By Haddon Libby
One of the unique things about the Coachella Valley is that many of the world’s most successful people come to our community this time of year.
There is a common thread amongst many of the most successful people – they have failed a lot. Ralph Heath, managing partner of Synergy Leadership Group says, “One of the biggest secrets to success is operating inside your strength zone but outside your comfort zone.” Whether you succeed or fail, Heath states that “you will learn more about your strengths, talents and resolve and you will strengthen your will for the next challenge.”
Most experts say that you need to maintain a positive attitude no matter the outcome. Some listen to or read motivational materials in order to maintain their attitude.
One of the more notable unlikely successes is that of Colonel Sanders of KFC. He did not find success until he reached the common retirement age of 65 years old. He faced rejection literally 1,000 times yet persevered as he was absolutely confident in his secret spice recipes.
Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds, was a door-to-door shake machine salesman until, at the age of 55, he convinced two guys with a hamburger stand in San Bernardino to let him franchise their fast food concept.
Walt Disney was ridiculed by a newspaper editor for “lacking ideas”. Disney’s first cartoon production company which was started in his garage went bankrupt.
Brian Acton was turned down for a job at Facebook in 2008, leading him to create Whatsapp, the billion user messaging network. Eight years later, Acton sold Whatsapp to Facebook for $19 billion…at which point he started working for Facebook.
Ratan Tata had a small car manufacturing business in India called Tata Motors. He attempted to sell his business to Ford in 1999. The executives of Ford ridiculed him. Nine years later, Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors.
Engineer Soichiro Honda was turned down for a job at Toyota Motors and was unemployed for a long time. To make ends meet, he began making scooters in his garage. From this, Honda Motors was born.
Before Bill Gates founded Microsoft, he dropped out of Harvard to launch the Traf-O-Data 8008 with Paul Allen. This was a device that could convert traffic tapes into useful data. In making their first pitch to sell this product, there was a small problem – it didn’t work. Gates states that it was this failure that prepared them for the launch of Microsoft a few years later.
Larry Ellison, owner of the local tennis tournament and its facilities, is also CEO of Oracle. Early on in Oracle’s existence, the company nearly went bankrupt as Ellison’s sales team overstated revenues in order to make larger commissions. Today, Ellison is one of the world’s wealthiest people.
Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first television job as a reporter because she was “unfit for TV.”
Looking at sports, Michael Jordon was cut from his high school basketball team.
In addition to having a generally optimistic outlook on things, another behavior of the most successful is frugality. As examples, Mark Zuckerburg, the founder of Facebook, still drives a $30,000 Acura despite being one of the wealthiest people in the world while Warren Buffett still lives in the house he bought for $31,500 in 1958.
As these stories point out, the successful are a persistence bunch. Most are often very social as well as having a passion for whatever they do. Part of this includes having strong intuitive streaks.
As Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple once said, “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
Haddon Libby is Managing Director at Winslow Drake, an investment advisory firm. He can be reached at 213.596.8399 or hlibby@WinslowDrake.com.
