For The Selfish & Unselfish

A wise mentor once told me “Everyone has 2 reasons for everything they do, a selfish & unselfish”. For any reason, good or bad, this fact exists.

To give this a good example, we’ll take a celebrity who is also a passionate philanthropist. He or she would typically write a lofty check to some organization, attend some fundraising events and endorse the cause. The selfish reason for this, more or less, is that the celebrity’s public image is enhanced. This good deed gets him or her closer to the rank of “Saint” by the eyes of the public. The unselfish reason behind this is that they probably really care about the problem and it’s solution. They want to help any way they can so they leverage what they possess (fame) to solve the issue. By no means are these bad or good reasons, that is up to the person and their moral compass to interpret.

Now, It would be a lie if I said I don’t follow that, because now that I reflect back on my experiences, I do and I have been all of my life. Why did I start a business in the first place? I personally have more reasons than one on both sides of this.

THE SELFISH

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• To Prove A Point: To begin with, I was tricked into believing that I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed in my earlier years. The story that stick out into my mind the most is during high-school. It was after school and I had a math problem that I had trouble solving. My teacher, who will remain unnamed got frustrated and told me “If you can’t get this, you’ll end up spending your life at Mcdonalds!” I responded by challenging him to that. Usually, I would care less about who doubted my abilities but this crossed the line. Something about what he said made him come across as if he could predict my future. Which I set out to make sure that no one other than God and myself can predict.
• Freedom: I allow you to have the Braveheart voice in your head as you read that. This reason relates back to the posts I have created earlier. I only like to do what I want to do. I know how it is when someone is constantly breathing down your neck about a project you can care less about and I absolutely hate it. I control my own hours, travel wherever I want and my decisions matter. True freedom is the ability to make choices after all, and being a co-founder of a business making a product you care about definitely grants that.
• I Want To Be Great: I have this constant, creeping fear following me around that can only be summarized in one word; Mediocrity. Honestly, It one of the most terrifying words to me and my founders. We share this fear of dying “average”. I speak on behalf of them (Ryan & Bernadette) when I say this, we want to leave a legacy. We believe that the true value of a person isn’t about how much money they have in the bank, its how big of an impact they had in the lives of others, people they have never even met. When I say this, I don’t mean by buying flashy clothes or expensive materials, as people will get to know me, I am a simple guy but I want to transcend “normal” by the life that I lived, the life I provided for the ones I love and the things I have accomplished while I was here.

Legends are made by the impact of their deeds, not by their treasures.

THE UNSELFISH

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• I Want To Make People Awesome: I have this burning passion for inspirational stories. I love seeing people become great especially when it comes to those with limited opportunity. It makes me happy when I see someone working hard, achieving what they want and reaching a definition of success that they set out for themselves. This links back to me and my selfish reason but I love to know that I helped someone become astonishing, whether I will be acknowledged or not, doesn’t matter. The thing is, I too am also on that journey so I know how it feels to struggle. I would love nothing more than to help someone as willing as me to hit the same goal, avoid the same mistakes and take the same leaps that I have. I believe that everyone has the ability to be great, at whatever they wish, sometimes It just needs a little support and push. I can tell you that some of the greatest people I have ever met got that way because of the guidance they received. Passing my knowledge and encouragement to someone just as ambitious as myself might just make someone great, some day.
• For Leaving A Better World: There is no denying that the world is improving, despite what the media may say. However, you have to admit, it could be getting a lot better a lot faster. My personal motto is “If you see a problem and you care about it enough, you’ll find a way to fix it yourself” so that’s what I intend to do. This goes back into the “I Want To Be Great” reason but I want to do that by fixing real issues and/or by setting the bar to new heights. I currently see an array of problems that I believe my founders and I can fix through our talents and experiences. Who knows if we would be fully able to solve it in this life time, I’m not sure, but what I do know is that we can start it and leave it up to the next generation to follow it through.
• Inspire: Building upon my last reason, I pray that our efforts spark a mind. I pray that our efforts and achievements somehow inspire the next generation to hit accomplishments and also show that goals, no matter how large, are/can be attainable with the right mix of motivation, ambition and of course guidance. This is coming from someone who was always told that he would be a failure. Sure, it did help shape me into who I am today, but it held me back just as much as it helped. I was blessed with enough self-motivation to break through but that alone wouldn’t be enough to get me on the road to where I am today.

“I WILL spark the brain that will change the world” — Tupac Shakur

I feel as if many people involved with my line of work often lose sight of the initial reasons they got involved in the first place. So when the time comes where one questions him/herself (Which is normal and happens much more frequently than you’d expect) they end up forgetting and giving up. For my life and career, I thought that this would be a nice reminder to myself and others who are in the same situation.