Gabriel Dibble on the things that make us beautiful inside, coaching baseball, and perseverance

A serial founder, executive producer, educator, researcher & writer and tech leader & strategist writes about selling enchiladas, growing up on a ranch and moving to the big city, ideas as little blessings, and genuine engagement.

1 Do you think entrepreneurs are born, or made? How did your own entrepreneurial spirit unfold and grow?

To be honest, and I understand it’s been a hotly contested topic over decades if not eons, I personally believe based on the evidence I’ve seen, from my experience, and analytical reflection that very little is born and almost everything is learned. This includes entrepreneurialism. My opinion is that choice and mindset shape our outcomes. The experiences we have growing up, the influence, knowledge, necessity, and opportunities all guide the choices we make. Each compounds the prior and forms our life.

For my own entrepreneurial spirit, this came from a few things. I grew up on a ranch and it wasn’t the kind with thoroughbred horses, but a simple home with a lot of responsibilities and a humble upbringing. If I wanted something, like a new video game, I had to save my money and earn it by my own efforts. Church Winter camps were very expensive for my family, so if I wanted to go, I had to sell as many enchiladas and do all the car washes to earn my way. In youth baseball, I stood in front of the supermarket to sell candy bars, and I went door to door with these and also Scholastic school sales if I wanted to win the top award, and usually I did because it was a means to having some prize or thing I wouldn’t normally get. I did have a family who had their own businesses, but these were not big and more of a nudge just to know a person could do their own thing.

Image: Pexels

I worked stocking auto parts as my first teen job, then another delivering furniture, and having a simple upbringing, I knew I both wanted much more in my life and was also capable of greater things. I took interest in computers when the slowest of modems were dialing-up and before AOL CDs became drink coaster collections, and started offering internet training and web design in my small country town as my own first business when I was in high school. It was a small town and despite door to door outreach, as a teenager I could not break through the established hometown relationships.

During college, I moved down to the big city and got my first taste of corporate life in Orange County and up in Los Angeles. Through the years, I kept dreaming of reaching great heights and with the belief that I could do anything I put my heart and mind to, I founded several software design and development service companies. They all supported me, and I was successful marketing myself based on quality work and word of mouth.

Taking the wheel of your own ship, setting the sails, and plotting a course is exciting and fulfilling. You need to believe in yourself, use tools like lists and reminders to keep yourself productive, and always keep growing. The thing that kept me moving and growing throughout my life and career was a passion for continuous learning and a mindset that I could achieve any goal that I both believed in and worked hard to achieve.

Also listen to Gabriel explain how to keep your cool when facing high-pressure situations.

2 You grew up on a country ranch, then moved to the big city on your own. Do elaborate.

Paso Robles is a small town, even still these days, in California. When I was young, it was so small that a teenager couldn’t get away with anything because everyone pretty much knew each other or had a close enough degree of separation to report back to parents. I lived just outside the city limits on a decent sized ranch with some livestock, and did a large portion and variety of chores. It was also a great place that gave me the opportunity to ride off-road motorcycles and ATVs. These explorative and hands-on activities shaped my passions for creativity, the outdoors, and a strong work ethic.

Image: Pexels

For a few years in the junior high range, I moved up to Northern California with my dad and got a taste for urban lifestyle in a bigger city. That’s where I learned about computers and saw how many things a big city held. When I moved to the LA area, it was a stark disconnect from the environment I primarily grew up in. There wasn’t as much socially outgoing nature, but I didn’t let it phase me. I still remember the drive moving down and promising myself to make the lives of my future children better than what I had. That fueled me, and maybe I was a bit naive, but I was determined to make it happen. I had no support from my family, and no backup plan.

There was a real sense of survival, and I moved through many Southern California cities through various jobs and my own ventures. I worked my way up from customer service rep to Internet Business Manager early on, through my dedication to impact and a strong work ethic, and thanks to a mentor who believed in me and gave me an opportunity. I had ups and downs, gains and significant losses. In my first software company, I once lost all my client software when the versioning software malfunctioned and its history databases corrupted. I was scared, but I researched and found a way to decompile my work to reverse engineer and recover the source code.

That has always been my spirit: dedicated, thoughtful, creative to solve problems, connect dots, perseverant through adversity and hardship. It’s been important for me to remember where I came from, never losing sight of who I am inside, and always grateful for every bit of help and circumstance. I honestly believe in being grateful for all the good and bad, because all these things shape us and when we reflect, we can learn greatly even from the hardest times. In these, we have the choice to become stronger and doing so is profoundly beneficial.

Gabriel with his daughter

3 How would you define self-confidence? What is the best way to develop this trait?

I define self-confidence as a deep level of trust in oneself and a belief in abilities. First I think it’s important to reflect on how you were raised, good or bad, and remember what you aspired to and wanted to achieve. These early dreams and visions are cornerstones for our future foundation. I’m talking about remembering the person you were in a positive sense, and not letting go of the good and hopeful values and inspirations you grew up with. Granted we all have hard times that hurt, but I believe we must reflect back on our core selves, before those troubles, the things that make us beautiful inside, and hold fast to these. Keep remembering who you are, and never let go of that identity and the inspirations. When you’re tested by life’s trials, keep hold of your true self. This is your character and the guiding light for your self-awareness.

Gabriel with his son

Each of us changes every day, and that’s okay, because we are shaped by our experiences and environment. That’s natural, but I think we should keep course to what we believe is right and not compromise our values. When we have this level of self-trust, a great level of confidence springs from it, because we know in our heart that we are true to ourselves.

To further develop our confidence, we must challenge ourselves. Nothing great comes from sitting idle, and in fact that inaction only leads to decay and rot. The best way to improve oneself is to set goals. Now if it’s a big goal, you need to chop it up into several small achievable pieces. Organize these, prioritize each, keep a list and stick to it, and do each step one at a time and each through to its end. If you get blocked, take note, start an adjacent task and keep moving, finish it, and return to finish the other. Assess your list for optimizations, but do not get distracted nor try to multitask. You’re more efficient doing one thing well at a time, than trying to context-switch. Each small task, when completed, needs to be celebrated. This encourages you to keep going through the natural reward system built into your body. When you stumble, brush off, think about how you can do better and then give it another go. Even if it takes you a few tries, keep going, and then you’ll be proud of the victory and will have learned greatly from the mistakes.

If, like me, you want to truly feel fulfilled, it may also occur to you that these lessons are best used to serve the betterment of others, and teach others that hard things are possible, how to overcome and persevere, and hopefully make fewer mistakes by learning from experience.

4 You devote a lot of time to content creation. Why do you do this, and which joys and challenges are involved?

In the journey of my career and life, I’ve always kept learning. I never stopped educating myself, and while I couldn’t stay in college, I always remembered the lessons I learnt from those institutions and teachers. I applied rigorous learning throughout my life, and have studied how to learn more efficiently and apply higher level thinking. This practice of lifelong learning also gives me confidence to know that if I can read about it, if I can observe masters, and I try (sometimes, well usually repeatedly) then I can come to mimic and eventually master many arts. I honestly do not think there is anything I haven’t been able to accomplish using this technique.

gabriel-with-his-daughter-in-front-of-painting

Gabriel with his daughter in front of a Van Gogh painting

So regarding content creation, I’ve always loved art and used creativity in many ways, enjoying design, media, and appreciating fine arts and the inspiration of other amazing creators. Throughout my life, I’ve been passionate about leading people. I have used my own self-leadership to start businesses and champion charitable causes. I’ve been at the bottom and the top, and I remember how it feels at every rung of that proverbial ladder. Over the years, I read a mountain of personal development and leadership books, and it occurred to me at one point, that all this mastery is wasted unless I help lift others up. It was actually quite an eye opening revelation, and it put my passion for helping others into high gear.

During the pandemic, I got caught in the tech market downturn, and had been reading about the social and psychological problems people were having to cope and stay positive while searching for work in a desert-like job market. I turned my attention to helping anyone I could, giving referrals where applicable and encouragement to all. This lifted people up and gave hope, and then something bigger happened. While watering my fruit trees and reflecting on all this, it occurred to me that I could do more. I stood thinking about all the projects and things I had done and how people often told me how inspired they were and wished they had the ability or drive to do more. I knew if I had it in me, I could teach others, and if I felt that way, then it was my duty to make it happen. There was no other choice really. Now granted, I hadn't made a film since a high school project, and I didn’t know much about content creation, but I did feel I had enough creativity to try; I could learn, and I had the work ethic to make it possible. So I dug in. Challenges? Oh my, let me tell you I’ve catastrophically failed in so many ways, from production to editing, even marketing. However, the feeling I have inside, the desire to help people everywhere grow, and to use my tagline, “unlock your potential, and be everything your heart desires.” There’s a shooting star in my logo; it’s not just for looks—to me that’s you (each person.) The tagline is a belief, mission, and vision. The purpose is for people to truly achieve their greatest potential, and my heart calls me to make that happen.

5 When did you move to Ventura, and what do you love about this city?

My family moved to Ventura in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. My daughter was just starting elementary school and my son was just born. We wanted a better environment for the kids to grow up. California is a wonderful state, as it has many climates, many attractions, there are wide cultural opportunities to learn from and be part of, and wonderful natural sites to explore. Ventura is a beach town, so having the ocean to play in, mountains to explore, and the friendly community here is a blessing. The weather is amazing, and we feel very fortunate to live somewhere so beautiful and with good people.

Tell us a little about your family.

My wife and I waited a while to get married and have kids. She’s a very kind person and has a wonderful smile and heart for helping people. I truly admire these qualities, and I’m blessed to have someone who puts up with me and supports all my ideas. She’s a great Mom and I’m lucky to have her after some scary times with our kids’ births.

We homeschooled our daughter in early years, and that was very beneficial for her growth, however after the pandemic lockdown and moving to a new town, she needed friends and we supported her desire to go to a school and meet new people. Through our time in Ventura, we’ve also homeschooled our son and he’s now about to go out to school.

I teach the kids to be kind, not hurt animals or bugs but instead be like shepherds and protect life, and to follow what they know is right in their hearts. I coach my son’s baseball teams like my dad had done for me, and I encourage all the players’ parents to do the same so we all pay it forward for when our little ones grow up and have families of their own. My wife didn’t have that experience but she was inspired by what I did, and now coaches our daughter’s volleyball teams. The kids are learning how to lead and how to lose gracefully when the matches don’t go well, and these lessons will help them grow to be strong and well rounded.

We do little things like keep a box of granola or protein bars in the car door, and the kids can listen to their heart and give one to a person they see needs help. Little things like these make a big impact in ourselves and the world around us.

7 Which principles guide you as a father?

The principles that guide me are kindness, patience, keeping my word and teaching the kids to also, gratitude, honesty, and love. A lot of love. It doesn’t matter how we grew up, but instead what truly matters is what we make better going forward. Every opportunity is a choice and chance to do what’s right or make things better. The time we have is fleeting, and we must make the most of it. We have to pick ourselves back up and keep going. If we stumble, we have to own it, make it right with ourselves and those involved, grow, and keep going. Together we are stronger.

I believe that we all know what’s right and wrong—we know deep inside—and we should honor our values and do what we know is right, stay strong in this, and keep trying. It’s very important that we realize we are all leaders in some shape or form. If we have a dog, we’re leading it, if we have a humble job, we’re an example for our peers, if we have a family we are their leaders, and the same with friends. This extends all the way up to our responsibilities to others, from there to owning a business, and having employees who trust us. Lead by example, and with honor.

8 You’re turning your YouTube channel and podcasts into a sustainable business, purely on the basis of authenticity, organic reach and genuine engagement. This requires lots of time, energy and devotion. How do you approach this challenge?

I’ll use an analogy: “You don’t eat an elephant all at once, but only one bite at a time.” I’m taking it step by step. This is a long, hard road, and each day is a challenge. I take a lot of notes, I make just as many reminders, and I do not let things fall through the cracks. It’s a matter of survival, and it’s a matter of following my heart and honoring that fire and passion. I won’t leave it to wondering “what if”, but instead do everything I can to make it happen. When I mess up, I take note and think about how to do better. When I have a new idea, I add it to my journals right away so the next thought or what I’m doing doesn’t make me forget. I think each of these ideas are little blessings, and I take them to heart, and make sure to keep them noted so I can return to them. After I’ve worked and slept, my subconscious has added little seasonings. I trust that process, whether it’s offsetting something for a while to finish tasks completely, or just when I go to bed and return the next day. We have to trust ourselves.

Make systems for things, and follow those structures, and every so often, analyze them from above and make improvements. In doing so, you ratchet upward by learning from your experiences, the good and especially the bad, but never giving up or letting go. It’s about growing every day, and letting choices and their effects compound into greatness. It’s not immediate, and it takes time. Give your passions and dreams time, and then work your butt off to make it happen. Then go teach others to do the same, because the greatest thing we can do is help others and this whole world become better. One idea, task, and person at a time.

More about Gabriel

Gabriel Dibble is a serial founder, executive producer, educator, researcher and writer based in Ventura, California. He empowers people to grow—both personally and professionally. As a hands‑on tech leader and strategist, he has led global teams and built scalable cloud and enterprise solutions. He is a quick, results‑oriented thinker with strong planning, analytical, organisational, and interpersonal skills—able to communicate effectively with team members, executives, and the C‑Suite, and simplify complex problems into clear, actionable steps.

In Do It All, Gabriel’s personal‑development video series, he blends real‑world stories, scientific insights, and actionable steps—to teach trust, passion, and dedication. His vision is to democratise high‑impact coaching through engaging, documentary‑style storytelling: https://letsgodoitall.com/

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