We all have moments in our life when we discover what our purpose is. Sometimes it’s apparent when we’re young, like when a child prodigy first picks up a musical instrument. Sometimes we discover our purpose when reflecting on pivotal moments from our past, like a unique job offer. When people recognize the gift of their life, they don’t always know what to do with it. But every now and then, magic happens, and a person’s passion aligns with their vocation. This is one of those stories…
Steve’s
grandfather immigrated to the United States from Italy. He found work as
a laborer, but when he discovered the power of being a small business
entrepreneur, it transformed his life. Steve’s father was an engineer and his
mother a special education teacher. She home-schooled Steve in his early
years as he struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia.
At
the age of seven, Steve’s father took him to hear a speech by John F. Kennedy,
who was running for President. Steve was
too small to see over the crowd, but remembers Kennedy’s words as he described
a program to inspire America’s youth to serve their country in what would
become known as the Peace Corps.
After
college, Steve worked at Ford Motor Company in their finance department. In those days, Ford assigned numbers to every
employee’s position with relation to their rank in the company hierarchy. An assembly line worker might be a number 30,
while the CEO was number 1. After
several years, Steve had earned quite a bit of responsibility and influence,
but he was still 21 positions from the top.
Some
years later, Steve moved to New York City and launched an import/export
business. It was small and a struggle to
get off the ground, but as founder and top decision-maker, Steve was finally
the number 1. His life took an
unexpected turn when he was mugged for a measly ten dollars while jogging in
Central Park.
Steve
met with a therapist who suggested a technique called flooding to help overcome
the trauma of the experience. In his
case, it meant surrounding himself with inner-city teenagers, and so Steve
became a special education teacher and asked to be assigned to one of the most
dangerous schools in the city.
Steve
quickly realized that he wasn’t a very good teacher. One day, he asked a student who was acting
out in class why he was being so unruly.
The response was simply, “You are a boring teacher.” Steve asked if there was ever a time the
student was interested in what he had to say.
The student said, “The time you talked about your import/export
business. I loved hearing how you bought
and sold your products and made money doing that.”
Steve
started talking more about business in class.
Then he made the leap that would change his life forever. He started teaching his students how to start
their own businesses. He became
certain he was on to something while teaching a class of at-risk students in
the South Bronx. This group was being
kept out of school for various reasons, including selling drugs on school
property and assaulting a teacher. Steve
was given permission to teach them entrepreneurship, and the results were
amazing. Not only did the majority end
up back in school and graduate, but several started businesses that earned over
$10,000.
Steve
found his passion in empowering a generation of inner city youth to use
entrepreneurship as a catalyst to live not only a better life, but the life of
their dreams. Twenty-five
years later, the non-profit organization he founded, the Network for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE), has reached over 500,000 students in 18 states and 9
countries.
I
know this story well because I met Steve Mariotti in 1988, just when he was
getting NFTE off the ground. I was in my
last year of college, and we were both speaking at an entrepreneurship
conference. Shortly thereafter, Steve
made me an offer. He asked me to give
him one year of my life and help grow NFTE.
He said I wouldn’t make a lot of money, but promised that I’d never
regret it. His words inspired me,
perhaps the way JFK’s words had inspired him, and I agreed, giving NFTE five
years instead of just one.
Today
is Steve’s 60th birthday, and I wrote this to wish him the very
best. But is it Steve’s story or
mine? Thanks to Steve’s and my time at
NFTE, I went on to discover my own dream of empowering young people through
what I call the mindset revolution.
Which means this can also be your story.
The two greatest days in your life are the day you’re born, and the day
you discover why. Seek out your why and
take action. When you do, you’ll live
your dreams and make the world a better place!
Until next week...
Live Your Dreams
No comments:
Post a Comment