People try many things in life that just don’t work, things related to career, health or life in general. They may be doing everything right and listening to advice and counsel, but not getting results.
But others, with seemingly ordinary gifts, have become extraordinarily successful. The difference? The secret lies in determining where your strengths lie, then focusing those strengths on your objectives. At some point you must try something different to get the results you want.
Good news: You don’t have to be “brilliant” to be successful.
Ron Wanek grew up poor on a dairy farm in my home state of Minnesota, where his grandfather and great uncle built furniture as a hobby. He never made it to college, but he worked his way up in the furniture business, starting Arcadia Furniture in 1970 with a loan from his father. He networked and studied marketing strategies and manufacturing methods. Six years later he bought the retailer Ashley Furniture and turned it into the world’s largest furniture retailer.
I love to study how successful people like Ron Wanek made it big. Their stories are case studies in soul searching, risk taking and pursuing their passions.
During a tour of Universal Studios at age 17, Steven Spielberg, American filmmaker, snuck into the filming of a live movie and was hooked. Then he was rejected by his dream school, the University of Southern California film school. But that didn’t stop him from making his dream a reality. He took every job he could to learn the film business.
Cami Tellez dropped out of Columbia University to found Parade, a direct-to-consumer undergarments company. She says everyone has an underwear story, and hers was formed by the disconnect between Gen Z’s values of diversity and self-expression with the sexy exclusionary Victoria Secret brand. Parade celebrates all body types and has sold more than three million pairs of underwear and is currently valued at $140 million.
Many company ideas start with a problem, and in the case of Warby Parker it was that eyeglasses are too expensive. The four founders – Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andy Hunt and Jeff Raider – were students when Blumenthal lost his glasses on a backpacking trip. The cost to replace them was so high that he spent the first semester of grad school without them.
The quartet started the online company in 2010 to sell prescription glasses at an affordable price after graduating with their MBA degrees. The company reached its first-year sales target in just three weeks, which is why “GQ Magazine” called Warby Parker “the Netflix of eyewear.”
One thing I’ve noticed is that many people must try different things to be successful. For example, Martha Stewart was a full-time model until she became a mom at age 25 and modeling jobs dried up. She tried her luck as a Wall Street stockbroker for five years, but then turned to her love of gourmet cooking, sewing and home decorating, skills she learned from her mother. Her billion-dollar company sets the standard for every facet of gracious living.
Jonah Peretti taught computer science at a middle school before he co-founded “The Huffington Post” along with Kenneth Lerer, Andrew Breitbart and Adrianna Huffington in 2005. Just one year later he founded BuzzFeed, the breaking news website.
Computer science was also part of Jeff Bezos’ career, as he had a lucrative Wall Street career before getting into the banking industry and then joining a newly created hedge fund. He first established an online bookstore in spring 1994 then wrote the business plan for Amazon on a cross-country drive from New York City to Seattle in the summer of the same year. The business he started in his garage has made him one of the richest people in the world.
Vera Wang was a figure skater and then journalist, working 17 years as an editor at “Vogue” before entering the fashion industry and becoming an independent bridal wear designer at age 40. Today she is one of the world’s premier women’s designers. She has also designed many costumes for Olympic figure skaters.
There are many professional athletes who have capitalized on their popularity to transition into acting, none more than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who first transitioned from professional football to professional wrestling as “the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.”
These folks didn’t start with a foot in the door. But they just kept opening doors until they found what they were looking for. So can you.
Mackay’s Moral: Don’t be afraid to try different things.
