Successful entrepreneurs are familiar with the concept of struggle because it leads to the development of character. One of the most

I once received an email about an eightyone year old man reminiscing about his life. This 81 year old man was reminiscing about his life in front of a room full of strangers. He was giving a speech talking about how he had lived his life. He spoke candidly of how he wrestled with struggle for most of his life. It was a powerful and fitting message for young people.

Let me tell you about the life of this eightyone year old man. He grew up in Cebu the son of a wealthy family whose family owned a chain of movie houses. When he was thirteen, his father suddenly died of typhoid. Right there and then, his life of privilege was exchanged for a life of poverty. A thirteen year old suddenly came face to face with the concept and consequences of debt. It was a hard and bitter transition.

The first two years after his fathers death, his mother tried to make ends meet by sending his siblings back to their home province in China. The little boy of thirteen went to work. First by roasting and selling peanuts from their backyard to setting up a stall at the public market selling basic goods. At the age of fifteen, he was able to consistently make enough money to feed his mother and himself as well as send assistance for his siblings.

After a while, he decided to risk everything by trading in tires between Manila and Cebu. This would entail riding a small boat to the nearest point in Luzon and then enduring a hard six hour truck ride to Manila. When he had sold all his tires, he would then use his profits to buy goods that he could sell back in Cebu. This young man who was not even twenty years old that time accomplished all this with World War II as a backdrop, living in constant fear of being robbed or worse, losing his life.

After the war, at the age of twenty, he put up his own company selling everything from old newspapers to fruits and vegetables. This was his start. From there, he branched out into corn starch manufacturing which eventually led into snack foods.

Today, we travel more as a nation because of his vision. Cebu Pacific pioneered the low price fare strategy that has allowed air travel to be affordable to more people. We communicate more frequently because of his passion. Sun Cellular has blazed the way using promotions that allowed more people to talk to each other for less. His many products are a part of our lives because of his dreams. C2 created a whole new segment of the drinks industry and shocked the giants.

His companies have established a reputation as monopoly busters. Whenever he enters a business, the public can be assured that they will end up getting better prices and services . The eightyone year old man I am talking about is Cebu’s very own John Gokongwei. Who he is and what he has accomplished are already stuff of legend. But where he came from and what he did to get to where he is needs to be told more.

John Gokongwei said, “But to be a truly great nation, we must also excel as entrepreneurs before the world.” I believe that he has done so much to inspire the next generation of young entrepreneurs. A lot of times when we look at successful men, we fail to look deeper into their beginnings. If we did that, we would discover that we too have chances of doing it. They were not born successful, but they were able to make something with what they had. They struggled and in their struggle, they were able to build the character needed to propel them forward.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at stirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com