Secrets of my Success: What a Difference a Day Makes!
Posted: Thursday, November 04, 2010
by Bruce Horst
WryteStuff
(Continued from here.)
The story of Joseph is my favorite Bible story from the Old Testament. It's a story of lies and betrayal, which result in Joseph reaching a low point where he is in prison and almost completely forgotten about. In a 24-hour period of time, he is called upon to interpret a dream for the Pharaoh, resulting with him being made second in command of the kingdom of Egypt. What a story!
My story left off in 1997 while I was stuck operating a money-losing electronics repair shop in San Antonio, Texas. I was severely depressed and severely in debt. I remember having the head of the maintenance division of a local grocery store chain call me and tell me that he had several hundred time-lapse VCR's that he needed to sell because they had signed a contract with another manufacturer agreeing to switch brands, but they had to get rid of all the old VCR's that they had.
“...this is a common characteristic of entrepreneurs. We don't mind losing if we can't win big...”
If you don't know what a time-lapse VCR is, it's a VCR usually used for security purposes which will stretch out the recording time of a normal video tape to days or weeks, and sometimes months. These VCR's were expensive, but businesses were switching over to digital recorders which were better and less expensive. I didn't know what to do with them. No one even knew what they were, and I couldn't give them away. Boom, there's another $2,000 on a credit card.
Because my business was losing so much money, Jean and I decided we needed to close it down even if we had no other prospects on the table. We started the process of notifying the landlord of the strip mall, and getting rid of my tools, inventory and fixtures. I knew that the best technicians around were making at the most $8.00 an hour, and there was no way we could afford to live on that with our debt payments and two small children at home.
The last week before our shop was totally shuttered, a friend gave me a classified ad for electronics repair technicians at a Best Buy regional service center in Houston, 200 miles away. The ad said they paid what was for me an unimaginable amount for technicians.
I sent in my resume and quickly got a phone call from a Best Buy manager saying that she was coming to San Antonio to do interviews. She arranged the time and place, but when the day came, Jean and I both had headaches the entire day. I didn't want to go, they wouldn't hire me with only a high-school diploma anyway, would they? Besides, we had just bought a house and even that incredible pay rate would not be enough for us to survive on while making our minimum credit card payments.
When I arrived for the interview, the manager gave me a test which seemed like it was meant for high school level A/V nerds, and I blew through it. She then told me what my new job would entail. I couldn't believe it. I asked her, "Are you saying I got the job? Do you have to interview more people? Does it really pay the amount in the ad?"
She told me the job was mine. She came to San Antonio just to interview just me. Then she said that I would be a camcorder technician and on commission I should expect to make close to double the advertised pay. I nearly feel off of my chair!
She said she wanted me to start as soon as possible, and I started about a week and a half from then. We rented our tiny house to a friend and Jean moved to Houston with the boys three weeks later.
It wasn't a 24-hour period, and I wasn't second in command (yet), but it sure seemed like it. I felt like I had won big!
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More commentsI do believe in "ground bound" angels. They always arrive on time.Thanks Patricia. Right on time.
I'm anxious to hear the rest of the story. It does sound like you are a gambler, but since you are a Christian you didn't say whether you prayed about these ventures or not.Thanks Linda. "Pray without ceasing." Just hope it doesn't get confused with "gamble without ceasing"!
keep em coming, you got my interest....Thanks Steve.
What a cliff-hanger- you leave one jonesing for the next installment!- This just proves again that truth can be stranger, and much more interesting than any fiction..........and that " Everything in life is a metaphor, for life itself."- Thanks Bruce- Always- EllaThanks Ella. I'm anxious to write the next installment... just haven't had the time!
Pretty excited to read on but before it comes out, your early start-out life was not much different from many young people trying to build a family and got into this and that , money was always the culprit.somehow, the ship will dock and all we got to do was move on. Genesis is always my favorite chapter.Thanks Hilda. For people with self-esteem problems, we always think that we're different. There is a reason that we've always failed. This really is a story of how I've overcome that.
I think they won big, and you just weren't convinced of it yet. Whatever got you to Houston is lucky for the lot of us, can't have too many good citizens. Looking forward to the next big installment of "Bruce's Excellent Adventures". Good day.Thanks David. Can't wait to write the next installment of my Excellent Adventures.
There is just something about personal stories that pulls you right in. Hard to resist... The biblical word is "testimony". The marketplace calls it "testimonial" ... the story of one real life sharing a piece of where it's been. And there are few things in life as captivating and motivating as a well-told testimony. Thanks, Bruce, for sharing a slice of your journey here. ~mogama~Thanks Mogama. I've always seen something very powerful in a testimony. I think if I wanted to effect the world to the greatest extent, I would go around giving testimony classes. This really is my testimony.
Bruce, I think you've gotten everybody's interest... You say, "...I could potentially be projected out of despair and instantly have my troubles wiped away. I think this is a common characteristic of entrepreneurs..." which I can completely relate to - Gary and I have been there and actually right now, against all odds, have begun yet another business - I'm a firm believer in 'don't say why; say why not!' and thinking outside of the box opens up enormous opportunities [and challenges...] one would never imagine. Thanks for sharing!Thanks Judi. It must be a common characteristic. I think it hinges on hope. Good luck to you and Gary on your latest endeavor.Could be, Bruce - I've always been more attracted to challenges and it seems that my little one [Laura] has inherited the same qualities as her mom and dad - wondering if that's a good thing... lol...
Great article....Keep smiling and keep us smiling...God Bless you...Thanks Chiradeep. I'll keep on smiling.
I love reading your story. There have been so many Joseph moments in my own life - I love to hear how times can change quickly for others. It is always inspirational!Thanks Leisl. There is something in the story of Joseph that transcends time and culture. Best of luck!
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