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Inspiration

Success

Becoming wealthy was never my goal; it just happened. I was just doing my work, first as a doer, then as a manager of doers, then as an entrepreneur in all its manifestations. I have always had a deep sense that I would be in the right place for me and, if not, God would show me the way out. When times were tough, there would be a way to overcome them. As a result, by the time I was thirty-five, I had more money, power, and fame than most ever wish for.

But power is of no use unless you do good with it, like create jobs and opportunities for others to enrich their lives and those of their children. As for fame, it initially was a thrill, and I loved it. But after a while, I came to see the joys of anonymity. So I’ve lived a mostly private life.

Being an entrepreneur isn’t about making money. There are easier ways to make money. Being an entrepreneur is about creating an enterprise, it’s about building, it’s about winning, and it’s about the quality of the journey.

Finding success—-in business, in family, in life—- comes from somewhere deep inside. You have to work hard, apply yourself fully, do your homework diligently, but you also have to be true to your interests, your ethics, your ideas, your desires, and your passions. You can’t breach your core values or your overriding bliss, that deep sense of who you are. If you do breach your values, no amount of so-called success will matter, because it’s the journey in life that really matters, not the destination. It’s not about how many things you acquire or how much money you have when you reach the destination, but about how much fun and satisfaction you have along the way. That’s what success is.

Goals

Everyone needs a mission, no matter what it is: dominating the global marketplace with a product, losing 5 pounds, or just putting money aside to save for something special. The feelings that arise when you think of yourself as being on a mission become the fuel that keeps you moving even when your spirit lags or times get tough. Over the years I’ve also found that whatever someone’s ultimate goal might be, the easiest way to get there is to map out a course with smaller goals along the way. You find one small thing you can do, and you keep on doing it.

Setting a goal and then going after it is difficult for some people. For me, it’s as natural as waking up in the morning. You begin by defining what you want. But to decide that, you have to know who you are. I think that’s probably the key to getting it right. If you don’t know who you are, becoming an entrepreneur can be a very expensive way of finding out.

Next, a goal needs to be realistic. Many people yearn for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but have no idea how to find a rainbow. Or they aren’t willing to put in the time looking for one, or don’t have the courage to walk all the way to the end of it.

Faith

I learned to focus on spirituality, on mental power as opposed to material power, and I developed a philosophy of individual empowerment, as Catherine Albanese describes in A Republic of Mind & Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion. There are many popular spinoffs from Mary Baker Eddy’s philosophy, ranging from religious science to the pragmatic Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking, to Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life (both hugely successful). You also find it today for spirituality-seeking young social networkers on Internet sites that focus on spirituality.

Mrs. Eddy taught me always to be positive. She wrote, “Stand porter at the door of thought,” not to accept negative ideas from others. She taught me not to listen to begrudgers, either my own internal voices or the voices of other people who might try to talk me into doing what I knew was wrong or talk me out of doing what I knew was right. She also taught me the importance of thought. If I could see the problem, then substitute a spiritual truth in place of a limiting, unkind, petty, intolerant, or unforgiving material thought, I’d be a part of the creation of whatever good outcome ought to be present. If I could visualize the idea and think it through, then I could figure out anything that ought to be figured out.

Read more about Sam Wyly's inspirational story in "1,000 Dollars and an Idea." Buy the book.

Copyright © 2009 Sam Wyly