An Entrepreneur’s Origin Story (Part 1)
by Isaiah O’Connor

In my last post I wrote:

“What am I passionate about?” Or “What can I become passionate about?”

This is something that is not an easy thing to answer. It requires introspection and reflection. That is to say, you need to know who you are and how you got there. I invite you to come with me as I reflect on my past, and how I got to the place I am now. This being my "Origin Story", I will be focusing on what lead me to become an entrepreneur in the first place. Hopefully, you may just get something from this too!”

Why call it an "Origin Story?" and not something else, such as an introduction to, or getting to know, Isaiah. Sure, being my third post I do want to share with you a bit more about who I am, and where I came from, but that is beside the point. A good origin story gives the why to the who. What do I mean by that?

Well, let's take one of my favorites, Spider-Man. On the surface, and even if you had no idea of his origin story, he is simply a person with superhuman abilities who has decided to fight crime just because that is the right thing to do. This is not a bad thing, however, he becomes much more intriguing when you look at his origin story. You find that he did not at first decide to be a hero, but only a selfish kid looking to make a name for himself. Only after tragedy strikes does he come to realize that he needs to use his power responsibly. Or as the now famous line says:

"With great power comes great responsibility."

So, who is Spider-Man? A hero. Why is he a hero? Because he learned from his big mistake. Not that it hurt gaining superpowers from a spider bite.

So what about me? Well, as I was reflecting on the past in order to write this, I noticed not only did I possess an entrepreneurial bend, but I grew up with two Entrepreneurs; even though I don't know if they would look at themselves that way. My mom ran a daycare out of our house, while my dad ran his own janitorial service for a time. I often worked with my dad, and I am now only realizing the value of that time I spent with him. He instilled in me the work ethic needed to push through the long days to get the job done, and some understanding of what running a business means. He showed me the determination to do what needed to be done, rain or shine, even when sick.

With all this experience, when I was a kid, I started by selling golf balls and sodas at the local golf course. When I was in college, I researched starting my own web design company, and then years later I tried to start an iPod repair business for extra income. None of these lasted very long but yet the spark was there.

One of the biggest influences in my life came when I followed my then dream of going on staff with a Christian missionary organization called "Youth With A Mission." This was an amazing time for me, and a big part of what I am now. First and foremost, I met my Norwegian wife, which eventually landed me where I now live - in Norway. Secondly, I started to really cultivate my balloon twisting hobby. Lastly, I really discovered that I had the heart of a teacher.

After my time on staff with the missionary base, I went home, got married, and got into the "Normal" routine of finding a job, living just above my means and struggling to get by. I worked jobs in sales, in management, in restaurants, and even in gas stations.

We eventually moved from California to Norway. Things didn't start off easy for us. I was out of work for a solid year while struggling to learn the language, and when I did land a job, it was as a part-time minimum wage cook.

I soon got sick and tired of, well... being sick and tired. I was tired of taking any and every job I could find just to pay the bills. Then my wife got pregnant and I needed to find something better, something different. I needed to find my true vocation, not just another minimum wage job. I needed to get something better. Something that would break the cycle of barely squeaking by, something I could be passionate about.

I have always been a reader, it's the way I have educated myself. I started to listen to books at work to try to figure a way out. One of these books was "48 days to the work you Love" by Dan Miller. The book spoke to finding who you were and what your vocation really is. This book caused something inside me that had been simmering for years to boil over. I would start my own business again.

That is all for today. I will continue the rest of the story on the next post.

You Friendly Neighborhood Entrepreneur
Isaiah O’Connor.

For the related podcast you can click here. Origin Story

For more content, you can check out my Bootstrap Podcast Or Jason’s podcast. Or if you need more help you can reach out to me at Isaiah@ballongeventbyraa.com And finally If you like my content, please consider supporting me on Patreon