Create your own success

I owe this morning‘s power words to Gary Vaynerchuk. He and I have a great deal in common. We are both immigrants from what I will call Russia. We both came over in the 70s. We both came over with families who had nothing but a dream to have a better life. We both showed entrepreneurial inclinations at young ages.

However, here our similarities diverge. He was encouraged to pursue his entrepreneurial goals. I was encouraged, strongly, to do well in school and was made to close my businesses. In time, I forgot that I had been an entrepreneur from the time I was eight years old. I used to sell creative, colorful, homemade pencil topper candy canes my classmates. The more complicated the art on the candy cane, the more my classmates paid. I also used to design cartoon dogs from different cultures. My classmates would suggest the ones they wanted to see, I would draw them, and then they would pay for the art. The possibility that I would create something cool out of their suggestion was enough to get them to have fork over $.45 for a cartoon dog wearing a beret. I had many jobs during high school and college and afterward. It wasn’t until 2000 that I realized I needed to be on my own. I needed to work for myself.

My goals became about creating my own success. I knew I was going to have to do it through creativity. And I knew I was going to need to help others as the focus. From there, I had to forge the path and create my own success.

How funny that I had forgotten all of that. I’m glad I remembered while reading Gary’s excellent book, The Thank You Economy. Thanks, Gary. Спасибо.