I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I did so well in building a number of businesses. They want to know the secret of my success. That kind of question always makes me feel good because it tells me I have something to offer others. I love being an encourager. I love to talk to people about the power of faith and positive thinking and enthusiasm and a lot of other reasons I believe God has blessed me abundantly. I will always give Him the credit!
I talk a lot about my childhood. But I’m not sure I emphasize enough that it is one of the secrets to why I did pretty well. There’s something about where I came from that is easy to overlook when talking about success. Putting it simple, I always knew where I came from and was darn proud of it. I grew up struggling in Kannapolis, North Carolina, raised by a single mom who told me I could accomplish anything I wanted if I believed in myself and God!
That might not seem like much to you but it was good enough for me. I knew I was rich before I ever had anything. If I’d wished my background was something different or tried to pretend I was someone else, I don’t believe I would have done as well. First of all, it wouldn’t have fooled anyone. Second, it would have robbed me of appreciating and using the unique gifts God gave me, including my upbringing.
In Jesus’ parable of the talents, not everyone started with the same amount of talents to build something with. But reward wasn’t based on how much they started with. Reward was based on a real simple question: did you use what I gave you? (See Matthew 25:14-30.)
What’ the secret of your success? Same as mine. Using what God gave you. Do you believe in your gifts? Are you using them? I don’t believe there’s a better place for you to start!