Turns out you don’t need to be young to be a success. As I wrote to you this week, there’s nothing wrong with being a beginner at different times in your life. Don’t just take my advice for it. Look at what this 93-year-old writes in the WSJ.
No one has seen entrepreneurship help minorities improve their economic circumstances more than I have—and that’s not only because I’m 93.
I saw the power of entrepreneurship firsthand after co-founding the Home Depot. My experiences led me to believe that preserving and expanding entrepreneurship is the key to advancing racial and economic equality.
Entrepreneurship offers all Americans, no matter their background, a way to achieve financial independence and the American Dream. Entrepreneurship rewards goods and services that the market values independent of the financial resources, SAT scores or personal pedigrees of the people selling them.
I didn’t start out in the home-improvement industry. I worked my way up the corporate ladder only to be fired by a capricious boss. When I found myself unemployed at 49, I had every reason to be bitter. But I turned to entrepreneurship, which made my life’s second act far better than I could have imagined.
With almost no money, I had the idea to open a hardware store, a lumberyard and a garden store all in one. What began as a single store in Georgia grew to more than 2,000 locations nationwide and made me a billionaire in the process. Only in America could a member of an ethnic minority from a poor immigrant family write that kind of success story.
Action Line: Imagine what you can do if you’re not afraid to be a beginner. Beating inertia and making the first step are as important in your life as they are in investing. If you need help beating inertia and making the first step in investing, let’s talk.
