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I'd like to share a story of a sushi restaurant owner that I know. I was a bartender there, many, many years ago. This restaurant owner came from Japan with hi

I'd like to share a story of a sushi restaurant owner that I know. I was a bartender there, many, many years ago. This restaurant owner came from Japan with his wife when they were in their twenties. They both spoke limited English and settled down in a part of New York that is predominantly Caucasian. For many years, he worked as a dishwasher while saving up diligently. When he saved up enough money, he entered into a partnership with 2 others to open up a restaurant. One of the partners screwed the other two and he had to declare bankruptcy. He went back to being a dishwasher, then later a cook, as he saved up money again. Finally, he had a chance to purchase a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that he thought he could improve. Unfortunately, that one also failed. And he declared bankruptcy for a second time. That still didn't deter him. He worked again, saved up again, and opened up his third restaurant, a sushi restaurant. And for him, the third time was the charm. This one became a success. It grew to 3 locations total. Every morning, he drove for hours to the fish market at 4am to select the best fish, then transported it to his restaurants in the back of his truck. He still has that truck. We all called it his "fishmobile" because it stunk of fish like you wouldn't believe. He didn't reach this success until his 50s. Through it all, his wife was amazingly supportive. She worked alongside him in these restaurants too. They are retired now. He shared his story with me when I told him I was starting a business of my own. I can't imagine having to lose so much, but in his perspective, he started out with nothing, so it wasn't that painful to return to nothing. I'm not saying I would want to do this with my wife and daughter, but hearing his story definitely gave me perspective.

thenomad 13y ago
Thank you. That's a really inspiring story, and I expect it'll help and support more people besides the OP.
wz3chen 13y ago
Beautiful ... thank you for sharing.
danaseverson 13y ago
Wish I could upvote this again.
p00ntang 13y ago
Sounds like he is the type with the strength not to punch the first person who commented on his "overnight" success too ;)
unclebucknasty 13y ago
Thanks for sharing. There's a certain "thing" I've found in some people. This thing is an abiding, unquestioning (or nearly so) drive. They are very matter-of-fact and don't appear to spend a lot of time questioning "why me?" or reaffirming to themselves that life is difficult. They just...do. And they keep on doing. Whatever needs to be done. I'm not saying that it's easy for them. But, they seem to naturally possess a certain focus and efficiency about life and their objectives. In so approaching life, I think they tend to manifest more. This may run somewhat along cultural lines, but I've seen it in various people, including my own family members in previous generations. They put their noses to the grindstone through very difficult times and never looked up until they achieved their goals. I sincerely do not recall hearing them complain. Ever. I've often thought that I would do well to be more like them; spending less time in "meta"-mode engaged in a running mental commentary about what I'm doing, and more time just doing.
larrys 13y ago
That's a nice inspiring story but please don't forget that there are losers when someone files for bankruptcy: "One of the partners screwed the other two and he had to declare bankruptcy." "Unfortunately, that one also failed. And he declared bankruptcy for a second time." Have you ever held large accounts receivable and had a customer file for bankruptcy? I have. Not everything is "startup lottery" using investors money to spread around the risk so really nobody gets hurt (in the way I am illustrating I mean). Edit: The losers in bankruptcy (in addition to the one filing bankruptcy) are the creditors. I'm not talking about Bank of America but the vendors that sell you food or the electrician who did work for you or the guy who sold furniture to you. Not knowing the specifics I don't know exactly who was hurt but there was most certainly someone who extended credit in good faith and lost something that now has to work harder to make up the money that they lost. (IN theory at least.)
kristiandupont 13y ago
I saw a tv show about Simon Cowell once where he told about losing everything and moving in with his parents after having owned a successful company. One thing he said stuck with me in particular: "Losing everything isn't as bad as people think".

thenomad 13y ago

Thank you. That's a really inspiring story, and I expect it'll help and support more people besides the OP.

wz3chen 13y ago

Beautiful ... thank you for sharing.

danaseverson 13y ago

Wish I could upvote this again.

p00ntang 13y ago

Sounds like he is the type with the strength not to punch the first person who commented on his "overnight" success too ;)

unclebucknasty 13y ago

Thanks for sharing. There's a certain "thing" I've found in some people. This thing is an abiding, unquestioning (or nearly so) drive. They are very matter-of-fact and don't appear to spend a lot of time questioning "why me?" or reaffirming to themselves that life is difficult. They just...do. And they keep on doing. Whatever needs to be done. I'm not saying that it's easy for them. But, they seem to naturally possess a certain focus and efficiency about life and their objectives. In so approaching life, I think they tend to manifest more. This may run somewhat along cultural lines, but I've seen it in various people, including my own family members in previous generations. They put their noses to the grindstone through very difficult times and never looked up until they achieved their goals. I sincerely do not recall hearing them complain. Ever. I've often thought that I would do well to be more like them; spending less time in "meta"-mode engaged in a running mental commentary about what I'm doing, and more time just doing.

larrys 13y ago

That's a nice inspiring story but please don't forget that there are losers when someone files for bankruptcy: "One of the partners screwed the other two and he had to declare bankruptcy." "Unfortunately, that one also failed. And he declared bankruptcy for a second time." Have you ever held large accounts receivable and had a customer file for bankruptcy? I have. Not everything is "startup lottery" using investors money to spread around the risk so really nobody gets hurt (in the way I am illustrating I mean). Edit: The losers in bankruptcy (in addition to the one filing bankruptcy) are the creditors. I'm not talking about Bank of America but the vendors that sell you food or the electrician who did work for you or the guy who sold furniture to you. Not knowing the specifics I don't know exactly who was hurt but there was most certainly someone who extended credit in good faith and lost something that now has to work harder to make up the money that they lost. (IN theory at least.)

kristiandupont 13y ago

I saw a tv show about Simon Cowell once where he told about losing everything and moving in with his parents after having owned a successful company. One thing he said stuck with me in particular: "Losing everything isn't as bad as people think".