of us, but they had to remain strong for us just so
we could get through the night. My parents never complained and they always
had joy in their heart. In fact, they would also share goods when able to other
neighbors who were struggling more than us. They did so with all their heart and
soul and expecting nothing in return. I would always question in my head why
they would share to others when we knew our life was not easy. When I became
an adult, I realized that what they wanted us to see here is that even in our
darkest days, there are someone out there who has it worst and we have to give
a helping hand to those people. It is a very hard lesson to learn as a kid.
However, I have been rescued by people just at the right moments like what they
did for me in that moment; though may look small in their eyes, it felt like I was
given the world. For example, one time my car broke and I had no money to fix it,
I was willing to walk 10 miles back and forth to go to school, but I had a friend
who would pick me up and drop me off for a good two weeks. What this person
did not know was that they saved me an extra hour of sleep that I would have
lost had I had to walk to school. I was also going to work at the same time and I
was averaging 4-5 hours of sleep every night. Whenever, I would go through
something hard in my life, these words always ruminate in my mind, “There is
someone out there who has it worse than you. You can do it. Be grateful and find
joy in what you have now.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

When I came to the US in 2013, I only had with me only $500 and a dream. I have always wanted to work in the medical field as a child. I also wanted to be in the US Army. I wasn’t sure how to combine those 2 careers together.

So, when I came I did everything I could to make sure I make these dreams come to reality.

I enlisted in the Army in 2018 and got my Nursing degree from Palm Beach State College in 2021.

Today, I am proud to say that I dedicate my life to serve others both as a Registered Nurse and a Soldier of the United States Army.

My parents are my greatest supporters. I always remember all the sacrifices they made for me. Raising 6 children in Haiti was not easy at all.

When I think about where I am from, it gives me more energy and motivation to work harder and be better.

What set me apart from others is the fact that I stay focus and work everyday to make my dreams become reality.
I went through a lot hard times without losing focus on my dreams.
Staying focus allows me to never give up. To achieve my goals, I set up daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals and yearly goals.
I would not be able to accomplish my goals without the support of my friends, my parents and siblings. My brother Jacques St Gelus once told me that with discipline I will create habits, habits will make routines, and routines will become who I am daily. My support system always remind me to avoid distractions and stay focused.
I have spent hours in the gym and in the library. I have studied for tremendous amount of time. I do my best every day to make every second count. I have kept my focus and discipline despite the challenging moments.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Besides training, knowledge, the most helpful step to success is have discipline. Many people have passion for something but very few have
disciplines. Disciplines are actionable steps to see that passion through. Just
about everyone I have met has a dream. Many either undermine the process or
do not really have what it takes to make it into a reality. Discipline is what you
hold on when you see a roadblock. Discipline is what helps you stay focused on
the goal. A goal without discipline is useless. It’s worth noting that you have to
have a strong desire too. Discipline to me serves as a catalyst to my desire.
Discipline is calculated and thought through. It gives you a clear picture of what
the steps required to achieve the goal. Discipline is the little voice in your head
that tells you, “you say you were going to wake up at 5 am to go running. You’re
sleepy but you have to keep your word. Get up!” Self-discipline is self-
accountability. Because I spent so much time of my life learning how to survive
and fight my way out of a barricade, I always approach life as like the next “hard
thing” I have to endure. As a result, things often times are not as hard as they
seem. It always brings a smile to my face when I do something that I felt like I
was not capable of doing. Quite honestly, it felt nice to look in the mirror and say,

“Yes! I did it. I am glad I did not give up.” It is a very satisfying. Life is always
what you make it of it. For me, with God by my side, I will do anything that I want.
I will do it with joy, a smile in my face and give it my all.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I have always been resilient as shown in these examples above. Actually, I have reasons to believe being born Haitian means you already have resiliency flowing down your veins. You
cannot live in Haiti and not be resilient. Most Haitians I know have been tested in ways one
cannot even imagine. One of the shared experiences we all had was when the country was
struck with the earthquake on Jan 12, 2010. I had already been graduated from high school the
year prior so I was attending a university in 2010. On the day of the earthquake, every Haitian
can remember where they were, what they were doing and how they were able to survive this
tragic event. We also all remembered the emotional tolls it has taken on us. My story was that I
was at my university in my last class and all of sudden the big concrete building started shaking
left, front, back and up and down. I remember being on the 4 th floor and watching the building
crumbling down on us. I instantly chose to live. So, I grabbed my stuff and started running down
the stairs. The walls behind me were falling as I was running away. Blocks of cements were
flying all over the place. I still don’t know till this day how I got out without a scratch anywhere
on my body. When I got on the first floor, the main entrance door was inaccessible from the
building already collapsing, I jumped through a window and got out. It felt like a movie to me
and even 11 years later, I still remember it like yesterday. Unfortunately, some of my
classmates died. One may think the earthquake was bad, but what was the most detrimental
was the aftermath the day after. Imagine you wake up and every street you knew, building,
town are all dusts, dead bodies and in many areas, you had to push a dead body to get to
where you need to be. In just under 1 minute, every hope, dream, goal, realized are all gone.
We were all left with nothing. We all had to start from scratch. That is what we did. We woke
up every day and take one minute at a time. For me, it was like God gave me another chance.
The earthquake to me was a spark that give me more momentum to fight harder. I did
not die that day. I have to live life with a purpose. As long as I am alive, I will make the best out
of any situation. Ever since the earthquake, I go even harder. As “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson
always says, in everything that you do, make sure you are the hardest worker in the room. I
have never given up in my life. I have failed times and times again, but I never quit. Sometimes I
don’t finish first, but one thing I know is I always stay in the course and finish at my own pace. I am known as the “Motivation Doctor”
I always give it everything I got. I believe motivation and hard work always beat talents and you
will reap the fruits of your labor. When that day comes, it will be the best day of you life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: motivation.doctor
• Facebook: Jerry St Gelus
• Linkedin: Pierre Jerry St Gelus
• Twitter: motivation.doctor
• Youtube: Negpotoprens
• Other: TikTok: Motivation.doctorr