In my previous post I shared my first failure. It would be the first of many. After I accepted bootstrapping my own company was not in the cards at the age of 19, I was trying to figure out plan B. I knew I could not flip pizzas my whole life. Although at the time, it was paying the bills and I ultimately made some life long friends doing it. I needed to make a big move. I needed a fresh start.

I was looking around for a few days and then I saw it. An ad in my favorite publication (at the time) Car Audio magazine. It was an ad for a store in Chicago. The job description fit me like a glove except for the 10 years of experience part. I talked to my mom and she said go for it. Ok the next problem, I was flat broke. I needed a place to live. I called my aunt and uncle who lived in the area and they agreed to let me stay until I got on my feet. Now, all I had to do was get the job. A few interviews later, the job was mine and I was moving to Chicago. To make a long story short… 4 months later I was out of a job. The abbreviated version was I simply did not have enough experience but I learned a ton. Failure number two, the time with my aunt and uncle was a time I will never forget. They did not have to do that, and I will always be thankful for giving me the opportunity.

I returned back to the Quad Cities for two weeks. It did not take me long to re-group. I was not going to give up. I found an ad for a job installing car stereos for a company called Circuit City. The ad stated they were willing to train and teach. It sounded perfect for me. At the time I had no idea what Circuit City was, but they were a larger retailer and were growing fast. The job was again located in Chicago. It was quite a ways from my aunt and uncles house.  Luckily I had another aunt and uncle who lived in the general vicinity of the store they were hiring for. They graciously offered me a room for a few months.  Long story short. I interviewed and got the job.

Time to move back up to Chicago. I packed everything I owned and made the 4 hour drive back  to Chicago. Exhausted from the drive and the stress of trying to make my vision happen my relatives welcomed me with open arms that night. They gave me a meal, and we chatted about my game plan and set goals to move out on my own. It was important for me to tell them I would be out soon. They were more than accommodating and knew I was serious. They told me not to worry about the timeline and to just do what I could. I agreed and went up to bed exhausted. At 6am I was  awakened by my uncle. This was unusual since it was Saturday morning. Uncle George said that there was a police officer outside that wanted to talk with me.

In a sleepy groggy mess I stumbled outside. The officer pointed to my little Honda Civic and asked if that was my car. I replied “yes what seems to be the problem?” He said you may want to take a look inside your car. I walked over to the car looked inside and there was nothing in it. I looked down the street and there were a few of my clothing items laying around. I fell to my knees. Everything I owned was in that car. Clothes, all my notes from school, my tools for work… everything. I was crushed. I just wanted to jump in my car and head back home. But I did not……… To be continued….