Do you know your purpose in life? Every person is born with a purpose, which is often linked to your ultimate dream. As a child, we all have dreams and aspirations. Going into adolescence, those dreams may change. They can even potentially change again in adulthood and unfortunately, some people never see them come to pass. I always knew that I never wanted to be a person who let go of my dreams. I made a promise to myself as a young boy that I wouldn’t let anything stand in my way!
Growing up, my father imbedded two famous quotes in me. The first, by Jim Lovell, “There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened.” To be successful, you must be a person who makes things happen, by any means necessary! But, what happens when it seems like you’re constantly taking one step forward and five steps backwards? Do you keep going, or do you give up and let the obstacles defeat you? That’s where the second quote comes into play; the quote by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, which says “What does not kill us, makes us stronger.”
Hardship, obstacles, and failure (to a certain degree) is an inevitable part of everyone’s life. However, those are often the experiences that are the most painful for us to go through. Most times even the thought of going through it is so negative that anyone would want to avoid it; but if diamonds, some of the most valuable and precious jewels on Earth are made from pressure, what makes us think we can reach the pinnacle of our success with no “pressure”? Ultimately, the benefits of the hardships are greatest for the ones who fight against it and endure it to the end.
I have always been an entrepreneur and creative at heart, so often times I didn’t fit in with “the norm”. I’ve always wanted to make my own path and ultimately hold fast to my dream. Like many, that dream did change over the course of time, but nevertheless I stay committed to seeing success in my life, especially when God gave me the vision to start Cre8te.
Initially, it began with an invention of my own, which couldn’t be that hard to bring to life as long as I had access to people who could help me, right? Wrong! It wouldn’t be that hard, as long as I had the resources AND money to fund it! I took countless meetings to try to get things off of the ground, but every aspect of the invention process was going to take a minimum of $10,000. Even though I remained calm in those meetings, I was screaming on the inside, trying to figure out a way not to let my dream die, because all I had to my name was $0.51! It was during this time God instructed me to start my own company for the creatives, and name it after Him, THEE ultimate creator!
Cre8te was started to give the inventors access to the resources necessary to bring their ideas to life! A place where the only limitations we have, is the imagination of the inventors! Somewhere creatives can come together and collaborate in a safe space. Everyone has had an idea before and for some reason or another, we are talked out of it by family, friends, or even ourselves! Most often the latter, but what if that idea is worth a life changing amount of money? That’s why we can never give up.
I chose not to focus on the amount in my bank account, but instead focus on the vision God placed inside of me and my determination not to be a failure. My faith was a sustaining factor in me being able to stand tall against my reality and not quit. I decided to continue pressing forward to the light at the end of the tunnel, because I had come too far to drop my dreams. Failure was not an option! I realized, the more I set out to help others in bringing their dreams to reality and encouraging them to dig deeper into their creativity, the more doors opened to catapult my company to the next level. It was no longer about me, but instead about helping others accomplish their goals and bring them happiness! Before I knew it, I looked up and what was once a dream, that began when all I had was $0.51, Cre8te had taken on a life of its own as a growing six figure company.
Fast forward to 2020, Covid-19 seemed to rock the world and inject fear into everyone’s lives, especially entrepreneurs. Businesses were closing, long standing companies were going bankrupt and for many, their source of income was lost. Coincidentally, the pandemic also reignited the fire of some people’s dreams, or at least got them to thinking about pursuing them again. Cre8te is here for those individuals to help them bring their ideas out of their minds and into their hands! It’s our goal to continue changing the narrative of technology, which is so highly relied upon now! Any age, race, gender, or economy class, we are here to help you make your mark on the world!
To all of my fellow entrepreneurs, don’t give up in this season or any other difficult season! Allow God to reignite your dreams! Believe in yourself! Surround yourself with likeminded people! Stay focused on that light at the end of the tunnel! Embrace the journey, even the obstacles and hard times that come with it. You may have to scale down at times, but don’t stop, keep pushing until you see your dreams come to fruition! If God placed it in you, He will make a way for you to see it all the way through! It’s easy to start but do you have the will power to see it all the way to the end? I encourage you to do just that, because success only comes when you don’t quit!
