From Homeless to Millionaire: The Life-Changing Advice

A Millionaire man shares the powerful advice that turned his life around and led him to success. His inspiring journey proves that the right mindset and actions can change everything.

Despite putting in 60 hours a week on my business, I never work. Work is challenging. But it brings me great joy to write, lecture, research, learn, and share information. I was called to accomplish that. However, we frequently choose to do something different from what we are called to accomplish. I decided to prepare for the law school entrance exam as a UCLA undergraduate since that was the recognized route for a political science major. I did not enjoy the law, although I could have attended a prestigious law school. In a magazine called Vital talks of the Day, I like reading motivational talks. Peter Jennings and other outstanding broadcast journalists were fascinating to watch. I would examine his speech patterns, including his tempo, loudness, and inflections. I decided to follow my passion and went to journalism school. I worked as a broadcast journalist for the following twelve years before quitting to use my abilities elsewhere.

The Millionaire

“What is your best piece of advice to date?” “What is the finest advice you ever got?” the host of a recent podcast asked me after the conversation. Before I tell you what I said, let me go back to 2007. At that time, I had to decide whether to devote myself full-time to my expanding writing and public speaking business or to keep my big, reliable salary as the vice president of a multinational PR agency. During my freelance writing career at the time, I interviewed with Chris Gardner, the real-life character played by Will Smith in the film The Pursuit of Happyness (the word “happyness” is intentionally misspelled in the title). To understand why, you must either read the book or watch the film. Gardner told me the real story of how he and his 2-year-old son spent nights in a subway station restroom. Gardner would put on his one suit during the day, drop his child off at daycare, and attend free lessons to learn how to be a stockbroker. The conclusion of the narrative is obvious. Gardner became a multimillionaire after rising to the top of his company.

The key to success in both life and business. Every day on my train ride into San Francisco, I passed the Oakland, California, subway station where Gardner had slept. He provided me with advice that altered the trajectory of my career, and I had plenty of time to think about it. I questioned Gardner, “How did you find the courage, the spirit, to keep going?” The key to success, Carmine, is to find something you enjoy doing so much that you look forward to doing it again every morning.

I would consider their comments every day as I passed the station. It made me reevaluate my decisions and the dreadful daily journeys into the city. In order to get home, I was waiting for the sun to set, not for it to shine. I left the PR firm, choosing the risk of a start-up above the security of a salary. I received an invitation to sign copies of my sixth book at BookExpo America, a prominent book business conference in New York, last week. My life and business have altered as a result of Gardner’s guidance.

The most inspirational leaders are those who follow their calling rather than doing a job. They encourage the rest of us to be our best selves and to align our passions with our abilities by doing this. They provide us with the self-assurance to go for our goals. These aspirations may occasionally result in an employee leaving the company entirely or finding another position within the same organization. And that is all right. If an employee leaves your company and can say that your leadership inspired them to find their true calling, you will be rewarded in far more ways than you can imagine. If anything, you’re more likely to attract the people who want to be on the bus instead of those who are daydreaming about finding another ride. I’ve also noticed that people who choose to remain with inspiring leaders admire those leaders for caring about their staff personally and professionally. Employees are more likely to stay with inspiring leaders (provided they are in the right roles) and more likely to speak highly of them. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” True leaders satisfy our ‘chief want.’

Chris Gardner inspired me to reevaluate my own career choices. When I first started my business, I did not know how we were going to pay for the bills, therefore, I had many restless nights. I keep looking out the window, hoping the sun would rise so I can do it again, which is another reason I can not sleep today.

Some of the world’s most recognizable brands have Carmine Gallo as their communications coach. Among his several books are the worldwide hits The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. He is a renowned keynote speaker as well. The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty, his most recent book, is the first to reveal the elements that led to the remarkable success of the Apple AAPL -0.53% Retail Store. Carmine just released an eLearning course called The New Rules Of Persuasive Presentations.