When he was in eighth grade, Steve Jobs, later the co-founder of Apple Computer, telephoned William Hewlett, president of Hewlett-Packard. "Bill answered, and I said, 'Hi, you know, uh, I'm 12 years old and I'm trying to build a frequency counter,' " Jobs recalls. Hewlett, a symbol of entrepreneurial success in the Santa Clara Valley, chatted graciously with Jobs for 20 minutes. When it was over, the kid got not only the Hewlett-Packard parts he needed but a summer job at the company as well. ... Jobs gets phone calls from kids, aspiring entrepreneurs as bold as he once was. "Sure I speak with them. I always try to," Jobs says. "That's the only way I can pay Bill Hewlett back."
- Apple's Garage
I once asked Richard Emmanuel, a young Scottish entrepreneur, who at the time had just sold part of his mobile phone empire for several million pounds, "How did you do that?" He just smiled and said: "I did what you just did." He went on to explain that he had started his business a few years before with one mobile phone retail outlet in Scotland. However, he did have the belief and vision that he could grow it into a chain of outlets throughout Scotland and eventually the whole of the UK. He just wasn't sure how. So one day he thought, "Who do I know who has already grown a successful chain of retail outlets in Scotland and the rest of the UK?" Because he'd asked such a great, focused question, quick as a flash a name popped into his head: Sir Tom Farmer. Now in case you don't know, Tom Farmer is also a Scot and the man behind the highly successful nationwide chain of Kwik-Fit tire and exhaust centres. Richard got hold of Tom's phone number and decided to give him a call.
Now at this point you may be thinking, hang on a moment, surely a busy, successful person, especially if he is a sir, isn't going to take a call from a complete stranger, and even if he did, he isn't going to tell him the secrets of his success. Here's the thing. First, if you don't ask, the answer is always no. Second, you know we discussed beliefs earlier in this guide. Well, something we didn't cover was the belief in abundance. Just about all the truly successful people I've met believe in abundance. In other words, they think there is too much to go round. Whether that's money or for that matter advice. They also believe that what they give away comes back to them tenfold. It's the universal principle of sowing and reaping once again in action. What do failures believe in? Limits. To them success is like a cake - if I give some to you, that's less for me. Anyway, you'll know if you've asked the right person for advice because he will be more than happy to tell you.
Anyway, Richard made the call, and guess what? Tom picked up the phone. Richard explained he had just the one shop but a big vision and loads of belief. He just wasn't sure about how to get started. Tom said: "Come and see me. I'll tell you everything I know." Everything!
- Steve McDermott, How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure in Life, Work & Everything
