I’m realizing more and more each day how much my father and I are alike. Aside from the physical attributes, we share a common mindset and this type of go-getter personality. About 15 years ago he ventured into creating a side business to generate more income. To this day, he still advocates for it, still attends weekly meetings, conferences every couple of months, and builds great relationships from it. He has an entrepreneur spirit, but is entirely so deep into his main field that he can’t truly get out of to focus on this side hustle so-to-say. So what does he do? He gives me advice (although it sometimes feel like he’s preaching to me) on how to create a business working for myself – as my own boss. Yesterday we discussed what steps I should be taking in order for me to be a successful business owner in a field that I’ll talk about at another time. He told me he’s excited for me, even after I told him my frustrations. He told me that I need to focus on seeing the bigger picture – to have more hope – and to actually be proactive in doing certain things that will help me be successful.
I always knew my dad was wise. Growing up I’d always see him read books on topics ranging from politics to art to medicine to entrepreneurship, Haitian and local newspapers and National Geographic magazines. Always learning, always finding ways to make his practice better, always staying up to date with whatever was going on in the world. To this day, he still orders and receives these subscriptions and there are dozens of books that fill shelves all on the topic of entrepreneurship, building successful relationships and making money. Just yesterday he told me he ordered “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill for me after I told him I couldn’t find it after sifting through every shelf.
My dad knows what’s up. He sees me for who I am and also knows that I have every tool that I need to succeed. Gaining insight from my biggest supporter means everything to me. The driving force behind my actions is to continue to make him proud, and to build something that he only wishes he had access to at my age.