Once upon a time there was a young man, but not just any ordinary young man. This young man from his earliest memories was inquisitive and curious about his world, always fascinated with how things worked and what was just around the corner. He explored his world by dismantling household objects and putting them back together, with varied amounts of success, but always increasing his knowledge along the way. Much to the dismay of his saintly patient mother, some things were not put back together in a functional manner; nonetheless, she encouraged his exploration. Her patience and encouragement would follow him into adulthood, along with his drive, ability to assimilate knowledge quickly, and the willingness to explore. His father, a prominent encourager as well, was a hardworking and conscientious man with old fashioned values and iron-clad work ethic. He worked tirelessly to provide for and enrich his family--taking the time to instill these principles in the young man; to this day, these are still the values under-girding the young man's life.
To encourage and nurture his interests, his father worked side-by-side with the young man to build the family's first computer. Using only basic tools and a manual far above his reading level, the young man was able to build this machinery with minimal help from his father. From this immense accomplishment, his attention and focus became heightened--the beginning seeds of his passion for computers.
Shortly thereafter in the young man's life video games were becoming prevalent, and his naturally curious mind spent hours upon hours exploring them, despite the urging of his parents to pursue other endeavors. In attempts to enact change, his father put a switch inside the television that would allow him to turn it off; this switch was behind a locked panel at the rear of the television. His father was the only person with the key and he was not going to budge on his position, so the young man pondered hard on an alternative to his plight. The result was a complete rewiring of the television while his father was absent for the day, which allowed him to continue to play his video games. The surprise on his father's face as he looked first at the key in his hand, and then to his brilliant 8yr old son sitting cross-legged on the floor playing his game (with a smirk mind you), was a silent victory for the young man.
But as is often the case, the teen years bring challenges and an unavoidable tension between authority, burgeoning adolescents, and their subsequent adulthood. During this period of time the young man had become engaged in online gaming with multiple players, often being awake into the wee hours of the morning on school nights. Friction began when the young man's parents began to systematically turn off their internet in attempts to shape healthier habits in their young son; as is characteristic of the young man, he was able to find loopholes and adaptations. During his time in online gaming, he was asked to build a website for the team he'd become a part of, but had only dealt with the hardwire components. Upon this request, he began to learn more of the internal workings--html coding, software applications, web design, and the programs that make this possible, etc.--learning everything he could to make the website a success. There was no turning back, computers were in his blood and there was nothing able to avert him from pursuing this course.
From this experience his parents began to respect and utilize the knowledge and persistence their young son had garnered, with the realization that the best means of relationship preservation was not outright opposition, but rather a cooperative partnership. The young man would go on to develop his interests into computers, in much the same way he'd always explored his world--delving into them, dismantling them, looking at and touching every last inch, and continuously learning of their inner workings. Paring his natural skills and abilities, he turned his hobby, into a passion, and ultimately into a career.
Invoking the cooperative partnership, he was the person his parents turned to when any of their electronics, household technology, and computers malfunctioned--this is still the case today. In their home and in their lives, he was affectionately referred to as "their tekki". In an overheard conversation, his mother proudly stated to a friend making suggestions about computer repairs, simply "I'll let my tekki handle it". From this simple statement, and much encouragement from his father, came the inspiration for what is now MyTekki, LLC, a young successful IT consulting firm, started by the young man. This young man is named Mike Daniels--my friends, I urge you to shake his hand and hear the details for yourself.
Stories of greatness always begin with a question and the willingness to search until the answer is found.
