Hero (28 page)

G. M. RAO

In my journey of four decades, it happened a number of times that things did not turn out the way we had anticipated. I did not hesitate to stop and change course with an open mind. We experienced this recently when we acquired 50 percent of an international energy giant for over $1.2 billion. When things were not turning out the way we anticipated and our aspirations were not in congruence with our partners, we decided to opt out even if it meant facing a temporary setback. However, in hindsight and subsequently we have more than made up. If the purity of intention is there, the Universe finds a way to reward you.

If your commitment begins to waver at any time on the Hero’s Journey, through disappointment, rejection, or something that didn’t go the way you thought it would go, those are the times when you need to remind yourself that you are always being moved to your dream in the way that will bring about the greatest outcome.

MASTIN KIPP

As an entrepreneur, there’s a term called pivoting, and pivoting basically means if it doesn’t work I’m going to pivot – implement what I learned and come up with something new. And that’s really what the Hero’s Journey is all about. See what works, change what doesn’t, try again, and ultimately you’ll get there.

JOHN PAUL DEJORIA

Dreams change. When I started John Paul Mitchell Systems back in 1980 with my partner, the dream was, “If we could do $5 million a year we’d each make $200,000 to $250,000. We’d be set for life.” Well, when we got to that point with the size of our company, our dream changed and grew bigger. So it’s important to know that once you achieve that dream you go on to another dream. It’s an evolution.

There is one thing you can count on when you follow your dream through the thrilling twists and turns of your Hero’s Journey. Your dream will never end up being smaller than what you thought. It will only become greater, in ways you could never have imagined.

PETER FOYO

We all encounter naysayers. To build a business this size, I’ve had to compete with the biggest naysayers.

Peter Foyo had to face naysaying from every direction, from potential investors, competitors, and government officials that could have prevented him from achieving his dream. But despite all of the naysayers and all of the difficulties that stood in his path, today Nextel Mexico has a workforce of 17,000 people servicing over 4 million customers with the latest in telecommunications. From his beginnings as a child of hardworking immigrants, Peter achieved his enormous dream for Nextel in less than five years, and when he was only thirty-eight years of age. With Peter at the helm, Nextel Mexico has continued to grow rapidly over the last ten years into a multibillion-dollar company.

MASTIN KIPP

Naysayers are part of the journey. Recognize that if you’re successful, if you’re doing something great, people are going to love you and some people are going to hate you. I just see that as a sign of success.

Every person who has ever done something that had never been done before faced hundreds and hundreds of naysayers who said their dream was impossible. What do you think people said to Edison when he said he was going to invent a device that would light up an entire room? What do you think people said to Alexander Graham Bell when he told people he was inventing an instrument that would enable two people to talk to each other from thousands of miles apart? You can trust in the fact that if you have a big dream and there are lots of naysayers around, they’re the proof that you
can
do it!

ANASTASIA SOARE

By 1995, I was so busy that I thought, “I have to open my store in Beverly Hills.” I went to the landlord and he said to me, “Are you out of your mind? You can’t make money to pay rent doing eyebrows.” He didn’t want to rent me the space. But he saw that I was so crazy and he committed. He said, "Okay, I will give you six months.” Well, the first week there was a line outside the store and he called me one day and said, “I have never seen anything like this. Are you sure you are doing eyebrows there?”

LAIRD HAMILTON

Naysayers are always present. And as a sensitive being, you’re always going to be affected by it; it’s just what you do with that. Don’t fall the victim to it because then they have achieved their goal.

The effect naysayers have is up to
you.
Only you choose how you react to them. If you allow one naysayer to get to you you’ll open yourself up to being affected by more naysayers, so don’t let them bother you. It’s the complete opposite of what the naysayers intended, but instead of deterring you, their words can even inspire you with a renewed energy that propels and drives you to achieve your dream.

PETER FOYO

It’s a spectacular feeling to take a naysayer as a propelling factor of success. They actually push you faster to be happier and to be more successful.

LAIRD HAMILTON

I used a lot of the naysayers as fuel. I took “You can’t do that!” As “Oh yeah, I can do that!” That just drove me. I just spun it on its head and turned a negative into a positive, because especially in my world the naysayers were many, and they still are.