Perseverance is something that’s usually taught. Whether it’s from childhood experiences, past failures, or external sources of motivation, being able to push through challenges and come out successful on the other side is a tremendously important skill to possess. But for Quinton Heck, he’s learned the virtue of perseverance through something much more involved and unique: being accepted to the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
He’s spent months at a time away from his friends and family aboard US vessels as part of his cadet training. The training is intensive and takes years to complete, and Heck has learned how to dig deep inside of himself to find a new level of motivation and courage to continue working hard. When he was introduced to the idea of entrepreneurship through a fellow engineer aboard the vessel, Heck knew that he was going to be able to put his persevering, relentless mindset to work and pursue a venture of his own.
He landed on ecommerce as his first venture, and it was a bumpy ride. His first several attempts at becoming profitable came up short, and they only served as fuel for him to work harder than ever. After a few years of setbacks and trial and error, Heck finally landed on a profitable website.
While it seems simple, continuing to work relentlessly at something even when success is nowhere in sight is something that requires a tremendous amount of courage and guts. In a situation where many in his position could’ve easily given in and decided to move on, Heck never lost the hunger he had when he first learned of entrepreneurship aboard the vessel all of those months ago.
Today, Heck is focused on launching his own creative media agency to assist companies with photography, videography, marketing, website development, and ecommerce. While Heck was passionate about making his initial venture in ecommerce a success, he’s always been passionate about photography and will put his full energy and attention into the venture. His goal is to assemble a small team of other creators who share his same passions and work ethic, and it’ll be no surprise when the company is a massive success as the combined effort of people similar in nature to Heck will be a force to be reckoned with.
Heck doesn’t believe in luck, but rather in preparation. He thinks the most successful people were never solely lucky in becoming successful, but rather spent months or even years preparing before their strike of luck appeared. For Heck, the preparation has been there for years- now it’s time to become a massive success.