Setting:
Many years ago I watched an interview featuring one of the wealthiest men in the world. Normally, I wouldn’t have been interested but for some reason I was gripped to the television waiting to hear the man answer each question. He didn’t speak English very well and the lady interviewer seemed to be antagonizing him; trying to fluster him; trying to trip him up. But, with each attempt, she looked more and more ridiculous and he looked like a hero. Every time he spoke, I became more and more enlightened. He didn’t think like everyone else. Here was a man who seemed at ease with himself; a man who seemed unhurried and unworried; a man who appeared confident but not arrogant; a man in control of his life and his destiny.
I never forgot the interview and the lesson I learned from listening to this incredible man.
Richest Man in the USA
“So, you’re the richest man in the USA, according to latest reports. How do you feel about that?” Asked the lady interviewer as I flicked through the channels to see if there was anything interesting on TV. I’m not sure why I stayed on this channel because I wasn’t really into business or wealth creation at the time. I was more into sports and action movies. But, I suppose the curiosity of hearing what the “richest man in the USA” had to say got the better of me. I’m glad I listened.
He was a short man. A least he appeared short standing next to the lady interviewer. He was somewhat chubby and had a thick immigrant accent. I’d have to guess he was about 55 years old. He looked very ordinary. The kind of guy you’d pass on the street and not even give him a second thought. No real outstanding features that would make you say, “Hey, look at that guy! He looks like an important person. He must be a millionaire or something.” No. Instead he looked to me like the kind of guy who would drive up when you called a cab.
“I feel very good about myself. But, it has nothing to do with my wealth. I love what I do and I love living in this country. This country has been very good to me and I feel compelled to give something back.” The wealthy man replied.
I was having a bit of trouble with his response. “… nothing to do with my wealth.” What does he mean by that? Aren’t wealth and happiness tied together? How can you have wealth and not be happy. How can you not have wealth and be happy? This was my simple thinking at the time. I wasn’t very long in the tooth; hadn’t been around long enough to know that there are a lot of wealthy people out there who aren’t very happy.
Growing Up with Money Issues
But, growing up in my family, money was a big issue. Or should I say a big negative issue. I grew up with some very negative ideas about money. I’d hear statements like, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” Or “Do you think I’m made of money?” Or “We can’t afford that!”
I remember one of Dad’s money saving strategies; straightening out bent nails. We’d hold them to the cement floor and hammer them back semi-straight. Then toss the recycled nails into an old coffee can. We’d have the can filled in no time. Big stash of semi-straight nails ready for re-use. It saved Dad from buying a new box of nails. He had a special name for these nails. He called them “depression nails.” “Cause that’s what we used back in the depression.” He’d say.
My Dad talked a lot about the depression. He was born in 1932 right when the depression was in full swing. He seemed to talk about it almost with a sense of pride. The same sense of pride someone may talk about surviving a disaster. Like an earthquake, or a hurricane or a war.
He’d tell us with a tinge of pride how he was born in a “chicken coop.” When he’d tell us – and he told us a lot – I would sometimes chuckle under my breath because, let’s face it, it is kind of funny. I’m picturing my Dad – this big strong strapping man – lying in a chicken coop with all these screaming chickens running and flying around. In my young mind, it was a funny scene.
“Aren’t you supposed to be born in a hospital?” I’d ask my Dad curiously. As if to say, “Are you joking with us, a chicken coop, come on Dad, really?”
He would roar back – again with a tinge of pride, “We couldn’t afford the hospital!”
I wanted to continue the questioning but I wouldn’t dare. My Dad was more on the serious side than the joking side. He did have his joking moments but it was not easy to tell when that would be. It was safer to not push my luck.
But, if I was braver, I would have continued by asking, “Why couldn’t you afford it?” Seemed like a simple situation to me. Just go make some more money. No big deal. Making money is easy right? But, that thinking got drummed out of my head soon enough. After a while I wouldn’t even think to ask such a question. I started to believe that money was HARD to get. And, guess what? I was right. After all, whatever you believe becomes truth – doesn’t it? I was forming a truth that was going to make my financial life very difficult. Be careful what you choose to believe. Could be the difference between an enjoyable life or a miserable life.
The Big Question
My minded shifted back to the TV interview.
The lady interviewer was asking more questions. From these questions we found out the millionaire was not born in the USA. We found out he started off penniless on the streets of New York City. We discovered he didn’t show off his wealth but kept to a very simple lifestyle. The more he talked, the more I got to know him, and the more I came to like him. He had a gravitational pull about him. I wanted to know what he knew. I wanted to learn from him. I wanted to be like him.
Then the lady interview asked a particular question. A question that I felt was a bit embarrassing. One that seemed to put the millionaire on the spot. She asked the question with a hint of arrogance. With a sense that this question would show the world this guy was just like the rest of us. Put him in his place. Bring him down to earth. Knock him down a few notches. I was feeling a bit upset with the interviewer as she asked,
“What would you do if you lost everything and had to start all over again?”
I held my breath. What’s he going to say to that? She’s got him? Here are some of the answers I was expecting.
1. Jump off a high building!
2. Go off to Burma and become a monk.
3. Move in with my broke brother in law.
4. Beg for money
5. Get a government job
6. Collect the dole.
That’s not what my millionaire said. Instead he calmly responded by sharing his experience. He was ready for this question. His whole life prepared him for it.
Serving up the Perfect Baseball Pitch
It almost seemed like the interviewer served up the perfect pitch; right down the center of the plate. Not too high, not too low. Nice and fast. Then the bat comes around perfectly. Just the right stance, the right arm motion, the right wrist action. The eyes are following the ball. Then the eyes see the bat and the ball meet. Right at the sweet spot of the bat. The eyes see the connection. Then both the bat and the ball disappear. No longer in the place the eyes are looking.
But, you can still feel the result, you can still hear the crack of the bat, you can feel the force as the ball is rocketing away. You can still feel the bat swinging around your shoulders. You know it’s a home run. You know it’s out of the park, over the fence. You haven’t looked up yet but you know it. You can feel it.
You’ve been waiting for that pitch your whole life. Training your whole life to hit that pitch. You want to go out and thank the pitcher, but you’re still in the middle of your swing. That’ll have to wait. Then the bat settles still behind you. The swing is over. You look up. You take a moment to locate the ball. Where is it? Your eyes scan the outfield. “There it is.” It’s still sailing high.
You see the outfielder looking up too. He’s not even trying to catch it. You see the fans standing, looking up. They all watch as the ball sails upward. It’s a moment frozen in time. A joyous moment. A moment to savor for a lifetime. Then the ball settles gracefully into the upper decks of the ball park.
You take your lap of glory. You run the bases. You touch each base as if it’s your best friend. This is your victory celebration. And the fans want to join in with you. They want to savor the moment too. They want to see you run around the bases; they’re with you in spirit. At that moment you represent their hopes and dreams. It’s almost a spiritual moment where everyone is locked in to the same uplifting experience.
You’d been training your whole life for that pitch. What a beautiful thing. All the training was worth it. All the pain and suffering; worth it. All the lonely hours swinging the bat; worth it. At that moment you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. You’re where you’re supposed to be, doing what you’re supposed to be doing. “Isn’t life great?” You ask yourself with a smile.
I Wouldn’t Know How to Answer the Big Question
Now if I were the batter, I probably would have swung and missed the ball by a mile. Same pitch, different batter.
And, if the interviewer asked me the same question, I would have “swung the bat and missed the ball by a mile.” I would have given the answers I mentioned above. And that’s why she wasn’t interviewing me. Why bother?
I would have given the same answer as 90% of the population. You know, the people who work HARD for their money. The people who struggle to survive financially. The people who don’t understand how the money economy operates. The ones who cling so tight to the little they have that they thwart all opportunities to break out of the rut. They cling to the security of being just over broke (JOB). They think in terms of scarcity instead of abundance. I was right there with them. Glad she didn’t ask me. I probably would have just quietly walked away.
The Millionaire Responds
But, the interviewer didn’t ask me. She asked the millionaire. And he hit a home run. Right on the fat part of the bat. Out of the park. And his smile after he answered was his home run victory lap. He smiled confidently as the interviewer was tongue tied; jaw hanging in disbelief. Just like the pitcher who threw the perfect pitch to the home run hitter. Same expression.
I’ll recap what he said. I can’t remember the exact words but I’ll get the meaning and feeling across. The feeling he left with me was hope and excitement. If this guy can do it, what’s my excuse? He took all my excuses away.
“What would I do if I lost everything and had to start all over again?” He repeated back to the interviewer as if to say … “I’m not afraid of your question. Are you sure you’re ready for my answer. And, if I tell you my answer will you even believe me? I’ll tell you the truth but I don’t know if you’re ready for the truth.”
It was as if he was warming up in the batter’s box. Looking at the pitcher and with his eyes saying, “Go ahead and throw your best pitch, I don’t care, I can hit whatever you’ve got. Doesn’t matter, I’ll hit it. Give it your best shot but the harder you throw it the farther I’m going to hit it.”
The interviewer responded with an antagonizing tone. “Yeah, if you lost it all. You’d be just like the rest of us. What would you do then? How would you respond to such a tragedy? There’s no doubt it would be a big blow to go from riches to nothing, so how would you deal with it? She pressed him.
Watching this disturbed me. I didn’t like the way the interviewer was asking this loaded question. It seemed to me like asking a grieving person “How do you feel?” Of course the person feels awful; why ask? It’s a bit rude. Same here, if you lost all your riches wouldn’t you feel awful? Do you need to ask that question? But, I’m so glad she did ask it. I was about to witness a verbal home run. I was going to watch with glory as the ball sailed out of the ballpark. I was going to celebrate with the millionaire; celebrate his victory lap. She served up the pitch and now the millionaire started his swing.
The Millionaire Swings the Bat
“Ok, I’ll tell you.” He started to ease into it. The interviewer stared with glowing eyes, ready to pounce if he said anything she could pick apart. She was almost gloating.
“First of all, I’d simply go out and make all my money back again.” He stated calmly.
The interviewer quickly pounced on his response because she saw an opening in his logic. “What do you mean make all your money back? How would you do that, you have no money? Remember, I said if you lost it all. That means all your money. So, how could you go and make it all back if you have no money?”
It didn’t make any sense to her therefore she was quick to point out his mistake. I’m so glad she kept asking questions because the more she asked the further the ball went out of the ballpark. And, I was getting a lesson on what it means to have a “wealth mentality.” He had it. She didn’t.
The Millionaire Asks a Question
“Well, what makes you think you need money to make money? Where did you get that idea?” The millionaire put it back to the interviewer. She took the bait.
“Everyone knows you need money to make money! That’s common sense.” She exclaimed in her excited voice.
“Well, I must not have any common sense, because I don’t believe you need money to make money. And, I’m not at the mercy of some silly statement or some silly theory because I have direct experience that says you don’t.” The millionaire explained.
“What are you talking about?” She replied as if to say, “You better come up with something better or I’ll end the interview.”
“When I first came to this country, I had no money. I built my wealth starting with no money. I’ve done it. I could do it again.” The millionaire was sharing his hard won experience. Not some theory out of a book. He had done it. Hard to argue with that. But, the interviewer continued.
You Were Just Lucky! The Interviewer Starts Reaching for Straws.
“Ok, you started with nothing. I’ll give you that. But, what if you lost it all today. You’re telling me you could just go out and build it all back up again with no money? That’s a bit of a stretch. Some people may say you were just lucky the first time. Maybe you just got a lot of lucky breaks. Would you get those lucky breaks again? Probably not.”
The interviewer was digging in her heals. But, she was punting. She was now attributing the millionaire’s wealth to luck. He was just lucky. She wanted to corner him on this one to show the audience that it all comes down to luck. People with money and success are just lucky. She waited with baited breath for the millionaire to respond. And respond he did!
The Millionaire Completes His Swing
“Funny you should ask if I could do it again.” He was now in full swing. The bat was coming around fast and it was about to hit the ball (and the interviewer) with extreme force.
“Because, you see, I’ve lost everything three times now. And, each time I lost everything I had to start from scratch – no money – and build it all back up again. My wealth today is only from the last 5 years. Five years ago I was broke. I lost it all. Seven years before that; same thing, I lost it all then and built it up again.”
I don’t remember the interviewer’s reaction but I remember mine. I was floored! This guy went broke three times and came back to millionaire status after each fall. Amazing. Unreal. Sensational. Pick a word … how about “WINNER.” This guy doesn’t know how to lose. You can’t keep him down.
The Interviewer Watches the Ball Sail Out of the Ballpark!
The interviewer was on her last legs. She gasped for something to ask.
“So, if you lost everything again, you’d just simply go out and build up your wealth again; with no money?”
“That’s right. I’ve done it so many times now I’m getting really good at it. As a matter of fact it takes me less time to build the fortune back now than it used to because I’ve got a lot more experience. So, I don’t even worry anymore about losing my fortune because I know I can build it back up in no time.” He replied as the ball sailed way over the highest part of the stadium up to the sky and almost seemed to go into orbit.
Interview Over – Time for the Victory Lap
He then started his victory lap around the bases. He smiled at the interviewer. Waiting patiently for the next question. There wasn’t one coming. The interviewer was not pleased. She had the same look as a pitcher who just served up a home run pitch. The same look as the pitcher watching the home run hitter round the bases.
The interview was over. The millionaire tipped his hat to the crowd. I saluted him. Thanks for sharing a new way of thinking. Thanks for letting us know you don’t have to go through life broke. Thanks for telling us you don’t need to be held back by ignorant sayings like, “It takes money to make money.” Thanks for giving us an insight into the millionaire mind. The success driven mind. The mind that says, life is a challenge, get into it. Stop complaining. Stop making excuses. Go forth and make it happen.
Now, I had to ask myself the question …
What would I do if you lost everything and had to start all over again?
I now had a choice, go with my old answers; my old thinking or go with the millionaire’s answers; the millionaire’s thinking. I chose the millionaire.
And, now I have a question for you – the reader …
What would you do if you lost everything and had to start all over again?