The Drive to Aim High Read online

  As entrepreneurs, when we feel we lose control, we can try to avoid failure by seeking professional help or hiring top professionals to assist us in running our businesses. Still, there is no guarantee that we won’t fail. In our personal lives, we can follow a safe path. But again, there is no assurance that challenges will not come our way. That’s what life really is, isn’t it? Life’s a series of ups and downs, akin to a roller coaster ride, at times.

  During my 19 years as an entrepreneur and innovative investor, I have made many poor investments, resulting in losses of more than half a million dollars. This also involved going through bankruptcy with one of my businesses. At the early start of the bankruptcy proceedings, we borrowed money from a friend to invest in the retail business. Unable to pay back our debt and without any other sources of financing, we were forced to sell our home and repay the money owed. Yes, it was extremely painful, but I did not allow this experience to stop me from dreaming big and continuing to work hard to achieve the goals I had set for myself and my family.

  My bankruptcy procedures lasted for more than three years. It involved the banks, creditors/suppliers, the state, and my former partners. At the request of my former partners, after my breakout from the business relationship with them, I was investigated by the Department for Anti-Fraud in Romania.

  The initial stage of the investigation involved the anti-fraud officers interrogating me several times at their headquarters. For the record, that building was intimidating, actually, quite frightening in appearance. It had very small rooms, with almost no air circulating, and no proper lighting system. I was not served any water or given any accommodation whatsoever. It felt like walking into a prison. The investigation extended into my personal life as well as the firm's financial records.

  The officers individually questioned most of my employees as part of the investigation, almost closing down my other businesses altogether. This initial stage of the investigation lasted more than six months. At the end of it all, the Department for Anti-Fraud found no evidence to support the claims brought against me by my former partners.

  The whole bankruptcy situation felt earth-shattering to me. It unfolded incredibly quickly, so much so that at times I didn’t know what was happening around me. I used to tremble and sweat each time I was called to the Anti-Fraud headquarters, not knowing what to expect. But, somehow, at the end of it, I found a way to look at all of those trials and tribulations as actually being a great part of my business experience. Why? Because I learned everything that I could from it.

  Writing about all of this now feels almost surreal. In retrospect, it seems like I have a protective mechanism that keeps all past negative events out of my head. I certainly don’t dwell on them. They are only triggered when I am reminded of those times by others asking questions or interviewing me about my past. I am proud that I have this system of mindsets in me because it has helped me to let go of all my past struggles and challenges. I hope sharing my story may in some way teach others how to do the same.

  Don’t live in the past - live in the present. That is what matters most.

  Periods of Rework

  Reworking something involves making changes to bring something up-to-date. It involves reinventing, improving, and/or optimizing. Reworking a business following a financial setback involves assessing what caused the setback, and then creating and implementing a plan to move forward. It’s also an opportunity to rethink your original business model, define its core as well as the key processes that worked and didn’t work, compute profits, cut losses, and then, move on.

  My first rework call was when I was faced with terminating the joint venture with SPAR, the US-based merchandising company. Losing this joint venture meant a huge financial loss, as I had invested heavily in this project, and counted on it to get my business to the next level. For complex reasons, it didn’t work at that time. After the joint venture termination, I was left with a fragmented business, a negative cash flow, huge debts, and a severe lack of available working capital for my advertising company.

  The only valuable asset I had left was my team. I had formed a very strong team, which I consider to be the most highly prized non-financial working capital that any company can hope to have. My team shared my values, mindsets, involvement, and level of commitment to success.

  Even in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, I started negotiations with P&G, which proved to be a real turning point. It had taken me more than three years of calling on them annually before I was able to book an appointment. I was calling them in order to present my agency, our services, and what we could contribute to their business.

  Every year they answered that they would get back to me when they needed my services. But, every year, I called upon them two or three times to present again what we had to offer, and they always gave the same answer. It didn’t stop me. It didn’t discourage me because I refused to give up.

  I steadfastly continued pursuing them in this way until one pivotal day when they called on us to discuss a possible collaboration. It took another three or four months before we got our first contract signed with P&G. But, it was well worth the wait and persistence. From that point forward, we have been acknowledged on the market as an agency that companies like P&G came to when they needed marketing services in Romania. As I said, it was a turning point. All of this was possible because I believed and I persisted.

  Although we were a small agency at that time, we did prove to be a strong one. We embraced the challenges, thereby showing the true value of our team and our togetherness. We had a conjoined dedication to success and were not about to accept anything less. It didn’t matter to us about the unknown, even though we had no idea of what to expect from P&G at the beginning. What really mattered for my team was doing business with this top world-class company. We shared a great deal of excitement and pride for having them as our client.

  P&G took us through months of business evaluation. They carefully vetted our team, business competences and more. All of this happened before the first contract was signed and negotiations started. During these months, I recall discussing with a client business ethics, transparency, accountability, dedication, flexibility, cost efficiency, financial audits, and many other business aspects for the first time.

  All of these powerful values were already instilled in us as a team and were an innate part of our makeup. Therefore, we owned the essence of what a major player and plum client like P&G was looking for on the market. It had been our way of doing business from the time the company was set up, and that was the inner mindset; essentially, the mission statement of our team.

  From the very beginning of our collaboration, we learned a lot from the P&G team. The negotiation process was a win-win for every party. We learned how to properly calculate the agency’s overheads during that period, as well as how to more effectively negotiate with our suppliers. Transparency was a key factor, whether it was about calculating costs, in reporting, or always staying in proper communication with the P&G team.

  An article by Andreea Mindrila on the online news site ZF Live conveys the magnitude of our business with the P&G: “In times of crisis, Wave Division doubled its business, reaching 4.8 million euros last year.”

  Nearly eight years later, our partnership came to an end, forcing me into the second rework of my business. The loss of P&G was devastating. With a huge part of our turnover coming from P&G, to say losing them as a client was difficult, is a gross understatement.

  The entire company had developed the P&G way of thinking and doing business during our years of collaboration. The P&G way of managing business was entirely different from our previous day-to-day way of doing business on the market. The immediate challenge after the loss of P&G was reworking the processes inside the company. I was once again faced with redesigning the agency: the team, mindsets, and cash flow management. To top it off, of course, the most difficult part was winning new clients.

  Another challenge that arose was that people left
the agency, which actually I expected would happen. As the first evaluation stage before setting sail on the boat, I needed to find out who was still on board.

  The rework of Wave Division after the loss of P&G was based on the prudent financial policies of the past years. We had put aside a sufficiently large reserve so that we could financially support ourselves. This was a huge blessing that sustained us during the time it took to rebalance the agency's client portfolio.

  Famous Entrepreneurs Who Persisted

  I want to mention a couple of examples of well-known entrepreneurs who faced rejection and multiple challenges, yet, by using the persistence mindset, they triumphed.

  Warren Buffet

  It’s fairly commonly known that Harvard Business School rejected Warren Buffet when he was a young man. His father’s undying faith in Warren’s abilities, as well as his own self-confidence and persistence, led to his acceptance at Columbia. There, he worked with some experts in investing who influenced the foundation for Berkshire Hathaway. Although Berkshire Hathaway has morphed into a multi-billion dollar company over the years, in its infancy, it suffered some failure. But, Buffet again persisted. He has said that all such challenges and setbacks wound up improving his life and helped him transform barriers into favorable outcomes.

  Arianna Huffington

  No stranger to the persistence mindset, Arianna Huffington received rejections from nearly forty publishers before her second book went into print. Rather than ditching her manuscript, she kept pushing onward and turned the rejections into fuel and motivation to reach her goal of getting published.

  When she first founded the Huffington Post in 2005, it was not well received. In fact, its critics ripped into it, citing a lack of quality. Essentially, they scoffed at it, dismissed it, and figured it would go belly up in short order. However, Huffington persisted, and the Post worked its way up to more than a billion pages of views per year by 2011, at which time AOL purchased it for $315 million.

  Finding the best platform and the right marketplace to pave the road to success often requires persistence. Refusing to take no for an answer is also another key component of the persistence mindset. Huffington is no stranger to either, and her example can serve to inspire you to carry on, no matter what challenges crop up in your endeavors.

  Steps to Integrate the Persistence Mindset into Your Daily Life

  Find someone or something that inspires you and follow or refer to them often. Inspiration can be videos on YouTube, a book, a mentor, a colleague, your spouse/partner, or even a religious practice. But, you need something or someone to turn to when you are feeling depressed, scared, or panicked. Anytime you feel that you just don’t have what it takes to keep going, turn to one of these sources of inspiration to build yourself back up, and persevere.

  My wife is a tremendous source of inspiration for me every day. I also turn to books, videos, and stories of other people who have triumphed over adversity. If they can do it, then so can I.

  Ignore the voices around you. Every day there are voices around you. Naysayers will wear you down, spouting things such as, “You can’t do that. You can’t do this. You’re going to fail.” Eliminate all of those voices.

  For example, I’ve been telling some friends that I’m writing a book. One of their first questions typically is, “What’s wrong with you? Are you mad? What are you going to do with a book in Romania?” I have what they don’t have: the vision to see that a book isn’t limited to a single country’s market. Granted, my agency or business is limited to the Romanian market in a way. But, in terms of a market for readers who want to understand how to succeed? A book like that has no limitations.

  Blocking, ignoring, or refusing to entertain those negative voices, those fear-mongers, is one thing that you can do to remove the greatest discouragement from pursuing your dreams. Negative people and voices are dream stealers, if you allow them to be. So, don’t allow them! Persevere and keep moving forward.

  Don’t be afraid to try, and try again. Yes, there are many theories about calculated risks. But, you can make the best decisions, take the safest risks, and still fail. You can make the worst decisions, take the most insane risks, and succeed. Either way, what will be, will be. You can hire all the experts around you that you want. God knows I have hired so many people in this company that I thought were going to do the work for me. I thought they were all my solutions. But, until I tried, I didn’t know that I was wrong.

  Muster up your perseverance and try with all your might - even if that means failing. The good news is this: you’ll learn more from your failures than your successes, so consider every failure a lesson in what to do differently next time. That’s how experts become experts: they only know what works and doesn’t work because they have failed so many times they are intimately familiar with what will work and what won’t. No one ever learned a great life lesson by throwing in the towel and quitting. Most people who quit before pulling out all the stops possible often spend much of the rest of their life wondering, what if?

  Find good people and keep them in your life. You need people. I’m still in business because I opened my heart to the people around me. I’m not judged by my mistakes and failures. Associate yourself with the right people. They will empower you to have the courage to be brave, to follow your dreams and your ideas.

  Realize that failure is not permanent. Failure is a situation that happens, not a permanent condition. Failure is a place on your path, not your path itself. You will fail every day in various areas of your life, but you likely don’t call it failure, but rather a mistake. Why should you be afraid to try? Because you’re going to make a mistake? That’s wrong. Try. If you fail, you will learn something valuable. If you succeed, you will gain more time to eventually fail, but more importantly, learn.

  07

  THE LEGACY MINDSET

  “Life is a roller coaster of highs, lows, hard lefts, hard rights, and even some loop-de-loops. But, know this participation is mandatory as your legacy is the accumulation of what you gave back not what you took out.”

  ―Donovan Nelson Butler, Master Sergeant U.S. Army

  In its basic meaning, a legacy is a bequest, something of value transmitted by a predecessor or from the past. In its broader use, a legacy refers to one’s accomplishments or ethics one will be remembered for after they pass away. However, there is something called a “living legacy” that has emerged and become important to many, especially I would say, for those age 40 and older. Those who value the importance of giving something of value to others, especially to younger generations.

  The living legacy means that people’s legacies grow and change as they do. I would say it’s very contemporary, very real for today. You get the opportunity to share your knowledge and experiences NOW prior to your exit from this earth. Your legacy is your contribution, your value added to the world.

  The point with the living legacy is exactly that; it is even more beneficial if one can offer his or her hard-earned wisdom before one passes on. To this end, the living legacy is my model for this mindset.

  I have reached my legacy mindset by being aware of the chances I got throughout my life and trying with all my heart to give it back now, today, as often as possible. To this end, I seek constantly to contribute to the well-being and success of others.

  The way I see it, the heart of a legacy mindset is about always putting people first, from those who are close to you, like your extended family and friends, to your colleagues and members of your community. It’s about what you can do for others. It’s about paying your time, treasures, talents and thoughts forward whenever someone thinks of you. It’s always the beginning, not the past.

  Sometimes, living my legacy has required making sacrifices. Sometimes, I put the needs of others ahead of my own, and even the needs of other people before my family as well. As a result, at times I may have made decisions to help others in ways that would negatively affect my family. This is one of my weaknesses. To be truthful with
myself, I have to acknowledge my vulnerability. But somehow this, too, is part of my living legacy. So, there is nothing to hide. Our responsibility, of course, is to our own family first, because they are our primary support. We cannot fill the cups of others if we don’t first fill our own cup. Here, our own cup represents a commitment to focusing on family first, whenever we can.

  Becoming Aware of My Legacy Mindset

  When I was growing up, living with my stepfather, G. Marcus Kelley, we had a quote on our wall. It said, “I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now for I shall not pass this way again.”

  This was prominently displayed on the walls of the embassy, as well as the wall of our home. This quote defined his legacy. He lived his life always doing good for others, always showing kindness. His life was dedicated to being of service. It has influenced me as an adult. It’s the reason why I focus my legacy mindset on putting people first.

  One example of him living the people-first legacy was the fact that at the embassy in Romania, his policy was to always have an open house for all students from Liberia; in fact, for all foreign students. As I shared earlier, he became a father figure to them. Students came in whenever they finished their courses at university. They came for a safe shelter, a hot meal, and a chance to socialize with other students in their circumstances.

  At most embassies, you have to stand outside and wait. This was our private residence where normally the public would not be invited. But, because of my father’s policy, our residence was an open house. The Liberian community and those Liberian students became part of our family. My father never refused to do good for anyone.