I know what it’s like to be doubted, overlooked, and told that you can’t do something. However, I also know what it’s like to succeed, and I’m here to tell you that you can do the same. You can be anything you want to be, as long as you’re willing to work for it.
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I was born in Puerto de San José, Guatemala, on December 1st, 2004. Later that year, my father left home, leaving my mother alone with a baby boy. Unable to provide for me, she gave me up for adoption. A year later, I was brought home by my two dads, who taught me that even the smallest act of kindness has the power to change the world.
The night before I graduated high school, I watched a Stanford EDX lecture on business and realized that the only difference between me and them was that they actually took the risk to be an entrepreneur.
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When I combined my passion for fashion and technology into one, that’s when I knew I had something. I realized sneakers alone weren’t scalable, but if I could integrate technology somehow, then maybe I had a chance.
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Two months before my 19th birthday, I was in a college library when it finally clicked.
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Imagine a picture. It’s blurry at first, but then every wrong turn taken leads you to a moment. Your moment. Where everything that was foggy before just suddenly makes sense.
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That’s exactly what happened on that Thursday afternoon, and it’s arguably the most important day of my life.
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Looking back, I can say that everything that felt impossible to overcome at the time was really just a redirection for what God had in store for me.
I can admit now that I didn’t always believe in myself. I think that the only reason I kept going was my fear of failure. When you first start out, you think you know it all, but you don’t. Life is all about trial and error. You can always be given the answers, but real experience only comes from actually doing it.
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I spent the next year working to raise, hire, design, and build a real business. I was met with rejection after rejection. And that did something to my soul, but I think it accelerated my growth by a decade, because after all of it, I didn’t feel like a kid anymore.
When I talk to others and work with them, I make sure they understand the importance of being open-minded. It’s never been about the cards you’ve been dealt. It’s about how you play them. It’s about seizing your opportunities and understanding your process. It’s about reprogramming your mindset and molding yourself into who you want to become. It’s about learning from your environment and surrounding yourself around quality. It’s about dedicating every waking hour to becoming the very best you.
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I don’t care how big you are, how tall you are, where you went to school, or how impressive your credentials are. Learn to be like water. Adapt, absorb, and apply.
The truth is, you have no idea the rooms that you can reach when it’s all said and done. Think about how many legacies are still alive from work that they were never recognized for.
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Success is subjective. We’re born and then we die, but what you do in between that is completely on you.
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I write this today to let you know that I didn’t get here by following the crowd. I was the outlier. The one they called crazy, obsessed, and weird. I had to believe in myself even when no one else did. And that is why I succeeded.