Another Editor Takeover

Editor’s Note: I got this adorable question via email from a little boy who I am told is 11 years old. I didn’t ask if he was a foster youth or not, didn’t seem important. So I swiped Dr. Gopal’s column so I could share the question with you and the answer with the little fella who took the time to reach out to me. (Benefit of being the boss) It was a great question Logan, here’s your moment in the sun!

Q) I want to be a businessman. In the summertime I sell lemonade in front of my house. Do you like lemonade? How did you make a magazine without any money? Are you ever scared? –Logan, Alabama

Hi Logan! Those are some great questions!

I was so excited to get your email buddy! You are about the same age as my son. He wants to make videogames when he gets older. Do you like videogames? He really likes Minecraft. Have you had the chance to play that game yet? I don’t see what’s so special about it, it’s not any fancier than games I played way back when I was a kid. But you asked me some questions, so I think I should answer them. We can talk about videogames another day.

First of all, wanting to be a businessperson is a great goal to have and a goal that you can easily achieve with the right studying and a bunch of hard work. All it takes is a good idea, hard work and a belief that you can do it. I’ll tell you how I handled it in a second.

I am a big, big fan of lemonade, though I am sure I haven’t had lemonade as good as yours yet.

You asked how I made Foster Focus with no money. Sorry buddy but it took money to start the magazine. How I got that money however wasn’t as hard as you would think it would be.

I started working when I was just a little younger than you are. First it was shoveling the neighborhood walkways for a couple bucks. (It snows a lot in the winter where I come from.) In the summertime I would mow lawns, I was never good at making lemonade.

Soon after that I started working in the local greenhouses and the concession stand at the ballpark in town. Then I went into foster care.

I got lucky when I was in care. I was with a family who understood the value of a strong work ethic (that’s when you would rather work than be lazy because you understand the good that comes from hard work), they allowed me to get an afterschool job.

Unfortunately, there weren’t any regular jobs available. I’d have to take a job cleaning a heavy machinery repair shop, under the table (that means no one knew I worked there, I couldn’t prove it but I still got paid). I would hang out with my friends for about an hour before heading into work around 5 pm. I would scrub floors, sweep up the wood chips they used to soak up the oil that would spill, clean DISGUSTING bathrooms and take out any trash they compiled throughout the day. All this work took a long, long time. Some nights I wouldn’t crawl into bed until 4am! Then I’d get up a few hours later to go to school. But you know what Logan? If not for that terrible job, I wouldn’t appreciate how cool my job is now.

When I got older I found out that I was really, really good at selling cars. I was so good at it I didn’t even realize it was supposed to be hard!

I went on the road with a group of salesmen who would come into different dealerships to boost their sales. They made a couple movies about the kind of work I did (you aren’t old enough to watch them yet but when you get older, there was a comedy with Jeremy Piven and a documentary called Slasher) it was really exciting and a whole lot of fun to see a different town every week. I did that for quite a while until my wife (you might get one of those when you’re older) asked me to work closer to home after our third child (may get one of those too!) was born, so I found a dealership close to where I lived.

I used the money I earned in that last job to start the magazine. So you see, hard work is required to make money and with that money you can decide what your future holds.

The other thing you should know about being in business is that success doesn’t happen overnight.

I told you about all those jobs so you would know that there’s no shortcut. I wish there was. I wish I could tell you that one day I wanted to make a magazine and I did it, but it just didn’t happen that way.

Sometimes I struggled, sometimes I got sad but I kept working. And because I worked three times harder than everyone else, I had the freedom to chase a dream.

Making the magazine each month can be tough but when the subscribers tell me how much they like it, it makes me work harder. It’s worth working hard to be your own boss! You have plenty of time to work so for the next few years you should cram all the fun you can into your life.

There’s another movie you should see in a couple years called Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. In that movie he says something very profound (smart), “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.". Take that seriously. Life moves super duper fast, you’ll be 20 before you know it!

You asked if I get scared. I do. I’m scared all the time. I’m scared I won’t do a good job. I’m scared I may have to work for someone else again someday. I’m scared that if I ever quit this magazine a bunch of kids lose a resource that the people who take care of them use to do a better job. I’m scared I won’t get to spend enough time with my kids. I’m scared all the time but fear is good if you use it the right way.

Being scared and being afraid are two different things. You can control the things you’re scared of. I can work harder. I can get better. I can learn more and that will take care of the things I’m scared of. Being afraid is a little different. Being afraid can make you stiff and you get nothing done. You can’t see the things you’re afraid of, can’t control them either. Most of the time the thing you’re afraid of isn’t real, but the things that scare you are. If you learn not to let the things you’re afraid of run your life then the stuff you are scared of will become less scary and soon not scary at all.

At least that’s the way I handle it. You’ll find the way of thinking that suits you. When you find it, you’ll be able to do anything you set your mind on.

I hope to someday come to your RESTAURANT (I think you’re bound for bigger things than a lemonade stand.) in Alabama. I hope I answered your questions. Work hard and you will be on top of the business world in no time. But have fun right now!