In 1947, LESTER WUNDERMAN was arbitrarily fired from his advertising job in New York. But the young man felt he still had a lot to learn from the head of the agency, Max Sackheim. So the next morning, Wunderman went back to his office and began working just as he had before. He talked to coworkers and clients; he sat in on meetings – all without pay.

Sackheim ignored him for a month.

When the month was over, the temperamental Sackheim walked up to Wunderman. “Okay, you win,” he said, shaking his head. “I never saw a man who wanted a job more than he wanted money.”

That kind of persistence and an inclination toward action paid off for Wunderman. He went on to be one of the most successful advertising men of the century and is known as father of direct marketing. He credited with having invented preprinted newspaper inserts, bound-in subscription cards for magazines, and subscription clubs such as those used by Time-Life Books and the Columbia Record Club.

Advertising may not be your thing, but action must be. What are you willing to do to achieve your dream? What are you willing to do even if you must do so for free? Success begins by beginning. And it continues with consistent action.

From Dare to Dream, by John C. Maxwell, a very well-known expert on leadership.

Check out our college library’s collection of John Maxwell’s works for inspiration
in managing yourself, and leading others.

Bob Ireland crossed the finish line on Thursday, November 6, 1986, as the New York City Marathon’s 19,413^th and final finisher – the first person to run a marathon with his arms instead of his legs. Bib was a forty-year-old Californian whose legs were blown off in Vietnam seventeen years before. In 1986, he recorded the slowest time in the Marathon’s history: four days, two hours, forty-eight minutes, seventeen seconds.

When asked why he ran the race, he gave these three reasons: 1) to show he was a born-again Christian, 2) to test his conditioning, and 3) to promote physical fitness for others.

“Success is not based on where you start,” said Ireland. “It’s where you finish – and I finished.”

From:
Dare to Dream… Then Do It
By John C. Maxwell