Growing up in Tallahassee, Florida I never met a single software entrepreneur. Not once. I’d read Inc. magazine religiously and dream of being a full-time, successful tech entrepreneur, but my ambitions were limited to simply being successful. After selling Pardot, dozens of people asked if I expected that level of success. My answer was always the same: I wanted to build a great company, with great people, and whatever happens is fine. There was no goal. There was no desired financial outcome.
Over the years, I’ve come to understand and believe in the power of seeing someone else achieve something, and believing it too is possible. Of course, this happens all the time in sports (look at the rise of women Russian tennis players). When you meet someone successful in person, or see them at a local event, you realize that they aren’t that different from anyone else. Just by seeing a successful person, you believe even more that you can do it as well.
The old adage “seeing is believing” is true, especially for entrepreneur ambitions. When you drive down the road and see that big logo of a startup on the side of a building, it becomes more attainable. When you walk down the hall at the Atlanta Tech Village and see multiple entrepreneurs with millions of recurring revenue, it becomes more attainable.
Seeing is believing. Connect with successful entrepreneurs and the impossible becomes that much more achievable.
David Cummings on Startups 
Mr. Cummings, THANK YOU for writing this piece. I can’t even begin to articulate how this resonated with me and validates the work I do each and every day to ensure young people have a vision for themselves and their futures. My organization exists because of principled entrepreneurs like yourself that serve as examples of what students can achieve in the entrepreneurship space. Happy Holidays!