How I Traveled the World, Started 2 Companies and a Charity, Wrote a Book, and Still Managed to… – Info Entrepreneurship

Back to the Beginning

Ok, so I lied. I actually started 3 businesses. The first one just happened to be when I was 7-years old.

It’s difficult to remember specific days, events, ideas, and conversations from my single digit years. Even what I do believe I remember is most likely just hazy depictions from friends and family describing the event, and me creating a memory out of the details I hear.

However, September 11th, 2001 I do remember.

I remember being taken out of school.

I remember looking at the TV.

I remember asking how and what could make so much smoke.

I remember seeing the tears roll down the faces of family and friends.

The destruction of The World Trade Center is one of those moments everybody remembers. Everybody knows where they were, who they spoke to, what they said. This is an unfortunate attribute of devastation.

But what I also remember is immediately wanting to do something to help.

I wanted to save people,

I wanted to change people,

I wanted to make people smile again.

So, another one of my earliest memories came on September 21st, 2001. With a few friends a few parents, some lemons, some cookies, and some water, we set up shop on a busy street corner and started selling.

But this was no ordinary lemonade stand. I mentioned I wanted to give back, and from that young age I started to think a little bit differently than everybody else.

Rather than pocket this money and make people smile simply by starting this stand, I decided that I wanted to give the money to the families who were impacted by the 9/11 tragedy.

Thus, the 9/11 Memorial Lemonade Stand was born.

I mentioned these 4 lessons that go into every story. And although this isn’t necessarily a business, and starting a lemonade stand may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a life of ultimate fulfillment, this is the first story in which all 4 of these words came into play.

Relentlessness

I also said that I have experienced over 100 failures. Well this was the first one. In that feel-good story of young kids selling lemonade for families affected by 9/11, I didn’t mention that after an hour in the hot sun and no sales, I wanted to pack our things and go home.

But, it was the encouragement from some wise adults, the wisdom that we could not make a difference by doing nothing, and these words determination and persistence that I learned that day that have stuck with me all this time.

Relationships

I mention the people involved in this effort. Without them, none of this would have occurred. The people in my life are everything to me, and the relationships I have with them are what I care about most.

I am still friends with the group that set out to make this lemonade stand. This was a meaningful experience to me and I was able to do it with people who mattered to me, and this bond has lasted a long time.

Creativity

I always think a little differently. I am never scared to be unique. I know that if I want to be remarkable, I have to do something a bit unreasonable.

I knew that this lemonade stand was about more than just making money by selling these goodies. It was about being conscious and creative in the way that the proceeds were distributed, and this is why we became neighborhood superstars.

Initiative

To achieve a lot, you have to do a lot. I am never reluctant to take on a new project or test an idea I have been thinking about.

I always allow the fear of the “what if” to outweigh the fear of the actual doing.

That is, I am more afraid to look back and think about what could have been.

What if I had asked her out?

What if I had started that business?

What if I had quit that job?

It is scarier to wake up and realize who you could have become than it is to take part in the process of who you want to be.