Meet Ariel M Scisney | Astropreneur, Author & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ariel M Scisney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ariel, how do you define success?
It has been said that an entrepreneur is the type of person who would rather be the captain of a rowboat than the first mate of a battleship. On the matter of success it has also been said that successful people are the kind that accomplish their goals, or maybe those who are remembered fondly and loved by others, or simply the people who are able to survive just one more day. I think that all of these aspects are true to a certain degree. With that in mind, what does success mean to an entrepreneur specifically?

I believe that freedom is the primary impetus that drives people to not only start and run their own businesses, but also to persist in the face of all adversity, until success is achieved. People who practice free enterprise yearn for freedom; freedom to think what they please, go where they please, say what they please, raise their families how they please, to live as they please. They refuse to be inhibited by financial debts, disease, or temporary failures, and instead of settling for mediocrity they strive for magnificence.

To me successful people are those that are not only loved, not only respected, nor merely remembered. More than that a successful person is one who refuses to succumb to despair, and instead chooses to get up and fight for their dreams. And it is in that daily fight that small everyday victories are achieved, which steadily add up to tremendous accomplishments over time.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, my professional career started off on an unusually high note, becoming more challenging (but also more rewarding) as time went on. I got my first job when I was 17, but unlike most of my peers who may have started in retail, fast food or in a trade job, I got my first gig working in a cushy government office within walking distance of my home for above minimum wage. This was especially unusual because I was working in the security, safety and law enforcement division of my Bureau, with security clearances and everything. I was only meant to have the job for one summer, but because I made an effort to always go the extra mile, they kept me on and transferred me to the HR department, where I would eventually get my own cubicle, helping job applicants and handling their sensitive information (including social security numbers). I did all this as a high school student taking advanced classes & doing community service via martial arts.

College was an even better situation. I worked all 3 years of my undergraduate studies in astrophysics at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, hosting private events such as kid’s birthday parties, working with local school groups, designing music shows, and giving lectures about the universe to the general public. This was absolutely a dream come true, since it was the planetariums in Lakewood and Denver respectfully that inspired me to study space in the first place. During that time I also had a second job grading and assisting with coding classes that I had previously taken, which allowed me to pay rent. It was only after graduating that my career began to go from peak to valley.

After college I moved to Massachusetts for a year, a thousand miles away from everyone and everything I had ever known, completely alone. During that time I had a paid summer internship at Harvard, where I did research on the origins of life. While that may sound impressive, what really made the experience worthwhile was the epiphany it gave me about my career path. After working on several scientific research projects, I realized the financial limitaitons that went along with that lifestyle. I realized that instead of applying for grants and constantly requesting funds to do my research, I wanted to be the one writing the grants. From there I began studying how people generate wealth.

For the first time I learned about business, investments, and passive income. During that year I published my first book, “Majesty In Monotony” to compile all the things I had learned to that point, and started a online business on the side. In order to pay the bills I again had to take on 2 jobs, one at the Planetarium in Boston, and one as a fast food cashier (AFTER getting a college degree). The latter was especially humbling, which honestly was why I applied to work there in the first place, and actually quite fun!

After coming back Colorado I worked a few odd jobs, including at a liquor store, grocery store, and in a marketing company where we would visit bulk retail stores and sell products at booths. Just as with all my jobs, I was always grateful for the opportunity to work, but I felt deep inside that my gifts needed to be used elsewhere. So, I decided to dive full-on into the world of entrepreneurship, starting my own tutoring company, thanks to which I have been able to serve 500+ students around the world and help fill in the gaps that may not have been filled by their school.

I have been teaching privately as a sole proprietor since then, now working to reopen the Lakewood planetarium where I first started my journey.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Colorado is well known for it’s natural beauty, and exploring that nature I think is the best way to experience our State. Some highlights that I enjoy include any of the hiking trails littered around every city, but more specifically some unique sites such as the Great Sand Dunes, the Flatirons, & Estes Park. I’m personally not a huge fan of cities, so I don’t know Denver extremely well, but I do always enjoy the Museum of Nature and Science, The Denver Aquarium, Zoo, and Art Museums. But even a casual walk through the suburbs of Lakewood can yield interesting and fun locations, especially in places like Belmar.

In regard to food, Colorado is quite cosmopolitan, having access to the culinary repertoire of our global community. So, if I’m treating someone visiting, I would like to visit a wide variety of different locations that I’ve never tried before myself, in addition to one or two local restaurants that have sentimental value to me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I believe that there is something to learn from everyone you meet. In fact, it has been my experience and has become my personal philosophy that everybody is a genius at something. That said, there are certainly some individuals who have stood out above others, and I am grateful to have had a great number of influential teachers and mentors throughout my life. While it should go without saying, I have been blessed with both parents who never once tried to stifle my goals and aspirations, a luxury not everyone is afforded. From the ages of 7 to 18, I had multiple martial art instructors who taught me critical life skills such as honor, integrity, perseverance, self-control, self-confidence and the value of being a good student in order to know how to become a good teacher. In academia I have always had very supportive teachers, regardless of whether my grades, who continued to see potential in me that was invisible to myself. Finally, I have had invaluable business mentors, who help keep me accountable to the past lessons I’ve learned, and who have taught me things that aren’t covered in the public school system about entrepreneurship, through presentations, books, and simple 1-on-1 coffee meetings, all of which hold immeasurable value to me.

Website: https://www.rhjplanetarium.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arielmscisney/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings?trk=prof-edit-edit-public_profile

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ariel.manzanaresscisney

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXXWTqNsiIOrnV_QTGiwxWw

Image Credits
Kate Hall