Alright, color me humbled!
Over the years, I have given several presentations at colleges and entrepreneurial events about the entrepreneurial journey. And then I see a story about a 13-year-old teen living out a message that is much better than any message I could ever give to an audience about the importance of being passionate.
When Brandyn Ross was nine - yes, you read that right, nine years old - the Pastor at his church encouraged him to find something he was passionate about. When I heard that I thought, “How many nine-year-old kids have any clue about something they can be passionate about?”
But Brandyn knew there were a couple of things he was passionate about: basketball and wearing bracelets. So he decided he would design and sell bracelets with beads and little basketballs.
Turns out that a bunch of people bought these bracelets because they thought they were stylish and Brandyn made some profits. He used the profits from this venture to buy books for barber shops and beauty salons since there was nothing for him to read when he got a haircut.
When asked why he bought books, Brandyn responded: "I needed a purpose for my business, so I just thought of putting books in barbershops and beauty salons for kids to read in Philadelphia." In short, Brandyn decided that he would use the profits to turn his love for books in to an educational movement.
But Brandyn didn’t stop there. When he was getting a haircut and had his head under a dryer, he decided to brand this movement: "Studying Never Stops."
When I read that, I couldn’t help but wonder: How would my entrepreneurial journey have been different if only I had stuck my head under a dryer when I was getting a haircut? But I digress.
So Brandyn decided to put the “Studying Never Stops” logo on a shirt and guess what? A whole bunch of people started buying those shirts. Sensing that maybe he had something here, he let people know that the slogan could be put on all sorts of stuff. So if you want to buy a hoody, or a mug, or hats and socks you can purchase the merchandise online or at the Cherry Hill Mall in Philadelphia.
Keep in mind, Brandyn is now thirteen years old. I have no idea what you were doing at thirteen, but personally, I was just worried about getting through eighth grade. But, not Brandyn. He wants the "Studying Never Stops" brand to go national and he is passionate about encouraging young kids to read more.
What really struck me when I watched this on TV is the fact that you don’t have to be a certain age before becoming passionate about some cause. Years ago, my friend, the late Charlie Tremendous Jones gave a great talk in which he admonished the audience: “Don’t be a wandering generality!”
Charlie encouraged the audience to do what Brandyn has done: Find something that you can be passionate about. It doesn’t have to be for financial gain. It can be a passion that can be used to make the world a better place. Whether it is our homes, our neighborhoods, or causes on a larger scale, passion can make the difference.
As Teddy Roosevelt noted in his famous “Man in the Arena” speech:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Isn’t it interesting to see how a thirteen-year-old entrepreneur can live out the words we find in Colossians: whatever we do, “do it heartily.” Like I said, color me humbled! How about you? What are you passionate about?
