In 2011, all I needed was a letter of recommendation from my advisor at the time to get into Columbia University's PhD Program which is Ivy League. He Refused!!! I was hurt to say the least. I sacrificed guaranteed acceptance offers of a PhD based on a promise from him. He wanted me to get a higher score on an exam to get into the school, but didn't tell me until a month before the test was due. With the short turn around time there was no way I could get the score necesarry. I was ready to quit the pursuit of a PhD.
While riding the train weeks later, I realized I was lacking motivation and needed to turn things around. But how? No one was pushing me to get a PhD in the first place. I simply understood that if a Doctor title could be had by someone, then why not me? I came up with the concept Me O'clock. It would be a proclamation and reminder to myself to never give up. I put the "Me" Inside watches at first. Then I moved into clothing. The whole time I created it to keep myself going, not realizing it could inspire so many others. No matter what state or country I brought Me O'clock to, people gravitated to the concept. Stories and articles were soon being written about the company allowing me to meet amazing people.
Some of the people I met helped connect me to a new advisor at Columbia doing different research. I eventually earned my PhD and Doctor title under his guise.
I had no experience running a business, but something told me to build it and luckily it helped lead you here to reading this article. Funny how things are connected. There is more to this story that I will eventually share, just give me some time :)