In the early 90’s I worked for my dads friend Perry Sands at Performance Machine. One day on my lunch break I caught a glimpse of one of the CNC operators walking back to the shop with his McDonalds lunch in his hand and sipping on his Coke. That 10 second visual has stuck With me for over 20 years. Here is a guy that has it all figured out. He goes to work and clocks in. Clocks out for lunch, then heads back with a smile on his face. Not a care in the world. The reason why it has stuck with me is because I wanted more. I wanted a better job, better house, better schools for my kids, better car. That choice to drive towards bigger success is a very slippery one. As soon as you start separating yourself from the guy walking back from McDonalds? That when things get tough. The fact is when you work harder, you achieve more. As soon as that happens it tends to bring out the worst in people. Friends will fall off because you work instead of partying on the weekends. Family members will glom on to you hoping for a handout. People will steal from you. I’ve been through it all and then some. I remember about 1998 before I was on TV my godfather Barry asked me “has anyone sued you yet??” I said No. He told me “that’s how you know you are successful when somebody sues you.” I chuckled then, but not later when it actually happened. To be a success you have to prepare for this negative. You have to prepare for the haters to come out of the woodwork, and they will. They will even grow Velcro and stick together like little armies. Seeking out other haters that you kicked to the curb or have stolen from you or whatever. Don’t give them any energy. Just keep your head down and your hands moving. Always Remember this. The ones that don’t want something better will fail because they won’t want to wade through this sea of bullshit. They will just be the guy walking back to work from McDonalds.
