Sorry (again) for the delay on the Tuesday issue of ValueTalks. Our podcast this episode conducted Raul Panganiban features an off-the beat highly inspirational story of someone who lived the American dream, JT Mccormick.
His father was a pimp and drug dealer with 23 children and his mother was an orphan with no family but him. This conversation is about how he did not make excuses for his situation and rose up to become a business leader - met multi millionaire JT McCormick now the CEO of Book In a Box.
Podcast embedded below with more details on his book I Got There: How I Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Achieve the American Dream (which has a perfect five star rating on Amazon) below that.
Also see Pitch The Perfect Investment – ValueTalks Special Podcast
You can listen to this interview on...
Enjoy!
"I'm not a drug dealer.
I'm not a rapper.
I'm not an athlete.
But I am very successful."
That's not how you're supposed to open a speech if you're a successful businessman. Especially if you're a successful minority businessman in America.
But I'm no ordinary businessman, this was no ordinary speech, and I've had no ordinary life.
JT McCormick shouldn't have succeeded.
He was born the mixed-race son of a negligent, drug-dealing pimp father and a struggling, single mother. He was raised in the slums of Dayton, Ohio, suffered incredible abuse and racism, and had multiple stints in the juvenile justice system. He barely graduated high school and has no college degree.
But succeed he did.
Starting by scrubbing toilets, JT hustled and worked his way into better opportunities, eventually finding incredible success in the mortgage industry. He was on top of the world.
And then it all fell apart. He lost his job, and his money.
But instead of stopping him, this setback became the springboard for him to reach even bigger heights--eventually growing and becoming President of a multimillion-dollar software company, and then CEO of a multimillion-dollar book-publishing start-up.
Gripping, heartbreaking, enlightening, and ultimately uplifting, I Got There proves that no obstacle is too difficult to conquer--and that the game can be won by anyone, from anywhere.
