Overweight and lacking confidence as a youngster, 21-year-old Connor LaRocque said he's no stranger to bullying.
As a teen, LaRocque decided he wanted to change his life. He enrolled in martial arts and started reading books about personal development.
“It allowed me to grow as a person,” he said. “I started to come into my own.”
Today, LaRocque is a third-year Laurentian law and politics student who dreams of attending law school and becoming a motivational speaker.
He said his ultimate goal is helping people who lack confidence, just as he did in his younger years.
“I just have an extraordinary mindset, I find, towards helping people,” LaRocque said. “I just feel a lot. When I see something bad, it really bothers me.”
That's the idea behind LaRocque's new self-published book, “Life is Motivation.” He said he started writing down his ideas about personal development, and before he knew it, he ended up with a book.
LaRocque said he tells some of his own story in the book, and encourages people to develop a positive, “unstoppable” mindset and set goals for themselves.
“I'm trying to help people build what I call a self-sustaining platform that will enable them to do anything for the rest of their life,” he said.
The 140-page book, published by Friesen Press, is available for $13.99 through Amazon.