Wisdom flows from Tennyson Taggart like a font of cool water. It’s unbelievable how much time he spends honing and putting his own set of principles into action. His own clarity of purpose and vision help this young man cast an eye toward a successful future.
“My life goal is to take humanity from the age of information to the age of wisdom to, ultimately, an age of enlightenment,” Taggart said. “I came to this realization while reading ‘Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success’ by Napoleon Hill, where it is dangerous to give someone information when they don’t have any wisdom information.
“We are so saturated with information that we are not being benefitted by information. Today, we can solve any problem by using the Internet.”
His views of life and reality have been formulated through successes and challenges.
“I’m focusing on principles and foundations,” Tennyson, 23, said. “I find things we’re not focused upon. My goal is to help make those principles appeal to people.”
But his personal foundation took a major hit, causing him to look at everything – including his life – differently.
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Tennyson Taggart was born in Oren, Utah, the third of eight children for Daniel and Michelle Taggart. He was raised as a Mormon and served a two-year mission trip in Peru. At this time, though, Tennyson considers himself more spiritual than religious.
“During my time away, I looked at things happening with the intention of learning ‘the truth’ about it all and, while I loved what I learned during that time, it is not something I do any longer,” he said. “I’m still a spiritual person in my life.”
One would look at his life – son of a father who co-founded Ancestry.com in 1997, sold it for $1.6 million privately and was chief executive officer of CubbyCode Inc. and Kringles Toys and Gifts – and think he’s got it made easy.
Nothing could be further from the truth as his world, as he knew it, came crashing down in 2016.
According to the Daily Herald newspaper in Provo, Utah, Daniel Taggart was sentenced on four third-degree felony charges for molesting two teenage girls. Daniel Taggart, 52, has 3½ years left on his prison sentence.
“I was 22 years old when this happened…the lowest point of my life,” Tennyson said. “I was just home back in the States for six months after having been in Peru.”
When asked about his father’s actions, Tennyson didn’t back down.
“I know that at least one charge about his alcohol use is true,” he said, stating that the sentence was a plea bargain. “I do not believe that any of the other charges or accusations occurred. If you were as close as I was to the situation and know the girls involved, my family and my father – my sister was present during these alleged acts…there’s a continuation of trust and reason.
“My father, more or less, has said that he made a horrible mistake caused by horrible decisions. But he said that he would never dream of touching a girl and he never did it. He regrets allowing them to drink alcohol in their home.”
The family had to sell off pretty much everything – including the family home in Highland, Utah, where Tennyson lived until December 2016 – to pay legal and court costs.
Having all of this happen sent Tennyson spiraling downward, yet he soon found a path toward his own entrepreneurial journey.
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Some people have remained connected to Taggart’s parents. One of those is Mike Wolfgramm, president of Atomic Ventures, a venture capitalist company, and a friend of the couple.
“I had just returned from my mission trip when the company had opened an office in Peru and we talked about it, but it didn’t work out,” Tennyson said of an internship opportunity Wolfgramm offered him. “So we just stopped talking.
“A month ago, Mike was speaking with my mother and my name came up in conversation. He offered an internship here at their Utah office. I’ve now established myself in one of the companies they are currently bringing to profitability.”
Taking advantage of the opportunity given him, Tennyson has found it as a jumping-off point. Why, though? Three key factors played a role.
“One, quitting a 9-to-5 job for the fifth time when finding myself incapable of working in that manner helped move me along,” he said. “Two, grasping a personal recovery of who I’ve always known I am – before I was subdued and depressed after my father’s arrest – and coming out of it discovering myself. Three, taking the knowledge that I had gained from being the son of a wise entrepreneur and connections I was able to make. It’s been a slow epiphany over months.”
Part of this epiphany is filming his journey on a YouTube channel and becoming active again on Facebook.
“You have all these people who say they have ‘done it’ to reach their success,” Tennyson said. “I am documenting my failing as a framework for everyone.”
When asked why he’s doing this, Tennyson brought up a significant name.
“Consider this: What if, like, Steve Jobs (of Apple) had done this? It’s a way for me to have unique integrity versus those who have not reached it,” he said. “I’m documenting my learning process. This shows my effort behind the effort to all. It’s the best way that I can help people.
“People don’t really believe something until they feel it,” he continued. “It’s kind of like relationships. A girl says ‘I don’t know that you love me,’ yet a guy will say ‘I tell you every day that I love you,’ and she responds ‘But I don’t feel it.’”
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Tennyson has an intense desire to share his experiences, saying he has the ability to improve upon what already existed. “I discovered the key to solving my depression, then I developed a vision to help others,” he said. “I had the empowerment that I can and will accomplish anything. It’s become cliché to say such a thing.
“Within me, I have the ambition to change things on a global scale.”
This focus, drive, and intention all return to Hill’s book.
“For one, his very similar belief in focusing on principles and what their effect has on reality struck me,” he said. “If it happens, then it works. It’s all about the power of correct principles.
“Literature has had those effects on my life. It has changed my perspective on my life. With one book, one idea, it completely changed my life. It’s such an inspiration to me. Hill would be the first man I would attribute to bringing an age of wisdom shift to the world. I want to pick up that torch.”
One paraphrased principle which sticks closely to Tennyson’s heart from Hill’s work is that every negative occurrence contains within it a seed of equal or greater opportunity.
“I hope people will be able to apply principles and changes to their lives,” he added. “I will still try to help people with anything in their lives. I don’t want people to feel like I am too aloof. I’ll try to help them.”
Photo courtesy of Tennyson Taggart
Very inspiring Real life story of how Think & Grow Rich can change one man’s destiny…