He comes from a very poor family
They were poor self-sustaining farmers who didn't have a lot of the luxuries that people had. And he never went to college.
The interesting thing is that he credits all his success to his poor roots.
That's where he learned all the valuable life lessons that he has used to go from being a poor kid to become a corporate executive, start his own business, run four different successful businesses, and become Amazon's #1 bestselling author.
His name is Tim Knox. I was honored to interview Tim back in 2007 about his story of success and transformation.
Tim is a sought-after speaker, syndicated business columnist, contributing business writer for Entrepreneur.com, and self-professed Mama’s Boy.
His mother was the most influential person in his life. She taught him the rules of success. And that's why he named his bestselling business book, Everything I Know About Business I Learned From My Mama, after his mother.
His Mama Taught Him:
1. Figure Out What 'THAT' Is
You can do anything you want to do and become anything you want to become, you just need to figure out what 'THAT' is. As basic as this might seem, very few people actually do it. Very few people put the effort to find their passion and purpose in life and choose to live intentionally at an early stage in their lives.
2. Personal Responsibility
No one is responsible for you, except YOU. You've to take responsibility for your actions and in-actions … your misery and your happiness … you're solely responsible for your life.
3. Seek Opportunities
If you sit around and wait for opportunities to knock, you're going to have a very long WAIT! Opportunity doesn't knock. What you have to do is become a seeker of opportunities! If you've your eyes open, you will find opportunities everywhere.
4. Learn to Laugh
Everyone is so serious about life and business. Actually, life is fun and business is fun too. So, learn to look for the humor in everything and every situation. If you keep that good sense of humor, there really is no hurdle that you can't cross.
Tim has a very interesting point of view about business.
He says, "If business was easy, every body would do it!"
To start and sustain a successful business, there are strict rules you need to follow and mix with passion, patience and persistence.
Here Are Some Business Lessons From Tim Knox (that he learned from his Mama)
1. How To Fund Your Ideas
One Tim's first business challenges was how to fund his business ideas. He overcame that challenge through bootstrapping. He started with as little money as he could. He understood that when you first start out, all what you have is time. So, he did much of the work and used time to make money, and as money came into the business, he would invest it back on the business and the business would grow.
2. Outsource
When your business grows, you've to hire employees. The challenge is that you might find yourself spending much of your time dealing with these employees and settling arguments without getting anything done! So, in order to fix this issue Tim started outsourcing and went from a dozen employees down to three key employees!
3. Let Go of Total Control
When you first start in business, you want to do everything and be in control of everything. Truth is that you CAN'T do everything … there is just not enough hours in the day. Eliminate or delegate most of the tasks to people you trust and take care of the things that only you can do. Get rid of everything that is not the best use of your time.
4. Become a Creative Marketer
Marketing is probably the most important key to the success of any business. Use very creative methods to market your business and position your brand. Because, without creative marketing you are not going to attract customers. Once your business is up and running, you must focus all your efforts on creative marketing, sales, and networking with other business professionals.
The final lesson I would like to share with you from Tim's story is:
How To Leave a Legacy In Business
To leave a legacy in business, Tim believes that you should build a business that offers high quality products or services to a large number of people, and then that business could be either sold or passed on to your children. The most important thing is to build a business that doesn't die, when you die. You need to build a business that can go on without you.
What lessons stood out for you in Tim's story? Please share in the comments below.
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Mohamed Tohami is a bestselling author and the creator of "The P.A.S. Technique: The World's Easiest Way To Find Your Passion and Purpose In Life". Visit his Transformational Motivation blog now to grab your free copy of his special report "4 Steps to a Life of Passion" and enjoy a unique, easy, expansive and lively motivational reading experience.
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