My Story
From the desk of Isaac Tobelen- Small Business Owner and Entrepreneur
Dear friend,
I am about to share with you some very personal information with the intent that my story gets to you heart. Why? Because the one thing that moves us to make changes in our lives is a FEELING. It can be a feeling of pain, discomfort, or pleasure, but we (human beings) for the most part always make a decision based on how we feel about a certain person, product or service. I hope to be able to spark that sense of emotion and feeling to inspire you to do greater things.
As I am writing to you today, I am 29 years old. I have been married for 7 years to my beautiful wife Maria and we have an amazing dog by the name of Teddy. (You can see picture on Facebook) We live in what we think is one of the most beautiful and magical cities in the world, Miami. I have bee living in Miami for over 20 years now, since my parents immigrated to the U.S back in 1992 (we’ll get into that story shortly).
Today I (we) have 3 businesses.
1. Our primary business which we launched back in 2007 with my wife. The name is Enlightened Health, LLC. It’s a Holistic Wellness Center where we cater to people that are seeking an alternative to the conventional wisdom of medicine. My wife is Board Certified Acupuncture Physician with a specialization in Functional Medicine concentrating on Thyroid conditions. My wife is the physician and I am in charge of business operations, i;e marketing, sales, etc. We have a very interesting dynamic and it works.Our mission here is to help people achieve optimal health so that they may go on to pursue their purpose.
2. Our second business which is in it’s infant state is My Guardian Angel. It is an internet based business where we sell hand made baby gifts. This business was inspired after Maria’s grandmother’s passing back in 2008. The mission of this company is to send a message of love, hope, compassion, faith, protection and acknowledgement via beautifully hand crafted wooden angels that represent each of one these 6 sentiments. It is our mission to spread this message world wide in an effort to make this world a better place by instilling this values and principles in the children of the world.
3. And finally, IKE Enterprises. Another internet based business dedicated to helping people ascend to levels in their lives, they never thought possible. Through proper mentorship, tools and resources needed for this New Economy Era that we live in. We live in a world where information has become the “new currency”, having the right information at the right time, can take anyone to places they never thought possible.
I feel very proud of what we have accomplished at a young age and although I am only 29, getting to this point in my life has not come without a hefty price, and I have to take a moment to thank God for giving me the courage, strength and wisdom to keep pushing forward.
You see, I was born in Peru, and at the young age of 2 my parents emigrated to Israel. My dad had great job opportunity in a chemical engineering company and so he took it. We lived in Israel until 1990 and came to the U.S shortly before the events of the Gulf War started.
I was 9 when we came to states. I remember my first “real” American food experience was a hash brown and a Big Mac from McDonalds right out of the JFK Airport in New York. It was a hot and humid August day and boy was I enjoying that burger as we were waiting to board our plane to our final destination…Miami. We arrived in Miami on August 12, 1990. And so our new lives begin.
Not being able to go back to school because he had a family to support, my father started a business with my mother. My mom had studied fashion design back in Israel therfore the obvious business idea was to start a clothing manufacturing company. Both my parents started working together, and slowly but surely their business started growing. (Mind you this was during the 1990′s when manufacturing was booming and the Chinese had not started replicating products like they were going out of style).
Growing up in a family of business owners I got to experience a lot of GREAT things and a lot of HORRIBLE things. Thanks to the fact that my parents had a business, they were always present at all my events. Growing up I aspired to be a soccer player. My parents were at almost every single game, traveling with me on weekend for club soccer and watching me play varsity soccer in high school. Having may parents there was probably the biggest gift they ever gave me.
But not everything was unicorn and rainbows. Growing up, I saw my parents fight…. fight…. and fight some more. Can you guess about what? You bet, MONEY.
It was never enough, even though they were making a VERY comfortable living compared to the average middle class American. For years this was the same topic of arguments and family confrontations. Until one day, my parents finally separated. I was 22 at that time, and you would think that I was old enough where it didn’t affect me or my younger sister, but it did.
For years my perception about money and what it can cause was all negative. Due to the experience I had with my family. Until I met my wife, Maria. She comes from a very humble family where both parents worked to make ends meet. Yet you know what’s ironic? They always had enough to help those around them. That’s when I started having a different perspective about money and things slowly started to change.
Thanks to my wife, I learned the value of believing in a higher power, in my case God. I learned the value of giving without expecting anything in return, and most importantly I learned the value of having real faith. It’s not enough to say you believe, but you must show it by acting out of faith. This is a very complex topic to speak about and I am not here to impose my beliefs in you, but rather it is my responsibility to share my experiences in the most authentic way as possible if I want to help anyone.
Between the ages of 18 and 24 I jumped from industry to industry. I sold financial services products, I sold Real Estate, I sold Mortgages, I sold wireless services, I sold and manufactured Clothing. I have done many things without actually succeeding. During those times I perceived my self as a failure. But what I didn’t realize what that all those things were preparing me for something greater.
In 2004 I got married to my wife at the young age of 22. Between 22-24 I drove my wife crazy with all the career changes. I was looking for my passion. Between the ages of 24-25 my wife had the vision of starting her own business ( remember she is a Holistic medicine physician) and so we did. For 3 years we ate dirt but we learned a lot.
Those 3 years were extremely difficult. From major debt, to not knowing how we were going to pay our monthly rent for the business. But those were the years we learned the most. As a couple we have always been committed to each other first. We clearly understand that if we are committed to each other, we can tackle head on ANY challenge. And that is exactly how we broke through those 3 years of school of hard knocks.
In 2010 things finally started happening, paid off debt, business is growing and we finally see the light. We are empowered now by a greater vision and start My Guardian Angel and IKE Enterprises in early 2011.
Through the past years I have been in a search for my passion. When I met my wife I became a bit frustrated because she knew from day 1 what she wanted to do in life. She wanted to help people with their health. Some people find their passions quicker than others, in my case it has taken years. I have devoted the last 3 years to self discovery, educating my self and learning this very simple yet powerful truth of life (as I see it)…
The only way to really live the life you envision for yourself, family members and those you care for the most is by constantly increasing your personal worth. By learning something new, educating yourself about a brand new topic, learning new a skill set and working on your mindset you will add not only value to you as an individual but will have the ability to add value to those around you. This by default will lead you to a life of fulfillment, and isn’t that what most of us are aiming for?
That’s how this page was inspired. The notion that you can increase you personal worth and change your circumstances is very exciting, and I am eager to see what life holds for the both of us.
To your success,
Isaac Tobelen- Small Business Owner & Entrepreneur
