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She came, held the bread in her hand and gave
him a big hug. At the age of 10, he worked as a
helper on a farm. He also did many odd jobs so
that he could contribute to the family’s income.
He dropped out of school after sixth grade, so that
he could work full time.
But all the while, he was moving from one job to
another.
He started working as a salesman in a tyre company
but he lost his job when the manufacturing plant
was shut down. He travelled to different cities,
looking for some work.
While returning, with no money in his pocket
he was looking for a lift to get back home. A man
stopped and picked him up in his big car. He shared his story with the stranger. He told him
he was looking for some work.
That stranger turned out to be the state manager for Standard Oil.
The manager asked him, “Would you like to run a service station?”
He had no experience of what it took to run a service station but he said ‘yes’.
For six years he managed the place successfully, and he sold more fuel than anywhere else
in the state. But then, the Great Depression came, his station closed down, like many other
businesses at that time.
As luck would have it, at that time Shell Company told him to run a service station, rent free.
At the age of 40, he opened a new service station and also started serving food. People loved
his recipes. He didn’t have any seating in the service station, so people would eat in his
adjacent living quarters. The business grew big. He later bought a motel nearby and converted
it into a 140-seat restaurant.
Time went on, he was finally successful. But when he was 63, his restaurant took a massive
hit.
A new interstate highway was built to take traffic off the route where his restaurant was
situated. His business collapsed.
His restaurant was auctioned in front of him and he could do nothing to save it. He was
almost bankrupt. It was his life’s biggest failure. But he still wanted to try. All his failures had
taught him one thing: Not to give up.
Arrow - English Plus-7 100
