A 5-year-old boy, standing motionless in front a TV set on a rainy Sunday in 1986, was watching. He watched intently but seemed frustrated, almost as if trying to understand the constantly changing images and sounds. He couldn’t understand why the black car that he was so intently watching on the screen could drive itself and talk like human beings.
He had never seen anything like it before. He knew nothing except that people could only talk to each other. The car was a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, a black Pontiac Firebird Firebird Trans Am worth $100,000. It was custom-built to appear on Knight Rider, a Science Fiction TV series starring David Hasselhoff.
It was meant to be a high-tech artificial intelligence-equipped vehicle capable of preventing accidents, driving itself and maintaining a human conversation (good ol’ science fiction as Elon Musk would say, right?). It was used to support the main character, who fought crime and protected innocents.
Scott, the little boy, was next to his grandfather. He couldn’t help but notice that Scott’s eyes were wider than usual when he stared at the car. His grandfather also noticed how quiet he listened to the car speak, almost as if it were whispering one of life’s most precious secrets into him. That rainy September afternoon in 1982 was the day that this little boy discovered his true passion: technology.
Herbert, his grandfather, was an experienced surgeon who had decided to immigrate from the Philippines to the U.S. in the early 1970’s. He had been referred by a colleague to a hospital in Louisville. He was able to start his own American practice and raise a family with his beloved wife Amparo.
Herbert, Scott’s grandfather.
Their children went on to become doctors, which made him proud. He cherished the opportunity to mentor and share his passion with his children.
He didn’t think Scott should be forced to study medicine that afternoon as he watched his little grandson. He felt the need to nurture his grandson’s curiosity, even though it meant he wouldn’t become a doctor.
Herbert had been interested in technology for a while. Herbert was well aware of the potential of technology and had invested a significant portion of his savings in Apple, IBM and other companies. Before stocks rose to places higher than Philippe Petit’s, he walked backwards and forwards across the top of the World Trade Center in 1974 on a steel wire thinner that one of Scott’s arms.
He was always looking out for his grandson and knew that preparing for the rise of technology would give him an advantage in the future. Herbert knew that hard work was the best way to achieve success. He had seen it in his own life and realized that Scott was not going to get everything he wanted. Herbert nurtured his grandson’s enthusiasm, encouraged him in his passion, and motivated him to learn as if nothing was beyond his grasp.
Fast forward a few more years and we are at the turn of the century. Scott was a high school student in electronics and technical drafting. He even took a computer repair class to feed his passion for technology.
He was laser-focused on his goal to pursue a technical degree and worked hard to improve his skills so that he could hit the ground running in college. He would be able make more of his time and not waste it trying to figure out how to get there.
Scott enrolled at UNLV in fall 1999 and began his degree in Management of Information Systems. He started his freshman year by working as a support specialist in a small call center. This was where he realized that he needed to obtain technical certificates and awards to be able to pursue a career within IT.
Scott was forced to work full-time to pay tuition. His mother couldn’t afford it, and his parents split. He took six years to complete his degree. He became an Internet Technician within a medium-sized business called Priority Networks in 2005. There he worked for 2 years installing and managing internet connectivity at large conventions.
He was then promoted to Junior Network Engineer at a Cisco training boot camp for 5 years. It was a similar experience to NexGenT, but without the online platform. He was able to become the Network Engineer at a medical company in just seven years.
Scott made the huge mistake over the years of prioritizing his professional and personal growth over the companies he worked for. Scott would even go so far as to put an extra ten hour per week to troubleshoot, so that his companies wouldn’t have to hire more personnel and thus save money. His bosses loved and respected him. ).
He had the work ethic, motivation, passion, and was extremely proactive in solving problems. He wasn’t growing. He believed this was the best way to move up in the industry. It took a long time.
It seemed that other people were moving faster than him, as if he were running for hours on a treadmill while his peers walked on smooth ground. He realized that he should be focusing his efforts on learning new skills, rather than fixing and troubleshooting problems.
