A Multifaceted Journey: From Small-Town Roots to Entrepreneurial Adventures
A Chronicle of Challenges, Opportunities, and Life Lessons
Warmest greetings, dear reader! It’s with humble excitement that I step onto this platform, embarking on a new journey of personal storytelling here on Medium. We are all travelers in this journey called life, continuously shaped by a beautiful blend of cultures, experiences, trials, and triumphs. Each new path we traverse adds a unique layer to our story, just as every twist and turn in my life has contributed to the person I am today.
This space also serves as a platform to share about others, I believe in the power of shared stories and the profound connections they create. So, I encourage you to join in, share your thoughts, or simply enjoy the ride.
Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to follow or connect with me using the links at the bottom.
The Early Years: Lessons from a Multicultural Household
I was raised in small-town in Hereford, Texas, within a hard-working, family. Even though my biological father’s lineage traces back to England and France, I never knew him. He passed when I was three months old. I did however grow up with a wonderful dad with hispanic roots, and my mom also comes from a rich Latin/Hispanic background. Our family beginnings were agricultural, they traveled around the country to work in fields, harvesting crops from dawn till dusk. Growing up in a family with that agricultural background taught me a lot. The strength of character that such a lifestyle cultivates is unparalleled, and the close-knit family values it instills remain with me to this day.
As early as eight or nine, I also was introduced to field work, joining my family in hard manual labor. I remember the arduous hours — from picking onions, to hoeing weeds on either sugar beet crops, or peanut fields for instance, all had one thing in common it was under the blazing sun. The work was monotonous, demanding, yet enlightening. It was during these long days that I learned the value of a dollar, tasted the fruits of labor, and understood the significance of contributing to the family.
We didn’t have much, but we always had enough, our essentials, a roof over our heads and food on the table. And if I wanted the extra perks, like nicer clothes for school, I knew I could earn them myself, but more importantly I had the empowerment that I had a path to earn. These years spent laboring alongside my family were the building blocks of my character, instilling in me a relentless work ethic and a profound appreciation for life’s simple joys. Although the labor was physically grueling and the pay was minimal, the values it instilled in me were priceless. It wasn’t just about learning the value of a dollar — it was about contributing to the family, teamwork, perseverance, and finding satisfaction in honest work. Through these experiences, I realized early on that money doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness.
Discovering Entrepreneurship
At 16, my first non agriculture job was at a veterinarian’s office, who also owned some rentals. My journey into the world of entrepreneurship began with a simple can of paint, with the skills and the guidance of a mentor who taught me the fundamentals of painting houses. This experience kindled my thirst for entrepreneurship, igniting a drive that would take me beyond the manual labor of my youth, pushing me to wield not just physical tools but also the more profound tools of my mind and creativity. Over the next few years, I worked on this learned skill, and cultivating my entrepreneurial spirit and sowing the seeds for future business endeavors.
I stepped into the world of entrepreneurship for myself in my early 20s. My first business venture was a part time small painting business. This experience planted the seeds of ambition, resourcefulness, and grit in my mind, that I would apply toward my work whether it was for myself or others.
One such experience, came during my stint as a delivery truck driver for Coca-Cola. There I saw a system that was far from efficient. I was not one to conform to the status quo, so I put my mind to work, restructuring my delivery route to save time and increase productivity. The challenge was as much mental as it was physical — overcoming my own assumptions, daring to question established norms, and introducing changes. Yet, the experience was priceless, teaching me the power of innovation and efficiency, that later would continue to be used as a core value in business.
Stepping into the World of Finance
As my entrepreneurial ventures grew, so did my fascination with finance. My interest in finance was piqued during a six-year stint in sales, following a conversation with a friend and client. The notion of minimum education requirements intrigued me and set me on a new career path. After rigorous testing and interviewing with Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch, I joined Merrill Lynch. The world of finance was a vast ocean filled with jargon and intricate concepts. It presented a unique challenge that I thoroughly enjoyed — breaking down complex financial terminologies into simple, relatable stories. My commitment to client-centric communication and personalized service became my trademark in the industry.
Faith and Spirituality
Parallel to my career, my faith journey was unfolding. Like everything else in my life, I had to wrestle with established beliefs, challenge them, and seek my own understanding of faith. It’s been a journey of introspection, learning, and growth that continues to shape my life, values, and work ethics.
Higher Education and Its Shortcomings
The journey of education has always been a complex terrain for me to navigate. Like many entrepreneurs, I found the early stages of higher education redundant and painfully slow, often rehashing the basic principles I had already grasped in high school. This apparent lack of efficiency was perplexing, especially when I considered how much knowledge and practical skills I had accrued from the various jobs I held throughout my youth. I was eager to move past the basics and into the more intricate and complex subjects that truly interested me — business law, finance, and mathematics. This approach to education was, unbeknownst to me at the time, very much in line with the entrepreneurial mindset.
I tackled my higher education like an entrepreneur developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Instead of a product, I was creating a Minimum Education Requirement (MER) — a blueprint, if you will, of the courses and experiences I needed to build my career. This entrepreneurial spirit towards my education was a game-changer, equipping me with the skills to land a position at Merrill Lynch. Yet even as my career in finance took off, my mental wrestling with the education system persisted. Through helping families save for college, I became acutely aware of the alarming rate at which college expenses were growing. The math didn’t add up; college costs were increasing at an annual rate of 8% even back in 2000, vastly outpacing the regular inflation rate of 2–3%. It was a ticking time bomb of financial imbalance, fueled further by government-guaranteed student loans, which conveniently could not be discharged in bankruptcy.
This unsustainable trajectory was not just a financial concern but a cultural one. The narrative that conflates a degree with identity and success needed questioning. I believe our identities are beautifully complex, encompassing travel, spirituality, self-reflection, community, relationships, education, career, and finances. To equate identity solely to academic achievement is an oversimplification and a disservice to the diverse experiences and values that shape us. Through my ventures, I am determined to challenge this narrative and promote a more holistic understanding of success.
Current Endeavors
Over the years, I’ve ventured into diverse businesses, each contributing to the tapestry of my professional journey and personal growth. At Nest Financial, I spend much of my time blogging about financial education, addressing the gap I feel is missing in our education system. At foundingAustin, an entrepreneurial magazine I own, I bring to light the inspiring stories of Austin’s founders. I also operate founding_media, a podcast network and corporate podcast production company, where our mission is to connect voices and stories that deserve to be heard. Each of these ventures has played a crucial part in my journey, shaping my understanding of business, society, and the individual identities we build.
Building on my experiences and the knowledge I’ve gathered, my newest venture, founding_up, is a passion project that draws on my life’s work and attempts to redefine narratives for our youth. founding_up takes the lessons I’ve learned from entrepreneurship, the insights from hundreds of interviews conducted for the magazine and podcasts, and the experiences gleaned from thousands of client conversations at Nest. The goal is to shape a new narrative that encourages a holistic view of identity, encompassing education, community, relationships, career, and more.
founding_up explores the concept of Minimum Education Requirement (MER), challenging the traditional approach to education. This initiative gives our youth a platform to ask their own questions, aiding them in creating their unique blueprints for life. It’s an exciting, challenging journey ahead, but I’m motivated by the immense potential for positive impact. Through these endeavors, my aim is to enrich, inspire, and challenge, helping to sculpt a more balanced, inclusive definition of success.
The Road Ahead
As I share my life experiences and the lessons they’ve taught me, I am determined to challenge the prevailing narratives and promote a more holistic understanding of success. Every day on this planet is a chance to learn, grow, and make a positive difference. I hope my stories resonate with you and provide some insights or guidance on your own journey. Until next time, I send you peace✌🏽 and wish you a beautiful day.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn, Twitter.
And that’s a wrap on this installment of my story — a collage of experiences from a 23-year veteran of finance, 7-year media industry participant, and lifelong entrepreneur. It’s a combination of my own reflections, supported by a little hi-tech assistance from my trusty AI editor. Stay tuned for more insights, lessons, and tales from my journey. Until next time, this is Dan Dillard signing off.
#Entrepreneurship #Finance #Spirituality #LifeLessons #Identity