The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get: An Entrepreneur's Memoir

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In 1984 the father of a young woman who is an expert in shooting basketball foul shots credits the saying to another famous golfer [APN]:

As I got older, of course, I had to give up that kind of freedom. And by the time I was a senior in high school, I knew that what I wanted was to go away to college, not stay in town and get a job. As one of my friends from Nebraska City liked to say, it was a great place to grow up and then a great place to get away from. I’d had enough of a place where everybody knew everybody else, where there were eyes and expectations everywhere.The first half of the book was a 5, the 2nd half was a 2. It was a great entrepreneur journey defying the odds and fighting through many obstacles. I wasn’t told no. I was reminded that I could do with my money what I wanted, but I was also given some direction. Sometimes, when I told my mother about a new job and the money I had made, she would say, “That’s what you’re going to use to go to college. We can’t afford to send you. You’re going to have to do it yourself.” And that was why I didn’t buy the bicycle or the gun or whatever I was thinking about. Now here is a mystery. That boy who was brought along to clean up the wood scraps, who grew up in a working-class town with a frontier mentality, would go on to found one of the most disruptive businesses of finance's computer age. That business would utilize the latest communications and digital technologies to revolutionize and democratize the clubby, old, highly regulated, East Coast–based financial industry—and in the process, the founder of that business would become a billionaire. Dear Quote Investigator: I am a fan of the golfing legend Gary Player, and the Wikipedia article about him says he: “Coined one of the most quoted aphorisms of post-War sport”:

Sometime after the party, it was discovered that the new bull was diseased. It might have had tuberculosis or hoof-and-mouth, a deadly infection that could spread through a community and ruin all the farmers around. This was before science understood the transmission of the disease, so to make sure it would not pass beyond my grandfather's farm, his entire herd had to be destroyed. Once the vet made his diagnosis, my grandfather had no more say in the matter. The state sent men to dig an enormous hole, drive the animals in, slaughter them all, and fill the hole with dirt.I want you to be grateful that you're going through this sad moment with all these other folks. Because I promise you, there is something worse out there than being sad, and that is being alone and being sad. Ain't nobody in this room alone. Let's be sad now. Let's be sad together.” Yet I did not grow up to become a midwestern Steve Jobs, some tech geek in a barn. It was never my interest to understand how the machines worked. I had no special enthusiasm for technology. In fact, I had very little exposure to new technology at all. We were one of the last families in Nebraska City to own innovations like air-conditioning or television, because my parents did not count those things among life's necessities. But maybe because we didn't have the new machines, I could see better what they could do and what a difference they could make in our lives. Opportunities come to those who are prepared for them: When you put in the work to improve your skills and knowledge, you become more attractive to potential employers and more likely to seize opportunities when they arise. Each of them, I felt, honored me by taking an interest in me. I learned social skills that many other young men, who knew only school and sports, didn’t learn, and that gave me an advantage. They helped to shape me and also, I would realize later, to shape my ideas on how a business owner should treat their employees.

When my grandfather saw that the stairway was off a quarter inch, he knew his reputation was at stake. He didn't want to take that risk. He looked the staircase over, mused for a minute while the men held their breath, and said, "Build it over."For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It's about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field." That was what he wanted me to understand: the effect this tool could have on their work and their lives. In that sense, he had an innovator's eye, not because he had invented the buzz saw but because he saw the possible benefit in it. I did not need to know the concept of productivity or the term early adopter. I could hear the meaning in my father's voice and see it in the men's smiling, sawdust-covered faces.

Admittedly, about 30 minutes through the conversation, my mind began to wander. Another common practice in our family, ha! But it dawned on me just how far my sister and I have come, both professionally and in developing a genuine relationship with each other with meaningful discussion. And so after that 30 minute mark, I interrupted my sister. "Roxie, how wild is this? Did we ever expect to be having conversations about data and customer journeys with each other... and actually understanding and enjoying the passionate dialogue?" And that's the secret ingredient. Passion. Hard work will take you pretty far - but that hard work can only take you so far. You need to feel connected to your work. You need to feel excited. Have a sense of drive. A sense of purpose. This is what gets you over the big finish line - and makes you crave the next challenge. Yet I did not grow up to become a midwestern Steve Jobs, some tech geek in a barn. It was never my interest to understand how the machines worked. I had no special enthusiasm for technology. In fact, I had very little exposure to new technology at all. We were one of the last families in Nebraska City to own innovations like air-conditioning or television, because my parents did not count those things among life’s necessities. But maybe because we didn’t have the new machines, I could see better what they could do and what a difference they could make in our lives. Of course, I know it would be work, work, work, but this work would be an adventure. There was no class you could take to explain how to succeed as a broker in the new age of negotiated commissions. No one to tell us what to do. We had to get out there with our brains and our strength and make it succeed. We were the first beaver trappers in an unknown river valley. In my heart, I believed, She never worried about me all day long because everyone in town knew who I was, and there were eyes everywhere, watching me. Every once in a while, somebody in town would call her because they saw me doing something I shouldn’t, like tipping over somebody’s garbage cans. We always had that awareness: Gee, no matter what I do wrong, I might get in trouble here. It was nice from a parent’s point of view, and it was nice from a kid’s point of view because it allowed for a lot of exercise in judgment and character development.

The harder you work, the luckier you get

In 1981 in a letter to Sports Illustrated the golfer Hubie Green is credited with the saying [HGSI]: J. J. Lerner, owner of the stores bearing his name, met a great admirer of his playwright-son, Alan Jay, who auth’d such delights as “Brigadoon,”“Day Before Spring” and “Love Life.” You know how they say that 'youth is wasted on the young'? Well, I say don't let the wisdom of age be wasted on you.”