A Letter To You, My Fans.
Why can I call you my fans? You don't even know me, or if you do you certainly know I'm not famous, rich, or a widely renowned professional. Nope, I'm just a teenager living a few miles outside of Boston who's good at a couple of things; maybe even talented! Yet while I'm not Ashton Kutcher, Mark Zuckerberg or someone else who you might regard as famous, I still address this letter to my fans.
Now, I want to thank you for supporting me. More importantly, I want to thank you for believing in me. Why did you support and believe in me? You don't know what I've accomplished and you don't know what my goals are. You don't know where I want to be in ten years. Heck, maybe you didn't know a I existed until you landed on this website. But here I am, thanking you.
When I was four years old I sat down at the computer and taught myself everything. My parents didn't influence me, I just did it. This is my gift. It enabled me to get ahead of the game and many of the young entrepreneurs I speak with have a similar story. I quickly developed a passion for everything technological and became interested in video, then web design and then programming. This is not a gift, simply a combination of passion and practice. I'm breifly telling you this story to emphasize that I'm just like every other teenager. My only gift is that I got a head start, the rest is just practice and passion.
I am a teen entrepreneur. I have the courage to 'think different' have been lucky enough to have the opportunities to execute on those thoughts. But I'm not the only one. I'm not special or different or extra talented or a child prodigy. There are thousands of us and on behalf of every teen who has the courage to embrace different thinking, I want to thank you for acknowledging us and believing that just because we are legally children, our ideas and executions are very adult.
Every teen can do what I do, or something else that interests them. Just like writers need to find their voice, I believe teens need to find their passion, and many do. But for those who are still searching for their passion, or those who have given up entirely, I encourage you to be a different thinker. Climb up to the edge of the box, stand on the edge and jump without looking back. The mindset you land in might enable you to create something different.
If you've already found your passion I'd like to encourage you to make a small difference in someone's life by showing them how you did it and how they can do it. The advice will not be lost on them, even if they don't act on it. Passion for something is not a gift and because you believe in me as a different thinker, believe in others as different thinkers, too. If you believe in someone, they just might surprise you.
Thank you again for taking a few minutes out of your day to read this letter. You can make a difference in someone's life by believing in them, their ideas and ultimately their success.
Now, I want to thank you for supporting me. More importantly, I want to thank you for believing in me. Why did you support and believe in me? You don't know what I've accomplished and you don't know what my goals are. You don't know where I want to be in ten years. Heck, maybe you didn't know a I existed until you landed on this website. But here I am, thanking you.
When I was four years old I sat down at the computer and taught myself everything. My parents didn't influence me, I just did it. This is my gift. It enabled me to get ahead of the game and many of the young entrepreneurs I speak with have a similar story. I quickly developed a passion for everything technological and became interested in video, then web design and then programming. This is not a gift, simply a combination of passion and practice. I'm breifly telling you this story to emphasize that I'm just like every other teenager. My only gift is that I got a head start, the rest is just practice and passion.
I am a teen entrepreneur. I have the courage to 'think different' have been lucky enough to have the opportunities to execute on those thoughts. But I'm not the only one. I'm not special or different or extra talented or a child prodigy. There are thousands of us and on behalf of every teen who has the courage to embrace different thinking, I want to thank you for acknowledging us and believing that just because we are legally children, our ideas and executions are very adult.
Every teen can do what I do, or something else that interests them. Just like writers need to find their voice, I believe teens need to find their passion, and many do. But for those who are still searching for their passion, or those who have given up entirely, I encourage you to be a different thinker. Climb up to the edge of the box, stand on the edge and jump without looking back. The mindset you land in might enable you to create something different.
If you've already found your passion I'd like to encourage you to make a small difference in someone's life by showing them how you did it and how they can do it. The advice will not be lost on them, even if they don't act on it. Passion for something is not a gift and because you believe in me as a different thinker, believe in others as different thinkers, too. If you believe in someone, they just might surprise you.
Thank you again for taking a few minutes out of your day to read this letter. You can make a difference in someone's life by believing in them, their ideas and ultimately their success.
Ben Paster