In America, Anything is Possible

To the Editor: 
“Acres of Diamonds” by Russell Conway was a parable/sermon he preached over 6,000 times of a successful Persian farmer who was never quite satisfied with the riches he possessed. Do you know anyone like that?
John Pemberton received a medical degree at 19, and went on to open up 18 companies and a research lab in Georgia. He developed a wine drink which he later turned into a mouthwash and finally a soft drink that “tasted pretty good.”
He incorporated the company but became discouraged by his first year’s sales of $75 while incurring a personal loss of $55. In need of money, he sold his Coca-Cola Company to an employee for $2,300, and by 1900 it became the number one soft drink in the U.S. and the rest, of course, became history.
To wash the story down, consider in 1955 a young businessman was seeking a loan from local banks to expand his company, even though it was already profitable. Since there were no takers, he offered to sell half the business for $25,000 and still, the banks weren’t interested.
He decided to hold onto his business and paid his secretary and several employees with shares of the stock, which made them millionaires by the time they retired. Ray Kroc of McDonald’s fame went on to develop a fast food chain that is world renowned.
And, what about those banks who turned down his requests – who cares! But, can you imagine how much Coca-Cola and burgers he sold since 1955?
In 1924, a World War I veteran borrowed money from his mother, took his savings and with two partners set out for Kansas to strike it rich in the oil fields. They acquired a 320-acre site and began drilling.
When they reached the 900-foot level they had exhausted all of their funds and each went their own way, broken-hearted and bankrupt. The veteran returned home to his mother and fiancé while the man who took over the drilling rights immediately hit a “gusher” and his company became Cities Service, one of the largest oil companies in the U.S.
This young man later went onto the haberdashery business and it too went bankrupt and he worked long and hard to pay off his creditors. He soon went into local and state politics and years later, while sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office, Harry Truman admitted, “If I had struck it rich in the oil fields I never would have become president of the United States.” The business world’s loss became our country’s gain!
In America, anything is possible. You only need to look to the past, prepare for the future, and all your hopes and dreams could be realized with preparation, luck, and perseverance.