In 1985 I was sitting in a high school study hall and I realized that I hated high school and everything about it. This was an era when the pressure of attending college was high to obtain a degree. Many parents thought that the “game plan” was to go to college, get an education, find a job with a company (that would take care of you for the rest of your life) and then retire with a cushy pension. My parents did not know that I had other plans.
Growing up I remember spending many weekends on my family’s old houseboat on the Chesapeake Bay. We loved our family time on the water. I would look around in amazement at all the bigger and nicer boats and didn’t realize at the time that I had set my first life goal. I realized that the majority of these boat owners did not achieve this by having a job. They were business owners who enjoyed another way of life and learned how to have it all. They did not trade time for dollars. Interestingly, because of my love of the Chesapeake and the early lessons learned, I actually bought a little speed boat before even having the desire to drive a car! I was attending Community College and knew I had to change the direction of my life. Community College lasted 3 months because I knew higher education was not for me – I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and create my own business and future.
