|
|
 |
|
| First Person |
A Gamble that Keeps Paying
Bill Cullen
05/03/2004
|
Leaders are not born. They’re
made. You have to have a confident belief in yourself. You have to have a
positive attitude. Inspiration that leads to leadership can come from many
sources. An American president, the great-grandson of an Irish immigrant,
inspired me to aim for the stars. John Fitzgerald Kennedy visited Ireland in
June 1963, when I was 21. I climbed on a statue to watch his motorcade pass. The
cavalcade stopped right at that very spot. He waved to me. He looked me in the
eye, and he waved to me. The speech he gave that day praised Ireland and the
Irish. He gave us a great feeling of pride. That November, I was working,
attending college, and playing some professional soccer, and when I heard of
Ken-nedy’s assassination, my life changed in a moment. Ireland’s greatest son
was dead. But I thought, if the great-grandson of an Irish immigrant could
become the most powerful man in the world, there’s no limit to what I can
do.
If we earn a reputation for excellence, we will become a major player in
our industry and make a lot of money, too. That allows me to be generous to my
employees and to devote time and money to philanthropy. |
That’s when I wrote my first three-year plan. It had 16 objectives,
ranging from being general manager of the Ford dealership where I worked to
getting married to visiting the White House. And you know, pro football player
wasn’t on it. College wasn’t either; I dropped out. I had to put my time into
what I wanted to achieve. Within six months I pushed my way to promotion as
general manager. I did achieve all of my original 16 objectives, and I continue
to plan my life through three-year plans, broken down into yearly, monthly,
weekly and daily steps in the various business and personal areas of my life.
The plan is reviewed daily and weekly—and constantly updated. I have learned
that when I commit a project/objective to paper, it is a sure way to make it
happen. Since the original list, I have added: own a mansion, drive a Bentley
Continental GT, get my own helicopter, have dinner in Buckingham Palace with
royalty, and visit Tony Blair in Downing Street. And they have all
happened.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
