None of these entrepreneurs stories started out well. And thats exactly what drove them to exceed all expectations. Where does success in business really come from? Many successful entrepreneurs I know seem to be the product of a good education and favorable circumstances. Others have tenacity, drive, or passion--or all three. But some people find success because theyre deeply motivated by something else. The people in the stories below certainly have tenacity, drive, and passion, but their real motivation came from unlikely situations. In fact, many others would have failed--and have--when handed the obstacles these people experienced. Rather than getting bogged down, these five people used negative and sometimes traumatic situations as motivation to succeed in business. Illness Marten deVlieger was found at an early age to have cystic fibrosis, a degenerative and incurable disease that affects the entire body, but especially the lungs. Life with cystic fibrosis is a constant challenge, deVlieger said. Most of us have been told since birth that we wont live past the age of 2, 10, 21... and yet we hear of those rare ones living past the now average CF life expectancy of 42 and think, That could be me. For that to be him, though, deVlieger knew he would need technology and remedies greater than those available at the time to help him cope. He told me of his mothers staying home to rub and thump his back for hours each day, to combat the fluid buildup inherent to CF. DeVlieger dreamed of independence, though. He wanted to fly a helicopter and so, as a teen, began combing through a local garbage dump in search of scrap metal and parts he would use to construct a crude, heavy chest device to mirror the traditional technique of loosening mucus in CF patients. His first iteration was too bulky and left him covered in bruises. However, the ChestMaster5000 had been born. Over the next several years, deVlieger persevered and worked out his design flaws. He sought advisory and PR support, a huge step that helped him earn funding, and media coverage was critical. Also, he realized he needed to master scale; deVlieger took the device to a contract manufacturing firm that specialized in medical devices, which helped get the device where it needed to be, from a technical and regulatory standpoint. DeVliegers invention has been featured on the front page in the Globe and Mail, at MedGadget and QMed, in the U.K.s Daily Mail, and in assorted national broadcast news features. France2 produced a documentary about his device. There is no choice but to persevere, against the odds, and accept that hardships and fear will be constant companions, yet every single day deeply appreciating that you have been given another day to fight the fight, and enjoying (almost) every minute of it. Isnt that what entrepreneurship is all about? Disrespect Dan Nainan wasnt a popular child--in fact, he was bullied primarily because of his mixed Indian and Japanese heritage. On the first day I moved to a new area and was in a new school, he said, they started calling me chink...and Im not even Chinese. I foresaw for myself a terrible and lonely future with no girlfriend. Of course, I didnt go to the prom; at that time, it was unthinkable. As often happens to the unpopular kid, Nainan went on to a successful career--he was a senior engineer with Intel, traveling the world with chairman Andy Grove, doing technical demonstrations at events. However, the byproduct of years of torment by classmates was this: Nainan was incredibly nervous about speaking in front of people. So he took a comedy class to help him get over his stage fright. In a bizarre turn of events, the comedy kind of took off... he says. Thats an understatement. He has performed at the Democratic National Convention, three presidential inaugural events, a TED Conference, and for celebrities including Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Steve Wozniak. Nainan has been in an Apple commercial and performed with Carrot Top and Penn & Teller. Yes, his comedy career kind of took off. So how does one go from bullied child to tech geek to successful stage presence? Nainan attributes it to all those emotions he felt as a kid. Its the desire to show people that you are worthy, he says. Guilt Andrew Bauer shouldnt feel guilty about the financial burden his family experienced as he was growing up, but he does. Thats the funny thing about guilt--it doesnt have to make sense. However, it can drive people to accomplish great things. In his early childhood, Bauer, who was born mentally disabled, participated in a health care program to rehabilitate his brain. The bills eventually put his family in an insurmountable situation financially. This guilt weighed heavily on Bauers mind; he was determined not to be a burden but also to help his family move past its untenable financial issues. Recently, he created Freedom Wallet, the worlds first leather wallet with GPS tracking technology, for Royce Leather, the familys business. Bauer told me, I have been very blessed to have the support of my family, no matter how bad things got from being handicapped. I work hard for the company every single day to make up for the times that I was a financial burden. Fear Few things are as terrifying as realizing youre about to be a first-time parent. Discovering you have a potentially terminal illness might be one. Lawrence Polsky learned both of these things in one night. One January night in 2000, he learned that his wife was pregnant--right after his doctor told Polsky he had a tumor. The doctor recommended surgery. Polsky decided on a different approach. He began researching how others had overcome major life challenges and noticed similarities in how they implemented positive changes in their lives. He decided to do the same. Fifty percent of the protocol I used to get well involved creating a positive mind--that was part of it, he says. But also, spending time every week reflecting on my life choices, my beliefs, my dreams, my attitudes. And spending time every day having fun. This purposeful reflection and focus helped get my mind in shape to succeed. Polsky told his doctor the night before his scheduled surgery he was canceling it. The doctor, he says, was outraged--yet Polsky felt peaceful. My extended family were scared. My wife and I were feeling positive. That choice, which no one other than my wife supported, marked the beginning of a new, more positive life for me. I finally felt brave enough to follow my intuition despite strong opposition, he says. Polsky won his battle with cancer and decided that with his new perspective, education, and practical experience, he had something valuable to share. He and a colleague co-founded PeopleNRG, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations successfully implement change. They have since written best-selling books and now travel the world educating leaders from Minnesota to Mumbai, Chicago to China, on how to get their teams unstuck, move past their fears, and implement change. Defeat Jake Weatherly, now the founder of a leading ID-verification technology company, had his eye on the World Cup circuit when a crash during a training run terminated his hopes of a professional skiing career. After a summer spent recovering from the surgery to insert a rod in his shoulder and contemplating his options, Weatherly left college, headed west, and ended up in Oregons Silicon Forest, in an apartment hed rented unseen. An adrenaline junkie from an early age, he soon found another outlet for his energies. Weatherly returned to school and went to work part time at Palo Alto Software, where he was mentored by CEO and veteran entrepreneur Tim Berry. That was the moment at which he knew things were going to change for the better, Weatherly said. Just a month after arriving in Oregon, I was off and running, building a career in the world of technology, software, and entrepreneurship at a very young age when the Internet was just taking shape, he said. He founded SheerID and in just three years, he built his brand into a leading provider of verification technology with clients such as Costco, Karen Kane, Spotify, and Foot Locker. Weatherly said his success today has everything to do with his earlier hopes and defeat. Characteristics like honesty, competitive drive, enthusiasm, and determination are universal--not contextual, he said. The same drive that fuels you to turn in the best time on a giant slalom course to bring your team to victory can also be applied to building a company, building a career, and being a fierce competitor in life. Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the first name of Jake Weatherly.
Posted on: Tue, 20 May 2014 22:23:36 +0000
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