Are you a slave to the grind?

Sebastian, formerly of Skid Row, and I in partying at 10 Ave Cafe in New York City on October 14, 2000 – after his performance in Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway.

It was the summer of 1992, and I was living in Michigan, commuting from Flint to Howell for work (about 45 minutes each way) – when the song hit, and instantly spoke to me…

Sebastian screamed (in the absolutely killer way he does):

“You got me forced to crack my lids in two…  I gotta punch the clock that leads the blind…  I’m just another gear an assembly line…”

Boom – just like that, the seed was planted –

“I can do so much better than this, there’s a whole life out there that I’m not living because I feel like I’m a ‘Slave to the Grind’“, I thought.

It was 3 years later, on my birthday in 1995, when my ideas & thoughts finally became a plan, and I took action.  For the very first time in my life, I went out on my own, and formed my very first company – “Internet Services of Michigan, Inc.” or ISMI (IS-ME was how our customers pronounced it).

I remember knowing it was definitely the right thing to do, however, I was scared out of my mind…

Thoughts like “What if this fails? I’m married, I own a house, I have all sorts of  responsibilities — there’s hardly a margin for error with this endeavor, and, to top it all off, I need to come up with a lot of additional capital!” kept me up at night.

To make a long story short, we grew from 1 dial-up Internet user in August of 1995, to 10,000 in October of 2000 – we completely exceeded our goals, our wildest imagination of where ISMI could go and how many people we could help along the way.

We helped over 1500 businesses get on the Internet – through creating web sites for them, helping them connect their computers & computer networks, and training them how to efficiently use the Internet with our “Guaranteed to Succeed” classes.

We also went from 2 (my wife, at the time, and I) to 15 employees, and –

9 Years ago today, ISMI was acquired, and at the young age of 29, I retired.

As you probably know, that “retirement” didn’t last too long — special thanks to one of my good friends, and long-time mentor, Terry Brady for pointing out that he knew it wouldn’t.

During the startup of ISMI in 1995 and 1996, almost everytime I felt weak, scared or anxious, I cranked up my theme song “Slave to the Grind“, and felt the energy, excitement and “can-do” attitude rush throughout my body.

As far back as I can remember, music did more than inspire me, it prompted me to act.  Music has played many roles in helping me through some of life’s heftiest roadblocks –

For example, the making of, and starring in, this music video – yes that’s me with long hair – when I was 18, did an unbelievable job of helping me through a really tough time with my parents divorce, specifically the feeling of my dad abandoning us, and me having to become “man of the house”. – Special Thanks to Taime Downe & Faster Pussycat for the beautiful song “House of Pain“!)

So, with all of this being said, do you feel like you are a slave to the grind?

If you have those feelings at all, and feel like there’s something better for you (especially if you have a vision of what you’d like to do!) – feel free to call me directly (239) 822-2314, or contact me.  I’d love to talk to you about it.

As you probably know, my biggest passion is helping people reach their goals – personally, and professionally.

Incidentally, music isn’t my only source of inspiration, I love to read (and yes, I love my Kindle!) – here’s a few books I reread frequently that help focus on the idea that life’s a gift, and a journey — not a destination. Thanks Mom – everytime I say that I hear your voice.

• The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch [Amazon] [Video]
• The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz [Amazon]
• Harmonic Wealth – James Arthur Ray [Amazon]

A huge THANK YOU to the customers, friends, family, and most importantly, the ISMI Team (many of which are with me today at Internet Services Group!) who made Internet Services of Michigan, Inc. (IS ME!) the success that it was.  I wouldn’t be writing this if it wasn’t for each and everyone of you!

Here’s to loving life, and enjoying the journey!

Have a great day!

Charly

PS – This blog post was partially inspired by Sandy Ramseth’s excellent question, and its responses, in Facebook on Thursday at 6pm: