When I was in sixth grade, some kids made fun of my clothes. I came home and had an emotional meeting with my parents. They said, ‘we’re poor, duh,” but they challenged me to be the first person in my family to graduate high school. And I was determined I would never have to apologize for my clothes.
Certainly, there were always people who said something is not going to happen or that’s impossible, but I realized who is responsible for what happens — it’s you. You’re the person responsible, so I kept telling myself: Success sits in your chair.
Building the businesses was not the most important thing in my life, but the rewards were. They allowed me to give back to the community and to the world. The single most important thing a human being can do is make sure the world is a better place because they are there.
I set the business goals in my life, I wrote them out and followed them. I learned about the world’s best food and wine the same way. I found mentors who helped me understand and shared their experiences, and I encourage you to get out there and do the same. Write your own story!
— Tom Black, Nashville entrepreneur, life coach and business icon, tomblack.com
On a day he will never forget, a man who would change the course of his life forever approached him. This man was a recruiter for the Southwestern Company out of Nashville, Tennessee. He had no idea at that moment what he’d stumbled upon. The Southwestern Company recruits thousands of college students each summer to sell books door-to-door, to make money, and to change their lives and attitudes toward hard work.
Do not be mistaken here; there is nothing glamorous about it – it’s cold calling in a strange place far away from home; it’s strangers, sweat, rain, 80+ hour workweeks, rejection, discouragement, attack dogs, homesickness.
Tom left college for the summer with fifty dollars in his pocket and went to Nashville to learn how to sell on a straight commission basis while paying his own expenses.
He broke several sales records and continued to outdo his personal bests every summer for five summers as a salesperson, and he was then asked to work full-time as a sales manager for the company. His teams went on to shatter company team records because of his teaching and coaching. This small town Kansas kid built a legacy for himself there – his techniques are still taught at The Southwestern Company today, more than thirty years later.
During five summers on the bookfield, he’d heard more “no’s” than most people hear their entire lives. He’d also heard more “yes’s” than most salespeople will hear in their careers. His summers were full of sweat, toil, more sweat – and ultimately, incredible success.
From there, Tom went on to build many successful businesses and becoming a valued consultant, life coach and mentor to generation of entrepreneurs around the world.
tomblack.com
