The stretch to become a reputable icon in the internet community is not easy. One requires skills and motivation in order to get the job done. Not only that, but the confidence that you can get the job done is the most important key.

If you’re a small business, and you really want to make it work, it takes all of your time and patience. It takes 100% undivided attention to it because it’s your job. IF you are not making the money to sustain a living, then every day is your job, and you will have to strive to make it work. It’s almost a Spartan challenge, but it is a challenge I am willing to take.

I’ve been working in retail for 8 years — ever since I was 14. I had finished High School and I had thought on going to college. I probably completed about 1.5 years worth of college working towards a Computer Science degree, when work overcame my energy, and it became again the focus of my life. Because work is the only means of making money, I was tied to it with dedication. The other option would of course be that I would have no money to operate with.

I have something to fall back on now. I can hardly believe it, but I’ve been working at Publix for almost two years. It only seems like yesterday that I started working there. I’m 22 now and I honestly don’t know where the time went. Work had consumed ALL of my time. It’s not that it was a good or bad job, but because it required so much of my attention that my entire life revolved around this.

And then I realized that this was bad.

I was becoming subjected to surviving in a poor economy with a day-to-day job. I then realized that there were many other ways of making money while still being happy with what you do. I decided to stop work and become a self-proclaimed Independent Game Designer. I have a little bit of money to work with, and if done right, I could be a success.

The other side of the spectrum warrants failure, which IS NOT AN OPTION. There is no way that I will fail at this because it is the very fabric of my life. Although I was a retail associate for so many years, working the hourly wage, I was most respected for my art and creativity. But where does that take you in “blue-collar” work?

I take a look at my life, and I see that there really isn’t anything to show for it. I started feeling enraged that I was going no where. College was not an option because I knew I wouldn’t have the drive to finish it. It also was very costly. But I live alone (or with my cousin-roommate). I can do whatever I want to do because I have the control to change where I live, what I do, and how I make my money.

So it hit me dead square in the eyes. I knew what was supposed to happen. Why not just start now? Why not just start working as a small business and make money from the skills you possess? I already knew enough to sustain a business, and there are also a vast array of free tools I can use to get started. Investments are cheap. The initial startup is hard (very hard) but once I’m on top of that hill, I’ll be crying with happiness and pride at how far I had become. All for doing the things I love.

Creativity can be a very rewarding thing if you are persistent. The Internet also helps outsource your name. So, combining the two, I will work hard to become a name people will know by. I will work from the bottom up and create a foundation so that I can live happily and not be tied to a job forever.

THAT IS MY DREAM, AND I WILL START NOW.