Habit 16

They Innovate

Secret 37 for Creating Your Own Success: Reinvent Yourself

Everyone has a self-made millionaire in their midst. They are often so understated, however, that their family and friends may not even recognize that they gradually reinvent themselves.

How do they reinvent themselves? By moving forward each time they recognize an opportunity that others may dismiss. They continually better themselves by what they read. They make a point of learning “what to do” and “what not to do” from people with whom they choose to spend time.

This book would not be complete without Jim Abraham, who I am writing about as the twenty-fourth self-made millionaire. Uncle Jim was my mother's brother. Although few if anyone noticed, Uncle Jim reinvented himself several times over the years. He began by sweeping floors in a restaurant, working in a popcorn stand, and then dipping turtles in chocolate in a restaurant that he eventually bought.

Although he has since passed, I would like to share with you how this man reinvented himself for more than four decades. These gradual reinventions allowed him to become a self-made millionaire in his sixties by investing in real estate.

Uncle Jim had a great work ethic. He was born into a Syrian immigrant family who came to the United States in 1914. I remember my mom telling me that her and Uncle Jim's parents were so poor that on Christmas morning, their gifts would be an orange and pair of socks in their stockings.

When Uncle Jim was seven years old, he and two of his friends were playing in an alley next to a candy store. Mr. Mischka, the candy store owner, was putting trash in garbage cans in the alley and asked the three of them, “Would any of you like to have a job doing chores for me a few days a week?” Uncle Jim immediately said yes. Although he did it to earn money, what he may not have realized is that he was at the beginning of his journey to reinvent himself! With his parents' permission, he worked in the candy store after school a few days a week for nine years.

In order to help provide for his family, Uncle Jim quit school and asked Mr. Mischka if he could have more hours. Reinvention! Mr. Mischka not only gave him extra hours, he also invested in a popcorn stand to place in front of the candy store with Uncle Jim's name painted on it. Another reinvention!

Besides paying him an hourly wage, Mr. Mischka gave Uncle Jim 50 percent of the revenue from his popcorn sales. Reinvention! Two years later, World War II broke out. Uncle Jim enlisted in the Army and said goodbye to his family, friends, Mr. Mischka, and his popcorn stand. Reinvention!

In 1944, he returned to Amherst, Ohio. Uncle Jim went to see Mr. Mischka, who welcomed him with open arms to return to work at the candy store. This time, however, he learned about how to run the business. Reinvention!

He arrived early to open the store. He also learned how to make chocolate-covered dates and caramel turtles as well as wait on customers. Reinvention!

Two years later, Mr. Mischka asked Uncle Jim if he would like to buy the candy store. He was thrilled and could not believe how “lucky” he was to have this opportunity. Uncle Jim and Mr. Mischka worked out a monetary arrangement that was financially agreeable for both of them.

One holiday season, there were so many out-of-town candy shipping requests that when the season was over, Uncle Jim realized that he had established a mail-order business for his candy. Reinvention! He had generated $20,000 in 1948 (equivalent to $206,000 by today's standards).

Uncle Jim's lawyer friend said to him, “Jimmy, if you want to be wealthy, invest in a piece of land.” Later that year, he took $20,000 from the candy business and purchased several acres of farmland. Reinvention! His land investments continued every few years until he was no longer known as the man who owned Mischka's. He was the man who owned a lot of real estate!

Decades later, Uncle Jim, who you probably feel that you know by now, was approached by a commercial development company. They offered to buy some of his land for a shopping center development. He did not sell them the land. Instead he leased it to them and remained the landowner. Reinvention!

Three Ways to Reinvent Yourself

1. Write down what you have accomplished to date for moving forward or reinventing yourself. Perhaps it was relocating, earning a degree, changing jobs, meeting individuals who you consider mentors, and so forth.
2. Write down your five-year, ten-year, and fifteen-year goals. Next to them, write down how you need to reinvent yourself in order to achieve them.
3. Each time you achieve a new reinvention milestone, congratulate yourself. Your positive mindset will keep you moving forward.

Secret 38 for Creating Your Own Success: Embrace Change

Henry Ford knew what he was saying when he said, “If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.”

Self-made millionaires are quite good at coping with change. In fact, many of them actually thrive on it. Rather than questioning a changing situation, they figure out what caused it and then they move forward by creating a proposed solution. Their way of coping with change is much different from that of individuals who get stuck by making an effort to undo what cannot be changed.

Joe Palko, the twenty-fifth self-made millionaire interviewed for this book, became a millionaire at age twenty-five. He and his business partner, Scott Sanfilippo co-founded the www.theferretstore.com, an e-Commerce pet-supply retail company in 2000. Six years later they were one of the leading pet supply distributors in the United States. In 2006, The Ferret Store was sold to Drs. Foster and Smith.

Joe attributes embracing change as an important component to their success. Although their business was profitable in 2000, they saw that the margins in their six-year-old online business began slipping. They recognized that the difference was they had online competitors who had access to the same products that they did. Joe and Scott also noticed that their competitors were willing to sell items at or below cost just to increase their market share.

That is when these two entrepreneurs embraced change by developing their own pet food and pet accessories. Their brands were far more unique and of better quality than anything that could be purchased in a pet store. If they had not accepted the change that they saw on the horizon, Joe shared that their sales would have continued to decrease. Fortunately, their pet food was a huge success.

In any industries, to include the pet industry, customers are often very loyal to brands. Establishing a quality food brand guaranteed recurring orders for the life of the pet, and sometimes for the life of the customer.

Three Ways to Embrace Change

1. When you face a change in your professional life, ask yourself what the benefits will be. By focusing on the positive, the fear factor will lessen.
2. Schedule time to discuss the change with individuals who are comfortable reacting to change. A brainstorming session often dispels hesitation to a new way of doing things.
3. Reflect on the last time you were confronted with change and had no choice but to embrace it. Write down the benefits that occurred. This exercise will encourage you to have a positive mindset for changes that you will face in the future.