You Only Need One . . .

You’ve probably never heard of William “Bill” McDonald.  He was born in 1852 in Mississippi, but his family moved to Texas to start a farm after the Civil War.  When McDonald was older he decided farm life was not for him.  Unfortunately, success did not come quickly or easily.  

He tried his hand at running a general store and even taught penmanship.  It wasn’t until he became a peace officer that he found his true calling.  He had a knack for defusing situations quickly and rose through the ranks.  He was a deputy sheriff, deputy marshal, special ranger, and became captain of the famed Texas ranger battalion of Company B, the “Frontier Battalion”.

One of the most famous stories about the Frontier Battalion is when the Mayor of Dallas called upon the rangers to stop an illegal prize fight.  When the Mayor went to the train station at the appointed time for their arrival, only McDonald was there.  The Mayor asked where everybody else was, to which McDonald famously replied “Hell! Ain’t I enough?  There’s only one prize fight!”.  

This is one of the origin stories of the motto “One riot.  One ranger.”  Sometimes, it only takes one.

Many Tries, One Success

Just like Bill McDonald, I tried a lot of things before I found my stride in business.  I’ve dabbled in graphic design, business management, aggressively flipped houses, and even thought about becoming a dentist.  I also joined the military.  Twice (long story).  None of those things seem relevant to what I am doing now, which is growing a roofing company that is literally changing how the industry does business.

From the outside looking in, it might look like I have it all figured out.  This is not the case, but I do look good in a suit.

While it is true that a lot of things are hitting on all cylinders for my family at the moment, it is not because I am super smart or designed some genius master plan.  That is what I thought success was when I was broke and struggling.  I was under the impression that everyone was either smarter than me or had some secret sauce that I didn’t know about.  I couldn’t make myself smarter but I could try and find out what the “secret” was.  I set out to discover what made people successful.

My Original Plan: One Pivotal Conversation

Back in the day, a lot of my friends were going to take the traditional path of going to college.  Some of them even knew what they wanted to do for a career.  This always seemed a little weird to me because one thing I knew for sure was that an 18-year-old can’t see the future.  I also didn’t think I had a great chance at predicting what I would want to do for work for the next 45 years.  So, I opted out of the whole process.  I refused to take the SAT or ACT.  Needless to say, this was not a popular decision among the powers that be.

In not so many words, my guidance counselor told me that I would basically be a complete failure in life.  I don’t know what chapter of “How to be a High School Counselor” that approach was in but I think they need a different guidebook.  Instead of walking the well-worn path, I decided to try a lot of different things and talk to everyone along the way.  Eventually, I thought, something would click.  

 When I worked at a steel mill, I talked to the older guys (who told me not to spend my career there).  When I was a corpsman in the Navy, where I basically sucked spit for a living in a dental office, I talked to all the dentists about what it was like.  How long was the schooling, what were the hours, and anything else that could help me envision what it would be like to be a dentist?   

I was a sponge everywhere I went, looking for someone to say the “magic words” that would spark my interest and let me know what the right path to take was.  I thought I had to find that one perfect conversation.  Instead, I discovered something far more important and valuable.

The Business Success Plan:  One Process

After trying tons of different businesses and talking to a lot of people, I never had a moment where one specific thing clicked as “the answer”.  Instead, I saw a pattern emerge.  Although each business operated under its own unique set of specific principles, there was one similar process that was evident among everybody.  When I realized that, I knew that I could do whatever I wanted and still be successful.  The key was to figure out a process that worked for me, based on the sound business practices I observed everywhere I went.  With that goal in mind, I went to work.  My current business is the result and the proof is in the pudding, as they say.

That said, the path to get here was not an easy one.  There were a lot of dark nights.  My family was under financial stress for a long period of time.  Although my wife was always 100% in my corner, I know this was hard on her at times.  I have often wished that I could go back in time and talk to my younger self.  Lay all of what I know out on the table to smooth out the bumps in the road.  

Obviously, I can’t do that.  But I can help other people avoid a lot of the pain that I went through.  That is why you are reading this newsletter right now.  In the issues ahead, I am going to talk about the philosophy and strategies behind the process I have used to achieve my goals.  I believe that in order to be successful you don’t need to be a genius, have amazing connections, or tons of start-up capital.  I didn’t have any of those.  All you need is to be willing to learn, work hard, and believe in yourself.

With that in mind, I want to help 1 million people achieve their goals and dreams.  A big goal but it can be done, one person at a time.

To your success,

Taylor

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