Power in The Possible

It was in the spring of that year.  The winter had been a bit colder than usual. At the end of my fifth grade year I was still tiny for my age. I compensated for my size in daring, drive, and determination. I would do things like jump off the roof of my parents house for fun and catch snakes longer than me – just because it was possible. In those years spring was the favorite time of year because it was closer to summer vacation.  Don’t get me wrong, I did not mind school.  I especially loved science, reading, and P.E. Some of my fondest memories of school are of the well lit library that seemed like a cathedral of books.   Every few weeks heaven came down in the form of an art teacher who came around with her art project lessons on a cart. Heaven bless those angels.

One Friday afternoon after choir rehearsal at our church, the children’s choir director announced that we were getting new robes.  Instantly I felt sadness roll over me.  I knew there was no way my parents would be able to pay for a new choir robe.  Although I had no idea what a robe would cost, I knew it would be a strain on my parent’s pockets. I didn’t want to saddle them with this new burden.  Of five children, I was the oldest boy in a family of seven people. We lived modestly in a three-bedroom house on a child filled street with hardworking parents.  My parents worked extra hard.  They worked so hard, for a large part of my childhood, I thought vacation meant taking days off one job to work another one.  That’s  what my dad did for as long as I remembered.  Even as much as they worked, we were still among the “working poor.” Although the money was scarce – love and care flowed freely within our home. My Mom really could make a dollar out of 15 cents – and a whole dinner out of leftover breakfast. Years later I realized we weren’t poor. Poor is a state of mind. We were financially broke – a fixable situation. We had a wealth of family and relationships. My parents kept us involved in church related activities.  Every time the church doors swung open, we were there. 

The moment the announcement was made about the choir robes, my mind set off frantically trying to figure out how to get the money for that robe. In the next instant, I had an answered.  The choir director announced that we would sell candy to raise money for the robes. Instantly I heard the angels chorus. The clouds parted and I was filled with the light of glory. Actually it was just me, elated.  If I couldn’t do anything else, selling was my forte, by default.   I loved selling.  There was this time my Mom had bought this bubblegum that was super hard to chew.  None of us liked it.  This was one of those rare times when something sweet sat on the cabinet counter for weeks untouched. One afternoon when some friends were over hanging out on the porch, I had this bright idea.  In a short time, all the gum was sold.  Yes, I sold it. Told my friends it was jaw strengthening gum and sold every single piece.  I even had other neighborhood kids come over to ask about the gum.  That was the jumpstart of my first, and rather successful entrepreneurial adventure. It was also a key to an entrepreneurial wormhole – Don’t sell a product. Create an experience and your product becomes a desired byproduct of the adventure.

Now, there I was standing tall in that choir stand knowing that new robe was as good as already mine. No doubt. During the next few weeks, I sold candy like crazy.  I sold at school, at church, in the neighborhood, at church some more.  I even sold to salesmen who came to our house to sell stuff to us. After I’d sold my candy, I kept going back for more. I wanted to make sure my robe was covered.  When there was no more candy at the church, I sold what my friends hadn’t sold.  I was a stone-cold chocolate bar selling machine. At that point I was not so much driven by the reward of the robe or even the dollars and change coming in but the victorious feeling of seeing the look in people’s eyes when they purchased and the bottom of another empty box.

As part of the venture, that I had somehow missed, the choir was going to DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida.  I didn’t even given that any thought.  I couldn’t even conceive of a trip like this. It had to be beyond my realm of possibilities.  I just saw it as somewhere they were going. Things other people did…

To be Continued…