1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 I'm totally intrigued. It's so funny because I'm rarely ever like just teasing and stunned, 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:13,360 you know, because you have a wealth of knowledge and a wealth of experience, you know, and I really 3 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:22,480 want to, it's crazy because as I read your about me, about Ed, I seen that you were in an orphanage 4 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:30,560 and, you know, and now you're in a boardroom and now you're owning and building businesses and 5 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:40,080 educating. As an orphan, where did this drive come from? How did you get started to choosing this 6 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:48,800 road? Well, you know, I had a very difficult childhood. My father kidnapped me when I was 7 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:54,400 three, until I remember that I died. He went to war. I went into foster homes. I was in five 8 00:00:54,400 --> 00:01:00,880 foster homes. And then after the war, we spent a year together, one of which, part of which was in 9 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:06,880 the YMCA on 34th Street in New York. And then he had to go back to sea. So I ended up in two 10 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,840 different orphanages. So, but what happens during that period, and I make this a point to young 11 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:17,040 people, is that although, you know, it was difficult, I gained those disadvantages I had 12 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:22,240 became advantages. In other words, if you have to go through, you know, and as I did five different 13 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:29,200 Catholic foster homes and five different Catholic schools and five different Catholic schoolyards, 14 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:34,000 you learn how to become pretty adaptable to various difficult circumstances. You learn to 15 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,640 overcome something. You get resilience and perseverance and you get quite a bit when you 16 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,440 get through that, you get a certain amount of self-confidence. And so that those disadvantages, 17 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,600 there weren't, there were some real disadvantages that hung on because I was an angry young man for 18 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:54,240 many years because I kept asking myself, why me? But that's how I grew up. And it was difficult. 19 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:58,480 I didn't have a mother. I didn't have, I didn't have, had no relatives. People say, describe your 20 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:04,960 life in one sentence. I can very easily do that. Nobody came to my grammar school graduation. 21 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,200 Nobody came to my high school graduation. Nobody came to my college graduation. And nobody came to 22 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:15,520 my graduate school graduation. So, you know, I grew up alone and, you know, that's, and that gave me 23 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:20,240 some, you know, great deal of self-confidence, gave me a lot of other negative characteristics. 24 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:25,520 For many years, I never trusted anybody. I was always angry to some extent. I took it out by 25 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,960 throwing, you know, golf clubs and rackets, not on other people. So, but I got rid of that. It took 26 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:36,080 a while. And this is what I want, I want young people to solve these kinds of problems a little 27 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:41,280 earlier than I solved them. But I don't want any do-overs. I don't, you know, I think do-overs have 28 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,880 unintended consequences. You know, you don't know, yeah, I'd like to do this a little differently. 29 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,320 Well, if I did a little differently, what would have happened? I'm not sure. So, yeah. 30 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:57,520 That is, wow. I mean, I'm truly inspired. I know that after you mentioned, no one came to any of 31 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:05,040 your graduations, but you still kept moving forward. That, that right there is, is, is unbeknownst 32 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:12,800 to, to our days now, because when we feel like we don't have anyone in today's life, it, it's, 33 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:17,920 it's a different turnout. You know, it could either hinder you or, or make things happen. And for you, 34 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:26,160 you, you chose to keep, keep the drive. And, and I tell you that, that, that's, that's not the norm. 35 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:31,680 It's rarely the norm right now. So that's why my best one, my book, don't people read my book and 36 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,560 listen to me because I want to convince them that anything is possible to start off with. The second 37 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,480 thing I want to convince them that education is a solution to everything. And the third thing, 38 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,360 which I think is important to what you're just talking about is that never be a victim if you 39 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:51,920 can help it. That energy use and being a victim, take that energy and place it on what's next. 40 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,560 That's hard enough to decide what's next and to pursue it. And that's what I, that's one of my 41 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,720 secrets. I always, I never was a victim. I mean, I, I was a little tiny guy beat up, people beat up 42 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:06,320 on me. I didn't weigh, I didn't weigh a hundred pounds until I was 14 years old. I went, when I 43 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:12,480 was 11, I was four foot six, 66 pounds. I mean, so I was always getting pushed around, but you know, 44 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,840 but you gotta, don't focus on being, you know, a little guy. Don't focus on being a particular, 45 00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:23,680 in a particular situation, focus on what's next always. And if you get that habit in your head, 46 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:34,400 then I think you've got a greater chance of being successful.