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| John Flores |
My name is John Flores, and the fact that you’re reading this means that we’ve had the chance of meeting recently, either in person, by phone, or even through the magic of social media, perhaps through a Facebook or LinkedIn connection, or through one of the many other avenues available to us today. Regardless of how you got here, I want to welcome you!
I am the owner of Company Si, a business that I started for the purpose of motivation and sharing success principles with others.
Before I go on, I want to emphasize that what I’m about to share with you is a story with a purpose. My goal is to help as many people as I can in my lifetime, and I want to accomplish this at little to no cost to them.
If you like stories, you’ll like my story. It's about a man I met over 35 years ago. His name was Frank. (I'll keep his last name private for confidentiality):
In early 1978, I was a confused teenager living in Fresno, California, trying to figure out what I wanted out of life. I needed a break and made a decision to move to San Antonio, Texas and lived with my mom and stepfather (my parents were divorced; I lived with my dad in Fresno), and see what life had to offer. My stepfather was (and still is) a great man, who had a lot of great advice for a kid my age. A couple of days after I arrived, he gave me the greatest learning lesson that one needs to share with a teen, which was in the form of a question. He said to me, “After you get yourself settled down here, I can talk to a few people out at the airport and get you a job (he worked at San Antonio International Airport).” Then he laid out this question, with the biggest grin on his face: “So, I can get you a job out at the airport or you can sit on your ass and watch television all day. What do you want to do?”
I started working the following Monday.
Since I was socially new to the area (I had family in San Antonio, but all my friends were in Fresno), and given the fact that my primary association was working in an airplane hangar with two mechanics who were old enough to have fought at the Battle of the Alamo. I really needed to meet some young people like myself. Again, I mentioned this to my stepfather and he said, “Try the mall, and see about getting a night job.”
Not long after that, I was hired at Joske's of Texas, a well-known department store at the time. It was a great job - it gave me the opportunity to meet many interesting (and strange) customers every day. The best part of it all was that I was able to work with people my age, and they were mostly female. I made new friends, and even went out with a couple of the girls that I worked with. Things were clicking along, to say the least.
To this day, I can’t remember the names of anyone I worked with there, except Frank, the man mentioned above. He’s the only one that stands out. He was a customer who showed up in the waning hours of the evening as the closing hour approached, just as customers began to slowly call it a night.
He appeared rather eccentric. He wasn’t very tall, but his stooped posture made him look shorter than he actually was. He reminded me of “Mr. Bojangles,” with silver hair, a ragged shirt (actually, he had on a plain shirt with what looked like a mechanic’s jacket), and baggy pants, with an unforgettable smile on his face. He shuffled up to where I was standing, stood at the counter (I was working a jewelry counter near the entrance to the mall), and glanced around, as if he were amazed to be in a big store for the first time. He then started a conversation with me, which really wasn’t the most convenient time, as I needed to close my register and make sure everything was put away for the night, but he was extremely friendly and had this twinkle in his eye that told me that I needed to just pay attention to him, if only for a minute. As it was, he only needed a couple of minutes.
During my brief encounter with Frank, he asked me about my job along with the usual things that you talk to a teenager about: school, work, sports, girlfriends, and future plans for life, I told him that I was working two jobs, going to school and planning to major in business, and gave him some vague plan for my future. After a couple of minutes had passed, he said, "Well, it's been nice talking to you. I have to go." He grabbed a piece of paper and began to scribble, and said "My name is Frank...here...if you ever need advice on buying land, oil, gas, whatever…I'm an expert. Just write me at this address...even if it's 31 years from now," and gave me the piece of paper - on which he posted the phrase, "Write even 31 years from now."
I went home, put that piece of paper in a box with some other keepsakes, and forgot about it.
Years later, I found that box in my closet and opened it up. To my surprise, the slip of paper that Frank had given to me was still there. I began to wonder if he would actually be around after 31 years. I determined then that I would hold on to that paper and track him down in the year 2009, which was still a few years down the road.
Before I knew it, it was 2009. By that time, I was nearing 40 years of age, and was nowhere close to my dream. Remembering the note after 31 years, I decided to track him down. Waiting until this time was probably beneficial as it was, as it’s now easier to find information online, and I was able to find Frank's name with the actual address he gave me in 1978, along with a telephone number.
So here I was, 31 years later, calling the number and nervously listening for an old man at the other end to answer the line. The phone rang about three or four times, and I heard the familiar sound of the receiver being lifted off its cradle along with the two-second pause as the receiver was raised to the person’s ear.
I heard a pleasant “Hello.” It gave me some assurance I might have made a good decision.
I asked for Frank, and the person said Frank didn't live there any more. He then asked me what it was regarding, and I quickly but clearly stated the purpose of my call and told him the story. I could hear the man chuckle quietly over the line and then took a short deep breath and said, "That sounds like him. Frank was my dad."
It turned out that Frank had died years ago and according to his son, Frank was as eccentric as I remember him to be. He worked his life as a oil and gas "wildcatter," which is someone who explores for oil and gas in places where no one else will go. Though he experienced ups and downs throughout his life, Frank's son said that the old guy loved doing what he was doing, and enjoyed helping people with his advice. At the end of our conversation, he said, "I'm glad you called. I'm sure my dad would have pretty tickled by your phone call today!"
After that conversation with Frank's son, I couldn't help but wonder, "Wow, what if I just called when he was alive?" I'm not exactly sure how it would have played out, as wildcatting for oil is a pretty tough business. The great thing about Frank's life was that old Frank lived his dream, making money, helping people, and doing what he loved.
Now, I'll get to the point of this message, and ask you some questions...
Are you living your dream or dreaming to live?
Are you doing what you want to do, whatever, whenever, and wherever you want?
What would change if you had no debt?
What would change if you earned an extra thousand dollars a month?
Does your stomach hurt on Sunday, from stress about the upcoming Monday?
Do you pay your bills by color, with the red ones paid first?
How often do you get to go see the latest movie, concert, or hit up the newest restaurant?
How's your car running? Is it running?
Would you like to fulfill a purpose of helping people as you go through life?
Would you like to be the person who told others to contact you 31 years from now?
One final question: In today's economic times, are you aware a job will never cut it financially?
Here's a heads up: If you're working for a wage, the answer to the above-listed questions will always be "no."
Your job will never pay for your dream, but your job will cost you that dream.
Think about that for a second.
Your dream can only be paid for by you. People are taking jobs out of desperation because they can't find anything better. People are working jobs at half of what they were making in their previous jobs. People are getting laid off like never before. People are sacrificing their dream for the now.
We have corporations run by CEOs who graduate from the best MBA programs in the country and still are winding up in bankruptcy. Yet, those CEOs who run their corporations into the ground move on to bigger and brighter pastures to do the same thing to another corporation. The sad part about all this is that the people who will pay the price of failure will be the people in the trenches. They'll give up the opportunity for the life of their dreams to keep clinging on to a job that won't cut it financially or in the long term. They could pay to achieve the dream, and live the life they hoped for, but in most cases about 95% of people will not pay the price and continue in the rut-filled life that so many people settle for, but at this time hoping that their rotten job will be there tomorrow. What's more sad for those people is that the price of success isn't that expensive. Ultimately, it's the rut that is more expensive to purchase over time.
I justified my life for years by working a job, and it got me nowhere. The only thing it got me was an empty bank account and poor health. I finally had enough.
I want to be like Frank...
And I want to help you achieve whatever it is you're looking for...
I'm not an oil wildcatter, but I am a "people wildcatter." My "field" is among people. Frank had oil fields; I work in "people fields." I work in a personal-relationship marketing industry. It’s the simplest line of work and the simplest to teach. It does require some coachability on your part, but if you’re willing to learn, I’m willing to teach. If you’re not willing to learn, I’ll still be your friend and will wait in the wings until you’re ready. It's free, so it'll cost you the same...either way, it’s a win/win situation.
So, if you're looking for an avenue to follow for success, and would like some advice on how to achieve success with people and how to profit from it, I can help! It won't cost you a dime, and the coffee is on me!
By the way, at the bottom of this story, I've included a picture of the note Frank gave me in 1978. I blotted out his last name and street name for his privacy. It's a priceless piece of paper that I'll always have with me.
I hope your day is a fantastic one. Like Frank, I'm more than willing to hear from you at any time, even it's 31 years from now. I promise to be around, because life will continue to be awesome!
John Flores
Fresno CA
Webpage Info: http://wildcattingforsuccess.blogspot.com
Webpage Short Link: http://bit.ly/wc4success
