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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 6 months working at Keyfood and continuing small business office network buildouts, I landed a job at Geek Squad at the newly opened Kings Plaza Brooklyn location (yep, that long ago). I started as a Consultation Agent but quickly learned and covered most of the roles. I even had an opportunity to fill in as DCI (Deputy of Counter Intelligence) for a few weeks while our supervisor was out on vacation.

I also learned that we weren't utilizing the systems properly to reflect the actual work we did on a day-to-day basis, and started implementing them. I checked in every person that approached the desk, created tickets, and closed them out with appropriate codes. This also gave them survey and feedback opportunities.

I led NPR and won Geek Squad MVP 3 straight quarters, then won Best Buy Employee of the Year.

It was a fun 13 months. But after being passed over for a full-time position, then simultaneously being asked to cancel my pre-approved first trip to Japan due to an "oversight" 3 months prior, it was time to depart.

Months later I started at an IT consulting firm where I got my first experience with corporate IT: a bespoke architectural, engineering, interior and exterior design firm. I was the Desktop/Hardware guy. I built and deployed my first server.

1 month in, the Jr. Networking Engineer was let go. I learned switch management and how to terminate Cat5 cables. 3 months in, my supervisor was also let go. Help Desk and general support are mine now, I guess.

I was also given another client 1 day a week for in-person support (I went there on my lunch breaks), but remote for general Help Desk, while at the main client.

I learned that we were losing Main Client when they offered me $55k to stay on as their lead tech. I was making $13 an hour. My boss threatened to sue if I entertained it. I stayed. But the years that followed came with more growth than I would have gotten if I stayed with Main Client.

I stayed for 3 years. 9 concurrent clients and finally got a raise to ✨$35k✨. But my support portfolio had grown exponentially: real estate management and development, architectural, engineering, design, social media management, and software engineering. I consider that I gained 27 years of experience during this time at those companies.

I handled that volume of remote and in-person support, closing roughly 60 tickets per week while being on-site or in the field 5 days a week. I now know that my ADHD-C contributed to this success.

It was time to ask for a raise. $55k. What I was offered 3 years ago, but at that moment, considered industry standard.

The response?

To which I replied...

3 weeks later I resigned and he offered me exactly what I was asking to keep me on board. I declined. I found my voice. I learned what I was willing to tolerate in that moment. I knew the value I brought and what it was worth, and I sought my next assignment.

The next two jobs were opportunities to enter a space where there wasn't a dedicated IT presence. The first of those two jobs gave me the salary I asked for. I had the opportunity to bring them up to standards and exceed them. Create great foundations that are still currently in place and automate where possible. I also got my first promotion to IT Manager.

Milestone. Validation.

This led me to create my own consulting business where I now go into small businesses and fix their entire ITSM structure. Out with the old, in with the new: innovative, sustainable solutions. It satisfies my need to fix things to fight off stagnation.

These opportunities helped me land the biggest job to date: 36 cameras, 15 access points, 168TB of NVR storage, 3,000 feet of Cat6, 3 locations, 4 days of work, and a maintenance contract at the end.

After finishing that 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.