At the age of two, we stuck a computer in front of our son and said, "Here, you can't tear it up. Try every button and have fun." He first met "Reader Rabbit", a Disney software character, who led him down the proverbial rabbit hole where he discovered his love of all things high-tech. While he was supposed to be learning phonics from this rabbit who threw random letters on the screen, Joey learned color schemes, layout and effective user interfaces. He just didn't know it at the time. Knowledge of all things computerized came quick. By the age of ten, he was banned from on-line gaming for real world trading and turned to building
his own web-site. His toys had turned into capital purchases and were no longer the kind you can share with the neighborhood kids. By the age of sixteen, he had an established DJ business and was playing for private parties and corporate functions around the state. Cheerleaders discovered his ability to mix music and soon started arriving at our doorstep for Joey to crank out original dance tracks. Joey discovered that cheerleaders were nice customers to have around and that business segment thrived. One Friday night, when I thought we were attending a football game to hear the music he had provided, I noticed my son out on the field with the coaches, filming the oncoming players. He had no permission to be there, but he learned early that nobody questions a kid with a camera in hand. He used his skills learned from one Reader Rabbit to create a "Media" badge and soon was spending every game out on the field capturing great shots of our team. He was preparing the music for the cheerleaders before the game and getting paid. He was filming the players and editing great plays for college application videos and getting paid. And then he was DJing the after game dances and once again, getting paid. This kid can figure out more ways to make money in a single night than I once made babysitting all summer long.

Someone asked me one time, "How does he know how to do all of this?" I think it's because he learned early that we trusted him with the tools placed in his hands. And of course, he figured out that girls, in front of the camera, love the guy behind the camera. That helps, too.
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