Does my story sound like yours?

My family is from Trinidad, West Indies. We are of Indian descent, but have no family we know in India. In the 1800s, the British brought Indians to Trinidad as indentured laborers on the sugar estates. Communication between Trinidad and India during that time was almost nonexistent. Culturally, most Indian descendants were born in Trinidad and lost contact with India. Over generations, their identity became a unique blend of Indian and Caribbean culture. Hows that for an answer to the question, where is your family from!

My first car, which my Father gave me, was a used diesel manual transmission Volkswagen Rabbit.  He said if you want to drive, you have to learn to drive a manual. I fell in love with driving and to this day, even with the Chicago traffic, I drive a manual transmission.

I joined the Marine Corps at 17 to serve my country and help pay for college. It's at Boot Camp where I accomplished some amazing things.  One of which is firing my rifle at 200 and 300 yards. The Marines qualify at 500 yards. I'm 18 years old, never picked up a rifle, and in a matter of weeks was able to hit targets at five football fields - shooting expert and qualifying as a Sharpshooter. This laid the foundation for the Sharpshooters Blueprint. I went on to leverage what I learned to build a great business and life. 

From the age of 14, I had been hustling to make money and had my sights set on being an entrepreneur. I was making cash mowing lawns and shoveling snow. After high school I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But as the son of immigrants, I was 'strongly encouraged' to go to college. Reluctantly, I attended, but admittedly was not fully engaged. It did allow me to become more disciplined with learning and I made some life-long friends.

After completing College, I was ready to become an entrepreneur, but again, I was 'strongly encouraged' to get a job. There was a job I wanted for a large outdoor advertising company. They wanted someone with either a degree in Marketing or Communications, 2-3 years of experience, and preferably an MBA. I had none of this, but, like a sharpshooter, I went after it and got the job. It was my first and only job, because after about a year I decided to start my business, and never looked back - the year was 1993.

While searching for success at a young age, I had shiny object syndrome. From real estate to construction and restaurants, I got involved in whatever looked like it made money. I started a general construction business, doing small projects for government clients. I was on the go, involved in many things. I did ok in many things, but great in none. It wasn't until I focused on my construction business that I was able not just to go, but to grow and scale it from 3 people to 30, later selling the company. Lesson learned: aim clearly, stay focused and keep chipping away — that’s how compound growth happens.

In social settings, I'm often asked, what do you do? And I sometimes have to think. I've been a lifelong entrepreneur involved in construction, real estate, and restaurants. I'm an angel investor in many start-up companies. I'm an advisor and mentor to many small and large businesses. I serve on boards and volunteer on various efforts. But to keep it simple, my answer today - I mentor and advise entrepreneurs and high performers to do great things!