From Homeless To Billionaire
Introducing John Paul DeJoria In today's episode of Join Up Dots we are going to focus on the story of one of the richest men on earth. One that probably you have never heard of before. What makes this story so amazing, and will lead several episodes of Join Up Dots, is it\u2019s not often that a homeless person living out of his car can dramatically alter his circumstances and become a billionaire. But\xa0\xa0\u2014 co-founder of hair-care company John Paul Mitchell Systems and high-end Patr\xf3n Spirits \u2014 did just that. The 73-year-old now has a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to Forbes. His climb out of poverty reads like a tale from a Charles Dickens\u2019 novel. He was poor as a child. Born as John Paul Jones DeJoria on April 13, 1944, in Echo Park, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, he was the second son of an Italian father and a Greek mother. He was two years old when his parents divorced. Hence, to support his mother, he started selling Christmas cards and newspapers at the age of nine, along with his older brother. Entrepreneurial even at a young age, John Paul DeJoria sold Christmas cards door to door and got a paper route because he knew that effort led to reward. He graduated from LA\u2019s John Marshall High School but didn\u2019t have the grades to get a college scholarship, so instead, he joined the Navy for two years. \xa0 When Things Got Tough For John Paul DeJoria When he returned from the Navy In 1966, John Paul DeJoria\u2019s first wife left him and their two-year-old son. She took all the money they had, as well as the only car they owned. As a result,John Paul DeJoria couldn\u2019t pay rent of his apartment, and was forced to evict it and live on the street with his infant son. he and his young son were evicted from their apartment and lived briefly out of his car, picking up soda bottles to recycle for a few cents each. But John Paul DeJoria, 73, recently told me that he decided to take challenges head-on early in his career. "The only way I could go was up," he said. John Paul DeJoria saw his economic obstacles as an opportunity to work hard. When there wasn\u2019t money to eat, he sold Christmas cards. When he couldn\u2019t go to college because he couldn\u2019t pay for it, he started selling encyclopedias. He didn't rely on anyone else. As he says \u201cIf you expect free lunch to come your way, you\u2019re not going to go far and you\u2019ll be very bored. Go out there and do something. Get involved," he said. Now fortunately for John, his situation started to change sightly when a friend in a biker gang invited him to live in one of his rooms, which lead to him developing his lifelong love of (His personal motorcycle fleet includes a 2004 Harley-Davidson chopper, a 2010 BMW Sidecar model\xa0and a 2008-2009 Arlen Ness & Victory, re-calibrated to run off either Patr\xf3n tequila\xa0or\xa0gasoline.) Over the next few years, he held nearly a dozen jobs, including encyclopedia salesman,\xa0tow-truck driver and janitor. He would do anything to make a buck, and hustled hard. \xa0 The Early Stages Of Success For John Paul DeJoria But it was when he entered the hair car business that things started to take a turn for the better He got his entr\xe9e to the haircare industry when he joined\xa0Redken Laboratories in 1971 as a sales rep \u2014 a job he was fired from in a disagreement over business strategy. The onetime door-to-door shampoo and encyclopedia salesman partnered with Paul Mitchell in 1980, and the two turned $700 into one of the most profitable hair-care companies in the world. Not too long after their company took off, Mitchell died of cancer and John Paul DeJoria took over. Today the company generates $1 billion in annual revenues. His tequila company is also a megahit. Patr\xf3n tequila is made in Mexico in a sustainable distilling facility that uses recycled bottles and leftover distilled water to fertilize the land. Now more than 2 million cases are sold each year. But John Paul DeJoria doesn\u2019t \xa0in terms of dollars and cents. \xa0 For the iconic entrepreneur it\u2019s not about money and power. \xa0 As he sums it up: \u201cI have been so down and out in my life. It makes me feel really good to be financially blessed and give back. I get great joy and a great high out of it. It\u2019s my way of paying rent on this planet to share with others less fortunate.\u201d \xa0 The billionaire remembers giving a dime to the Salvation Army when he was six years old and living in Los Angeles. His mom told him, \u2018You may be poor, but there are so many people less fortunate than you, and every little bit helps.\u2019 \u201cThose words have always stuck with me,\u201d John Paul DeJoria recalls. That philanthropic passion led John Paul DeJoria to sign Bill Gates and Warren Buffett\u2019s \u201cThe Giving Pledge\u201d in 2011 to give half of his earnings to better the world. In addition, he established\xa0\xa0as a hub for his charitable donations to causes that reflect the core values of his companies: saving the environment, helping the poor and protecting animal rights. Through his foundation, he has raised millions of dollars to support more than 160 charities around the world. \xa0 They include Grow Appalachia, a program that provides seed and tools to help poor families in six states throughout central Appalachia grow their own food to combat malnutrition; and Sea Shepherd, a marine wildlife conservation society that confronts illegal poaching and destruction of wildlife in the world\u2019s oceans. \xa0 This Thanksgiving he visited Mobile Loaves & Fishes\u2019 Community First Village in Austin, Texas, where they are building an innovative housing model that helps the homeless learn skills, earn income and get affordable housing. So how did John Paul DeJoria maintain motivation and build such an expansive empire? He says there were three rules he followed on his path to success. \xa0 John Paul DeJoria: The Rules Of Success\xa0 \xa0 Rule No. 1: Always be prepared for rejection. Throughout your career you are going to run across rejection, John Paul DeJoria points out. \u201cYou will knock on doors, and many will close on you. There will be people who don\u2019t like your product, your company \u2014 or you.\u201d It\u2019s important you realize this from the day you launch your business. \u201cTo be successful, you must remain as confident and enthusiastic on door No. 59 as you were on door No. 1.\u201d If you realize this is going to happen, the rejection won\u2019t hit you so hard. It will help you be resilient, he explains. \xa0 Rule No. 2: Make sure your product or service is the best it can be. John Paul DeJoria is adamant: \u201cAlways remember you don\u2019t want to be in the product business. You want to be in the reorder business.\u201d As he explains, Work hard to develop a world-class product consumers want. That kind of thinking gives you a better shot at being a success. \xa0 Rule No. 3: Doing good is good for you \u2014 and your business. \u201cIf a business wants to stay in business, it cannot just think of today\u2019s bottom line,\u201d says John Paul DeJoria. It must make a company commitment to help others immediately. \u201cBy helping others, you are creating future customers and inspiring employee loyalty,\u201d he explains. \u201cCustomers like to be involved with people and businesses that donate their time to help others, save the planet and make a difference.\u201d Demonstrating that point, John Paul DeJoria notes that since he started Paul Mitchell in 1980, His total employee turnover has been less than 100, and two of those workers retired. \xa0 Rule No 4: Don\u2019t dwell on the past Letting your past mistakes or background define what you are capable of can limit your prospects. John Paul DeJoria said he always focuses on his future. \u201cWhen you\u2019re down, most people think about the past and what got them there. That\u2019s not going to get you anywhere. Think about what your next step is. Don\u2019t dwell in the past\u2014go forward,\u201d he said. \xa0 Rule No 5: Your Country Still Works But John Paul DeJoria has a message for millennials: \u201cYou can get through the hard times as long as you\u2019re willing to work and put forth an effort and not sit back waiting on everyone else. America works, but to make it work you\u2019ve got to go out there and you\u2019ve got to do something.\u201d What is most inspiring is the different way that you can make success in your life. Its not all about being online, instead its all about having good ideas and then finding the people to make it happen. John Paul DeJoria has no personal computer. He doesn\u2019t use email, surf the internet or own a smartphone. He\u2019s never downloaded an app. What has this different and fresh approach to business brought him in his own words? \u201cI have time to think,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t have to go on the computer or telephone to know who sent what message when. I don\u2019t need to know what celebrities are thinking about everything, nor do I want to.\u201d Be different. Live your life the way that you want to Make a difference to people everywhere you can That is how success is made. Until next time, keep focused, keep motivated and remember when the hard times hit that is when the opportunities for growth really appear.