At sixty-four years old, I am at peace, yet the struggle continues. The intensity of youthful ambition has ebbed. I find the quest now more refined. The angst of youth, the passion that drives one to push forward toward success, has waned, yet the desire to create is strong, smooth like a river it flows pushing me forward.
My challenge for the past thirty years was to create and sell computer peripherals to resellers, retailers, and e-commerce sites around the world. It was a formidable challenge and an extraordinary adventure. Our team, a small group of hard-working individuals, created several first-in-the-world products. To name a few, we created the first OHCI Firewire host card, called the PYRO card, which captured video from a DV camcorder, recording the video to a PC. Firewire also supported external hard drives. In addition, we created the world’s first video to USB hardware MPEG-2 encoder device, called Instant DVD, which allowed users to convert VHS tapes to DVD disks. We also created the world’s first RDS radio for the PC and was awarded a patent for this technology. RDS or Radio Data System is the technology that displays radio station call letters and song titles on your car radio.
My company, ADS Technologies, may not have been a household brand name, but I am proud of what we achieved.
Working with distributor partners, we sold these and other products around the world. I am proud of the devices we developed and the sales we achieved, but more than anything, I’m proud to know the people we worked with around the world are still friends.
Today, my goal has changed. My desire is to write and tell stories. Someday I might write, “Adventures in Business!” There are some exciting stories I can tell. Don’t you just love an old man who loves to tell stories. Once he gets started, you can’t shut him up. That’s me.
I’m still learning the craft of writing. Creating a novel is a process of drafting, editing, fixing, re-writing, editing again, getting feedback from editors and beta readers, then refining the work until you’ve created a manuscript you hope the reader will enjoy. It’s not easy, and for me, it’s a slow process.
I am focused on quality, and that takes time. My desire is to deliver end products that are the best I can produce. I’m not saying I write best sellers, or that I’ll produce the next great american novel, but I endeavor to publish books I am proud to share.
My life has been one of arduous work, which included wonderful adventures. At sixty-four, I hope to travel, continue to work a bit, and author novels that captivate readers.