I was listening to Ken Langone, who is one of the co-founders of Home Depot, the other day. He said something interesting and I can apply it. "There are a lot of self made people out there. I am not one of them.".
Have a GREAT Day! Rick Schwartz
My Early Years as a Thief. Confessions of A Complete and Total Thief!
Morning Folks!!
In business it started with my jobs and people I met along the way.
They didn't know it at the time, but I went out of my way to steal the best of whatever it was they had going for them.
I learned their strengths and stole them. I learned their weaknesses and avoided them.
I am simply a collection of all those people along the way.
That includes Stella and Emma. They were waitresses at a place in Miami called the "Rascal House."
I learned things from people like Deacon who pumped gas for a living but may have been the happiest person I ever met.
But the biggest boost in life came during 9 month period when I was 19 in which I sold retail bedroom furniture for a southern California Mattress store.
Dave Thomas, Al Heller, Frank Critelli, Bob Hayden. Those 4 men changed my destiny. What they taught me in life was priceless. Each one a different contribution with a common thread, paid dividends for a lifetime.
I parlayed that and learned from Andy and George in the early 1970's. They taught me good and bad. I saw the good and lived thru the bad. I stole the good and discarded, avoided and was wise to the bad. Then Sam and Carlos who were their mortal enemies in business. When I jumped ship it was game on!
My Pal Richard O from Finger Furniture in Houston. Damn is he smooth! He turned me from a salesman to a "Presenter" and Polished me up. We were known as the "Odd Couple" in the Furniture Industry. He was polished and cool and good! I was the opposite. I would always ask him, "Why the hell are you hanging out with me? It's not good for your career". But together we forged a great business partnership as he became my best customer and I became his best source. I stole more from Richard than perhaps anyone. I stopped selling, starting making presentations and closed everyone from then on with ease.
I called on furniture stores from coast to coast and boarder to boarder. Many owners were immigrants that came with nothing and were living the American Dream. They shared their stories and wisdom and I stole their wisdom and learned from their stories. They lived the peril and were challenged more than words could tell. Whenever I would be depressed or feel sorry for myself, I would simply think of one of their stories and within seconds I would be fixed.
One story I remember is a father and his 2 sons that got on a raft to escape from Cuba back in the 1960's. They were headed for Miami but they washed up in Central America. They literally walked and hitch hiked to Miami with nothing but their ripped shirts on their back. They want on to open a furniture store and today their showrooms are the largest in all of Florida. Their warehouses are measured in acres not square feet. http://www.eldoradofurniture.com
I learned a lot from wives and girlfriends along the way. Never a regret. Always a dividend. Even if some were a bit costly.
So I am a collection of people. A collage of their best and strongest traits that I simply stole. Saw their weak points too. Knew what to avoid. Glued it all together and voila. Here I am. Anything but self made. But what I did was work hard, work smart and achieved. That my friends was what prepared me to recognize domains so early on and act on it. (Thanks Tony Robbins) . I thank them all and in life I was actually able to go back and thank most of them personally. They were the ones that inspired me and I owe them all for my success in life and in domaining. Thank you one and all! Thank you to all the folks I did not mention. There are dozens more and you are ALL part of me since I stole part of you!
Auction.fyi
Hi Rick,
Whats your thoughts about Elon Musk?
Best,
Russ
DVentures
What a powerful post Rick. To me this is a summation of how to see the good and avoid the bad in life,life experiences distilled and presented in easy to understand fashion.If there is only one post to read, if there is one post which can change a person’s destiny, this is that post. A post which is Harvard,MIT and Stanford rolled into one by itself.If this post were a book, this would top the New York Time’s best seller list.
Thanks Rick.
Kees Kroos
I steal from you every day Rick ;) – Have a great Sunday!
frank meester
Kees Kroos ..I steal from you every day Rick ;)
Me too ,even at 71 years of age althoug i had a simular journey
Richard Leto
#SundayMotivation Sunday is the perfect day for reading and musing. Appreciate and enjoyed another great share from Rick. #inspiration
Anunt
I stole a lot from Rick…but he stole from me too…
He learned to ignore trolls like myself, but don’t ever ban them…let the trolls post…because someday even trolls might end up doing business with you…like buying flowers.mobi
BullS
I used to steal a lot from everybody but now I am getting rid of their junks…
“stealing” is a circle of life.
Rob
Thanks Rick, for taking the “Time” and “Effort” to write another INSPIRATIONAL post based on your personal experiences!
As you, and other accomplished people, have attested to in the past … genuine “Time” and “Effort” is what it takes for one to succeed in whatever, mental or physical, endeavor they want to accomplish!
Jose
Hi Rick, Have a great day! to be so big in a portion of life, that I have also stolen a portion of yourself and get in all the years to follow your twiets and interviews you have stolen many teaching everyone the script of the pioneer and today in a lonely moment You have written the first poem and we have applauded you with our fantastic reasoning of your personality, towards all these dozens and many more, that we are glad of your return with your post.
Happy Day. Jose
JOHN COLASCIONE
And you never stop learning. Every success and every failure, they all pay dividends, because in both failure in success, you still take away knowledge and experience, you learn and you become a smarter investor, a smarter business person. They say knowledge is power, because it is indeed.
Robin
Merry Christmas Rick! This is 25 Dec 2018. Yes im going through your old posts and totally enjoying all of them. I remember “stealing” a word fromyou somewhere in 2011…Google Whore. Wow, was i pissed. But thinking back, i should have kept the stolen gem sooner. Love your blog Rick.