Vision Doesn't Pay the Bills

"Marriage is a duel to the death which no man of honour should decline."
- G.K. Chesterton (Manalive)

Listening to the self-development gurus whose content I purchased led me to dream of creating my own business. The dream of becoming an entrepreneur became infused into my daily thoughts when I was in my late 20's. The opportunity to venture into that world, again, came easy for me. The understanding of being a business owner isn't just creating a job for yourself. It can start out that way in the world of content creation and I missed the mark by not catching that vision.  When I became $14,000 in debt in the late 90's that was my wake up call. My family had grown to 4 kids and still on my first wife. She's still my first wife but the insecurity of finances put pressure on our relationship. The World Wide Web was evolving rapidly in the 90's and I knew that was where I wanted to be.

The debt was solved by leveraging our home improvement loan and I took a job with a web development company. It was a sales role with a group of guys that were also next door tenants in the same office building. It seemed like another easy move until another phone call disrupted that order.  It seemed like this all was part of the path and they were opportunities that came at the right time. They kind of had that mini-miracle feel. This opportunity was different in that it was minimal salary but shares of stock in this "start-up" venture. Their business plan was right on my path. Creating video publishing on websites. When I came on board they had great investor interest, a couple of clients, experience technologists, and enthusiasm.  Of course there was some new shiny objects as well.

Some amazing things happened during that time that really taught me much and I'm so grateful for those experiences. It really fed my entrepreneurial bug.  There are many stories to share but the early nineties was also the bursting of the Internet bubble and our small company went all in on an industry conference. The attacks of September 11, 2001 altered that path for the company and myself. We still would find investment and opportunity but personally I couldn't financially sustain my role in the company. The events led to many new vocational adventures but the right vision for my vocation was still hidden.

Dayport _ Connect Business Magazine One Tough Dot Com.pdf