Man who emigrated from Mexico works his way up to become top salesman at Scottsdale company

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A Valley man is living the American dream.

His mother was killed by a Mexican cartel in 2013. At one point, he was picking fruit to make money, but now nothing will stop him.

This fast-paced sales group at Cardone Ventures gives off "Wolf of Wall Street" vibes, and right in the middle is Aaron Mariscal.

The 24-year-old is confident on every call, and he helps small business owners grow their companies.

"All day long we’re reaching out to business owners, we’re on phone calls with them, we’re changing lives, that’s really what we’re doing," Mariscal said.

His boss is Brandon Dawson.

"He is a perfect example of someone who came from absolutely nothing, couldn't even speak English, and now he's making over half a million dollars a year consistently," Dawson said.

Mariscal was born in Mexico.

"I grew up with a single mom," Mariscal said. "I didn't have a dad in my life, my mom unfortunately was kidnapped by the cartels when I was 13 years old and that was part of the reason why I came over to the U.S. to pursue an opportunity."

When his mother, Maria, was murdered, Mariscal legally immigrated to America and lived in California with his family. Picking grapes and working at a car dealership in Fresno, he spent money on sales training with Cardone U.

"I had like $500 to my name, I put it on my credit card," Mariscal said. "I learned how to basically sell through that program and through Google Translate learned how to speak English."

Aaron Mariscal

In a roundabout way through that training, Dawson heard Mariscal on a call.

"I said, 'If you want to change your life, I'll invest in you, but you've got to get up to Washington state. You gotta find your way here,'" Dawson said.

"He (Dawson) was like, 'Why don't you come work for me in Vancouver, Washington?" Mariscal said. "I was like, yes, I love that idea. So, I dropped everything."

"Two weeks later, I was in my office and my assistant came back, and she says, ‘There’s a guy here who drove up from California named Aaron,’" Dawson said. "I’m like, ‘Who? You’re kidding me.’ I went out and introduced myself and said, ‘I will personally invest in you and help you change your life.’"

Brandon Dawson

Now, Mariscal is at the top of the sales leaderboard at the company in Scottsdale.

It’s hard to imagine what his life was like in Mexico, but making his mother proud will always be his motivation.

"It’s hard for me to talk about Aaron without getting emotional," Dawson said. "He's a spectacular human and he works so hard and he's such a good person."

For Mariscal, America is truly the land of opportunity.

"I feel like when you surround yourself with a good environment, the right people, good values, and you have a great opportunity, that’s when you tap into your potential," Mariscal said.