What do you get when you take $5000 and a printer and combine it with the fantastical dream of a 23-year old dyslexic teenager with ADD? The answer is a multi-national, multi-billion dollar company with 1500 locations around the world and one of the 100 best companies to work for as cited by Forbes Magazine
I had the good fortune of meeting Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s earlier this week. His story is one of beating the odds to accomplish great things despite his less than complimentary conditions and impediments.
Talking Points
Paul had two qualities he considered lucky. First, he couldn’t read well. This allowed him to focus on dealing with others and develop his strengths as a listener and a conversationalist. He was also extremely restless. It was hard for him to sit still and this contributed to his creativity.
Although Paul graduated high school with a D average, he learned a great deal from school. Rather than go to school to ace tests and get good grades, Paul went to school to actually learn as encouraged by his parents. He was a bad student, but a great learner.
Be on top of your business, not in your business. Paul knew his strengths, and anything he was bad at, he would delegate to others. In fact, at the peak of his career he worked no more than 10 hours a week. This allowed him to free up his mind and come up with new things rather than be bogged down with the mundane everyday tasks.
Let your soul catch up to your body. Don’t be a workaholic. So many people are raised with the mindset of working hard to get good grades to go to a good college to graduate with a great job that pays well but requires long hours. Sure you may make great money but what exactly do you have when all is said and done? Have you accomplished anything worthwhile or made a difference in someone else’s life? What exactly are you working so hard after? What is the true purpose of your life? Take some time every now and then for yourself. And remember what’s truly important in your life.
Have you ever had your wallet or purse returned and felt compelled to find and thank the Good Samaritan? Or maybe you were inspired to do something nice for someone else to somehow return the favor indirectly. I have this theory that if everybody starts doing random acts of kindness for others, it will grow exponentially and the world will be a better place.
What goes around comes around. And who knows, maybe the person you helped helps someone else who helps someone else who ends up helping you.
Not only can you make a huge impact in someone else’s life, but you’ll feel good about yourself as well. It can be as simple as smiling to the clerk at the grocery store or helping the elderly walk across the street or volunteering at your local homeless shelter.
You can do this everyday and there’s no such thing as too many random acts of kindness.
It’s often said that there’s no such thing as luck. Rather, luck is simply when preparation meets opportunity. Opportunities come and go, but when they come, will you be ready to take it? If not, you may miss out and never get the chance to take advantage of it again.
My favorite example of opportunity is a statue made by Lyssipus in 4BC. His statue of Opportunity depicts a man holding a torch, with wings on his feet, long locks of hair flowing from his forehead, and no hair on the back of his head. When asked why he designed the statue as such, he explained that Opportunity could fly away quickly. His torch alerted people of him from far away and they can grab onto his locks of hair. However, once he passes, it is impossible to reach out and grab him back.
The devastating 7.9 earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan province may be old news to many, but aid is still desperately needed to help the victims rebuild their homes and their lives. Over 70,000 people were killed and another 18,000 went missing according to government officials. 532 children lost their parents. 88 of the children were eligible for adoption and only 1 child has been adopted thus far. Part of the reason for the slow adoption rate is the hesitation by many parents to adopt handicapped children. Another is the administrative process that requires orphans to wait for up to two years for their missing parents to be declared deceased.
My good friend was able to make a tripe this summer for relief efforts. Despite their bad fortune, he described the people as “plucky, constantly smiling and hopefully resilient in spite of their circumstances.” Donations are still greatly needed. Click here to help. If financial contributions are not possible, another way to lend a hand is to simply spread awareness that aid is still desperately needed.
Ever had an idea or wanted to do something but was told it was impossible or that you couldn’t do it? Check out some of these historical examples that proved the naysayers wrong:
Decca Records rejected the Beatles, claiming they didn’t like their music and guitar songs were going out of style.
Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, laid out his thesis outlining the concept for Federal Express. He received a C. The professor claimed his idea was not practical.
When Thomas Edison was in school, his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything.
Western Union rejected the telephone when Alexander Graham Bell offered them manufacturing rights. They said that the technology had too many faults.
Dr. Seuss was rejected by many publishers, who thought fantasy and verse could not sell.
A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he lacked good ideas.
Winston Churchill failed 6th grade.
Steven Spielberg dropped out of high school in 10th grade. He was persuaded to come back and placed in a remedial class. He only lasted a month and then dropped out of school for good.
Albert Einstein’s school grades were so poor that his teacher asked him to quite, telling him that “he would never amount to anything.”
I believe if you follow your heart and do what you love to pursue your dreams, success will follow.
“Far better it is to dare mighty things to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in a grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt
The word risk-taking implies stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a gamble. Things may go your way or they may not. Many times what hinders us from taking risks is a feeling of fear, whether it’s a fear of failure or fear of rejection.
I once had a teacher who always said that fear was nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is a perceived thought and if you learn to change your perceptions, then you are on your way to overcoming fear. Realize what it is, and then deal with it.
How you deal with the fear makes all the difference in the world. Imagine what you’ll gain by taking the risk. If you play the safe game, you play the losing game. You may lose an opportunity that will never again pass you by. The biggest regrets come from what we don’t do rather than what we do do.
