When you realize that there is a network of connectivity that runs just under our awareness and that you have the power to create the life of your dreams, it is like someone opened the blinds and let the light shine into the dark room that is made of your self created limitations. It seems incredible and almost unbelievable to our closed minds, yet it is true. We can’t know how long it will take to get to our vision, but if you believe it will happen, it will. I was honored to hear the story of the journey one of the people closest to me yesterday, and it is just one example of the evidence of this being true.
When he came to this country he was 14 years old, and homeless. He didn’t speak the language, and lived under the overpass in the now affluent area of San Bruno. This young man had a strong belief in himself and a ambition to improve his life and help his family. Since he was so young he was not able to find a job, yet he was very resourceful. He noticed that the people in the homes near the overpass he was living under did not like to do their own yardwork. This scrappy young man started offering to mow lawns, plant trees, whatever labor he could do, in exchange for a meal and a little money. He knew that he wanted more than this, and he planted the idea in his mind that by the age of 21 he would purchase his own home. Not a small dream for such a young man, especially one with very little resources. He had a vision for himself, and he had no doubt in his mind that he would achieve this dream.
When he was 17 he worked his charm and stretched the truth, applying for a job at a restaurant pretending to be 19 to ensure he was hired. He started as a dishwasher, and gave 1000% to being the best dishwasher he could be. He cleaned, he stayed late, he worked hard to make his area shine. After a little time he of course want to do more, and started learning to be a prep cook during his off time. He soon moved into this role, where he again mastered and set the bar very high for anyone coming after him. True to his nature, it was not long before he was adding value to the tight knit boys club called the line cooks. These guys are a hard nosed group who resist anyone new coming into their domain. He began offering them help by restocking for them, cleaning, sweeping, and doing the things that made their life easier. What happened next was more forward momentum for him. The cooks softened up to this young kid who was so eager to do the tasks they were not as fond of. They began teaching him how to cook, and as he progressed through each station he mastered them and was soon selected to be the new kitchen manager. This pattern repeated over and over for him as he moved up the ranks, to floor manager, bar manager, and finally general manager of that restaurant. The one thing that he always practiced is to live as if he was already there. He was expanding his vision to bigger and greater dreams. He added value over and over again, without asking anything in return but to learn and grow.
So did this boy achieve his dream of owning a home by 21? His roommates when he finally found a place to live thought he was certifiably insane when he would talk to himself in the mirror, pretending to be who he envisioned himself to be. He did not know how he was going to pull off buying a house by 21, he just knew it was going to happen. And with his hard work, intention, and God’s grace it did. That first home, that cost $300,000 in the 1980’s was the stepping stone for him on his journey to where he is today, a top level executive with a passion for sharing with others the secrets he has learned, that whatever vision you have you can achieve. His life is a perfect model of my favorite quote:
His life is a perfect model of my favorite quote:
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau