See that guy
in the picture? That’s how he dresses
for work, I kid you not. That guy, you
see, works under the stage name of ‘Piff The Magic Dragon’, and he does a
mixture of card tricks and dry comedy.
He just showed up last week on American television, but he’s been
working in the UK for a while, and seems to be doing all right for himself. It’s too early to know how well he will do
on the TV show, but what I like about him, is that he’s found a way to make his
mark in a truly individual manner.
It’s no
surprise to see phenomenal athletes succeed, or anyone else with an obvious
advantage in ability. But for most of us,
it may be difficult to find our unique qualities, but if you find yours,
sometimes you can do amazing things.
Consider
this guy:
Sure,
everyone knows Bill Gates, right? But
back when he started, who knew what the home computer and small business
computer could be? Well, Bill did, and
he acted on that unique perspective.
Or consider this
guy:
In an age
where everyone in music is expected to be slim, American, and, well, ahead of the
culture curve, how is it that a pudgy Korean with a heavy accent becomes the first
artist to have over a billion YouTube views of a song which criticizes the
pursuit of material consumption? Psy
knew his unique talent, and he played it to his advantage.
OK, so I’m
pointing to obvious success stories, with names and faces everyone knows now. Have you seen this guy?
Know this
man? Give up? That’s Sean Connolly, and he is the CEO of
ConAgra. Never heard of ConAgra? OK, how about Slim Jims, Health Choice, Swiss
Miss, Hebrew National, Marie Calender’s, Bertolli, Chef Boyardee, Crunch &
Munch, Pam cooking spray, Peter Pan peanut butter, Libby’s fruits, or any of
more than forty-five brands of food products?
Yep, Mr. Connolly heads up a company that sold almost eighteen billion
dollars worth of food last year, and is worth even more. Impressed yet?
Mr. Connolly
earned a BA from Vanderbilt, then an MBA from the University of Texas. He’s worked his way up through Proctor &
Gamble, Campbell’s Soup, then Sara Lee and the Hillshire Brands company, and
now manages a global company which employs thousands of people and feeds
hundreds of millions. When the scope of
his accomplishments is understood, Mr. Connolly becomes anything but boring.
Work can be
boring, but your road to success does not have to be boring. Dream big, then plan on how you will get there. The suit you wear may vary
But your success
depends mostly on believing in your purpose and acting on it.
Good luck.
