The Day Walton Lost Everything
With the original store that Sam Walton opened, he made a huge mistake when he signed the lease. He didn't make sure that there was a renewal clause as part of the agreement. The result was that the store that he had built up was taken away from him. He was basically kicked out of town. The reason was that it was the only property in town available to do that type of business in.
What even made it harder was that Walton was deeply rooted in the town, being a part of the community and on a number of corporate and/or church committees.
It gets worse ... his wife loved the town. In the five years they were there, three of their children had been born there and as Helen said: "We had built a life there ... I still have good friends from those days."
Walton also said at a later time, "It was the low point of my life.
"I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't believe it was happening to me. It was really like a nightmare. I had built the best variety store in the whole region and worked hard in the community—done everything right—and now I was being kicked out of town. It didn't seem fair. I blamed myself for getting suckered into such an awful lease, and I was furious at the landlord. Helen, just settling in with a brand-new family, was heartsick at the prospect of leaving Newport. But that's what we were going to do."
It is at these points in our lives that determine who we are and what we're made up of. There's no doubt about this, Sam Walton screwed up here. It was completely his fault and he knew it. But he also had a decision to make. Was he going to stay there a live at that moment of time for the rest of his life or was he going to go on?
At this time in history it looks easy to see the choice he made and assume that it was easy. Yet the mistakes he made devasted his family, along with his business - everything that was important to him.
No matter what life throws at us as business leaders and managers, it is always our response to them that will determine our future, not the events themselves. Everybody has events that act upon them; either self-inflicted like with Walton, or from outside sources and forces. If we truly believe in what we're doing and stay focused no matter what comes our way, then all problems are temporary.
That's the way Sam Walton dealt with setbacks in his life. He said that he refused to let things bother him for any long period of time. It's one of the secrets that kept him on track concerning his purpose and goals and the results speak for themselves.
Other Walton Sources:
The Most Underrated CEO Ever The legendary Sam Walton
Sam Walton: The Power of Persistence
Sam Walton Business Quotes for Ya
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» The Common Sense Management of Sam Walton - 22 from ManagersRealm
Travel Light or You May Never Make ItA characteristic of many of the great business leaders and entrepreneurs is that they learned to travel light. Sam Walton was no different. When you consider what we talked about in the last... [Read More]
Tracked on: January 27, 2007 5:47 PM | Permalink to Trackback