Member-only story
The Simple Life Hack That Made Me Millions
For a little more than ten years, from the mid-eighties to the late Nineties, I was in the karate business. I built one small school in San Marcos, California, into a national chain of 400 schools, starting with just $5,000 in cash and big dreams.
Along the way, I learned some very important marketing lessons — the kind you only learn firsthand when every single penny you spend comes out of your own pocket and has to produce results for you to survive!
Later, I published my own magazine, owned a catalog company and advertising agency, and built a world-leading software company. While my marketing knowledge increased rapidly along the way, I never forgot the lessons learned in that first small karate school.
Nor did I ever forget that the real goal of marketing is to produce income!
But allow me to share with you how my passion for marketing all started…
All I Ever Wanted to Be Was a Golf Pro!
But one small detail held me back from a career on the PGA Tour: lack of talent! I was good, but not nearly good enough.
Lack of talent held me back from a career in golf — but golf launched my career in marketing!
As fate would have it, my life-long love of cars paid off one dreamy afternoon as I waited to get off work. I sat on the bag rack outside the clubhouse in the balmy Florida air, having not seen a car for four hours. Suddenly I heard a loud whining noise and a silver 308 Ferrari screamed into view at the bottom of the driveway. Ignoring the posted speed limit by at least 40 mph, it quickly stopped in front of me. I removed the clubs from the passenger seat, the only place they would fit, and attached them to a golf cart.
The stocky, mustached owner got out and handed me a tip.
“Nice car!” I beamed.
“Yeah, thanks,” he said and drove off to park.
As he walked back, I bombarded him with questions about the car, all of which he gladly answered. Then he said,“Hey, kid, do you play golf?”
