My childhood background:  I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in a pretty rough neighborhood.  My father was a tough merchant marine and my mother was a loving nurse and minister. I was the oldest of six siblings.  My father told me, “You’re the oldest among your brothers and sisters.  They will look up to you, so you better be a good example, if you want them to do well in life.” I took his words very seriously.  I did the best I could to be a good leader for my siblings.  My mother was the love of all who knew her.  My mom, the nurse, would bring homeless people to our home periodically and bath them, wash their clothes, feed them and send them on their way with a few dollars.

      A turning point:  In elementary school, I had this friend that I used to walk to school with.  We sat together in class and were inseparable.  One day at lunchtime, I heard this ruckus in the cafeteria and through the crowd of kids, I witnessed my best friend on the ground, his face being stomped on by this big bully a few years older than we were.  I was horrified!  But, I just watched like the other kids, until a grown-up broke up the fight.  I had passively watched my best friend get brutalized by this more powerful, mean bully and I did nothing.  I vowed, from that day forward that I would never tolerate brutality again.  If I must intervene to stop a bully, I will, no matter what the odds are against me.

      My work background:  My first job was with my uncle, who had a contracting business.  He hired me as a helper, when I was 11, sweeping floors, throwing out trash and at times carrying supplies that weighed as much as I did.  I’ve loved working hard ever since then. I started my own contracting business.  I travelled by bicycle, working for neighbors in tenement buildings doing simple jobs. Eventually, this progressed to where I had a 2000 square foot shop and office and employed ten people, at my peak.  I worked on jobs for celebrities and the very wealthy, including the international company Laura Ashley, based in N.Y., where I was their # 1 contractor. 

      One of my wealthy clients, Ira K., suggested I look into other fields, where my entrepreneurial imagination could flourish and make a difference on a larger scale.  He mentored me and got me to look into growing trends in the business world, so I could possibly find a ground floor opportunity.  One day, I brought him an article I found in the Wall Street Journal and pointed out a company that was breaking into the field of telecommunications, called LCI International.  LCI would compete head on with the likes of AT&T, MCI and Sprint.  He was actually more excited than I was.  So I signed up with the company and got in, like everyone else, on the ground floor. 

      I wore a suit and tie, which was pretty cool.  I met people from all walks of life, who wanted a piece of “The Information Super Highway” trend: factory workers, bankers, doctors, teachers and construction guys like me.  Everyone had to be trained in the company.  We became the sales force.  There was basic training as well as advanced training and orientation on the latest technologies arising that we could market to the general public and businesses.

      *Basic training was all about building a sales force and how to be an effective leader for them.  Most took four or five basic sales training classes, but I kept going.  Basic training, as I perceived it, was the foundation for the entire company. It not only taught you to become a productive leader, but also taught you how to become a better person, by looking into your personal flaws and correcting them.  I went to basic training more than anyone else. People who started with me in the beginning laughed at me for attending so many sessions.