The puzzle that most likely caused me to become an entrepreneur.......
It looked something like this.....
From my earliest days as the middle child of three siblings, I have been a problem solver. It started with trying to find solutions to calm family tensions. Hating conflict, I felt a deep responsibility to keep the family balanced lest it implode leaving me to fend for myself. However, one day under the age of 10, I found myself milling around the edges of an extended family holiday party. A brain teaser-type puzzle was making the rounds at the gathering, getting passed around from one adult to the next. They all tried to solve it. No one came close, so all of them began to agree, "It is impossible." When the last frustrated adult finally set it down on a side table, I slowly crept over and picked it up. I was trying to be inconspicuous, wanting to just find a place to hide so I could take a look at it. I was fascinated with the challenge. All I can remember is that within 60 seconds I somehow solved it. I was too embarrassed to admit it. Just then an uncle glanced over, seeing what I had done he began pointing me out to everyone else. I was overwhelmed when the adults began to press on me asking repeatedly, "How did you do that?" I had never seen the puzzle before. I had no idea, I just had an intuition, an ability to feel the right outcome. It felt like I had performed magic. I have never forgotten that moment, it became part of my family lore. It is the likeliest explanation that I have been able to surmise for why I have tended towards entrepreneurial pursuits, effectively becoming a professional problem solver as my life progressed....but who knows?