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I have started hundreds of projects over the years. Hundreds. And finished none of them or gave up on all of them.

In Middle School, I found a candy shop that sold bags of sour belts for 10 cents a bag. I'd buy $1 worth and sell 9 bags for $1 each to classmates.

In Junior High, I sold lyric sheets to classmates for $1 per song because Busta Rhymes and Twista rapped too fast and very few people had access to the internet, a computer, and a printer. I also "rented" out East Bay catalogs for $1 per day to fellow young sneakerheads for the same reasons. I had 3-4 copies of each magazine when a new sneaker dropped.

In High School I:

• Ran an invite-only forum called "Canarsie Headz" to keep the community tight-knit.
• Facilitated access to PlayStation 2 modding and games.
• Distributed (for free) a DVD series called Culture Shock, featuring Rap, R&B, and Reggae music from Japan.
• Hosted weekly Friday-to-Saturday game nights and tournaments with friends (MvC2, Smash, Narutimate Hero, Halo 2), recorded to DVD and uploaded to YouTube.

After high school, I kept the game nights going, fixed PCs in the neighborhood, and set up office networks for small businesses and homes until I landed a real job at Keyfood.

Through all of those years of not having money, then not having enough money, while fighting and succumbing to the urge to buy a camera in 2005 to vlog on YouTube (which "friends" shamed me out of), while hosting game nights and hanging out at arcades like Blimpees and Chinatown Fair. I always had the desire to expand the things I already did and enjoyed into a space I could share with everyone.

A game café.

It made sense, right? I can host tournaments. Viewing parties. Provide food and a safe inclusive environment for people to hang out. A home away from home. Or just an escape to socialize for a bit. And I get to manage all the tech myself!

And the name I wanted was tied to a game from my youth on SNES: Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension.

But HyperDimension.com was registered by a domain farm in 2001. I was four years too late and didn't have $500. So I gave up. Like I always did. I figured there was no way I could 1) come up with the money before someone else did, and 2) if I couldn't have that name, there was no point in continuing.

After finishing a massive camera and networking job and finally receiving payment, I did two things:

It was still for sale. The price had gone up to $5,000.

Not immediately, but eventually, I used my experience from supporting and setting up businesses, to set up the domain with WordPress, chose a template, and started writing. Slowly. Infrequently. But I did it. That was the most important step.

Then I had to figure out how to design a website when I can barely draw stick figures. I do not possess any artistic ability. But I can describe what I want. Even if I can't visualize it clearly, I know how it should feel.

AI has been a massive help. I drew a template of a website on paper, nothing spectacular, uploaded it to ChatGPT, and described the theme I was hoping for.

And in what can only be described as an oversimplification of the process, with AI and my past experience supporting graphic designers, software developers, and being a damned good IT Manager (toot toot), I understood the structure of websites and code—even if I couldn't write the syntax from scratch myself.

When AI lost context, generated something wrong, or created duplicate files, I could see why. I could call it out for correction. Even if I couldn't fix it directly, I could diagnose it. And here we are.

I've arrived at the beginning of my vision finally taking shape. And here, I have to make a vow:

Mainly because I don't have the money to do otherwise, I will continue using AI to help build this vision. But should Hyper Dimension ever start generating income:

• I will bring in human professionals to help scaffold, scale, and design it.
• I will not use AI to write monetizable articles.
• I will not use AI to create monetizable art.
• I will not use AI with the purpose of generating profit.

I will use AI as a tool to help keep my wandering mind focused, to align brainstorms into actionable steps, harness my ADHD as a weapon, and to help me build things I am capable of building. Quicker. I've done well managing it over the years.