A few years ago, I met a guy driving a custom twin-turbo Ferrari. I decided to introduce myself and ask how he became so successful. Surprisingly, he told me a story that’s stuck with me for years. He shared that his wife left him after they lost their home. Bankrupt and living on the street, he decided that he had to do something with his life during his first night sleeping in the park.
He started visiting construction sites, trying to get a job. Many of them turned him down, but the last job site he visited mentioned a particular problem. The company that generally supplied their roofing trusses had messed up an order (again).
He told me that he’d done some construction work as a teenager. He went to a pawn shop and picked up a circular saw, combination square, tape measure, and a hammer. That night, after everyone at the construction company went home, he returned to the job site. He spent hours building “the perfect truss” to give them the next morning, using lumber he found on-site.
They were impressed with the quality, and he closed that first deal. They gave him payment in advance for the entire order, so he had money to buy the lumber and supplies he needed plus some profit. That was the start of his custom truss company and the beginning of his success.
What Is Your Excuse?
Are you working a job you hate? Do you need to make more money? Is there a business idea that could change your entire life? Are you struggling to lose some extra weight? The challenge for many people is not finding their goal but deciding to pursue it. What is your excuse for not achieving your goal?
Seeing this guy pull up in a bright yellow, twin-turbo Ferrari, many people respond with, “It must be nice!” You might assume that he was born into money, or that he was just “one of those rich guys” for most of his life. It would be easy to think he didn’t know what it was like to struggle. I would never have guessed from the Ferrari he was driving, or the clothes he was wearing, that he had been homeless a few years earlier.
Create Opportunities For Success
After going bankrupt, losing his wife, and living on the street, this man decided to choose the direction of his future. He didn’t sit on the side of the road with a cardboard sign asking for handouts. He started visiting construction site after construction site, in search of a job. When they denied him a position as a laborer, he found a problem the company was experiencing and created a solution. This gentleman made millions of dollars because he didn’t give up when life gave him lemons.
Provide A Solution
Business ideas often fail because they don’t provide a solution to a problem. If you’re creating a new business, you may find success more quickly if you fill a gap in the market. If you’re trying to expand an existing business, you will likely succeed by providing a solution to a problem your potential customers are already experiencing. Do some research, ask customers, and discover the “pain points” in your target industry. Discover problems. Create a solution.
Be Willing To Risk Short-Term Comfort
Although he was already homeless, this guy took the last few dollars he had and invested in himself to buy the tools to build his future. He didn’t squander his last few bucks on a hotel room or a bottle of liquor; instead, he created an opportunity. By risking short-term comfort, he was able to build the foundation for a business that has made him extremely wealthy.
Imagine you are living on the street, with only a few dollars to your name. Would you spend what little you had left on tools instead of food or a place to sleep? Taking a calculated risk could be the difference between short-term comfort or a lifetime of success!
