Allow me to introduce Jerry Geroulis, my dad! My sister and I have lovingly nicknamed him Poop. Poop owns an auto-body repair shop with his brother, Sam and lots of employees. I grew up watching the story unfold… from my parents not being able to afford junk food (my great-grandma would supply my mom with potato chips), carpooling with a station wagon that was lucky to make it up hills and my dad working all hours just to make ends meet. Today, my dad owns his dream home, buys trampolines on a whim for his granddaughter and is my #1 source of inspiration and advice.
We’re tackling a tough topic today. Quitting. Yeah, you don’t like thinking about it, but I just know the thought has probably crossed your mind. I talked with Poop tonight about his thoughts on quitting:
Q: How many times did you feel like quitting before you became successful?
A: I was eating lunch with my brother in the back of a Subaru and we talked about how we could make more money flipping hamburgers even after three years into the business. We never had that conversation again.
Q: And the next time you felt like quitting?
The fire department came in and let us know that we needed an air-system that would cost $300,000 to install. I replied, “I’ve never heard of a fire in a body shop in this county.” The response, “Well, we don’t want one.” That was a time that I was gonna walk out of that shop and never walk back in.
As it turns out, like everything else, you take life one day at a time and things work out. Don’t panic. Go with your gut.
Q: What if you go with your gut, but you feel like your gut is betraying you?
A: No, that’s not possible. Not possible. You just didn’t stick it out. Go with your gut. It will always work.
Q: What if your gut has put you in debt?
A: That’s okay. That’s what makes the world go ‘round. I was always in debt. Always. Starvation mode. To start the business I sold the Corvette I completely restored.
Q: Mom chimes in with a question: What about having supportive spouses?
Spouses are not necessary. Just kidding… gotcha there! (my mom pretends to hit Poop with a frying pan and calls him an ass, for a really fun interview party bonus!). But, sometimes the people closest to you can unknowing hurt you because they don’t have the same drive that you have. So be careful who you share your dreams with.
Q: What if you think you’re failing?
Stick it out.
Q: And while sticking it out… what should someone do to motivate themselves?
Well, I do believe that after you’ve tried everything there’s no reason that you can’t treat yourself to something, whatever that may be. There’s no one who’s going to come out of the woodwork and pat you on the back. You used to get a pat on the back at your other job… but that pat on the back is so expensive. You’ve paid dearly for somebody to tell you, “Good job, worker!” But you don’t need that pat on the back. You reward yourself by your achievements and they aren’t gonna come overnight. It’s so slow.
Q: What if someone does all the right things? Working hard, learning, rocking their business… but has no money to show for it yet?
Then I say to you, you haven’t done it long enough. We live in this world of instant gratification. Everything happens at its own pace. You have to wait for it.
You just work harder. You hit it harder. You go after this thing with a vengeance. You live and die by it. You’ve made this commitment to yourself. You don’t give up. Keep on keepin’ on. Make it happen. Because you’re smarter than that.
The easiest thing is to quit and throw up the white flag and go back to work for somebody else. But you’ll never be happy. You’re always gonna have that feeling that you let yourself down. But it’s out there. It’s out there. Keep plugging along even if it seems impossible. It will happen. Don’t give up.
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