Images by Ralph Freso
“There aren’t any good jobs.”
Tom Lewis, famend philanthropist and proprietor and CEO of actual property funding firm the T.W. Lewis Co., delivered these phrases Monday morning to Grand Canyon College college students at Sundown Auditorium.
Lewis’ shared that perception concerning management, success and contributing to the group as a part of the sequence of talks named after him, the T.W. Lewis Speaker Collection.
His important donation, a part of a five-year settlement, enabled GCU’s Colangelo Faculty of Enterprise to begin the sequence this fall, and Lewis spoke comprehensively on his experiences to assist school college students.
“One factor universities do a foul job of is making ready you for the day after you graduate to your profession,” Lewis mentioned.
After receiving his diploma in mechanical engineering from the College of Kentucky, he recalled being instructed, “Good luck.”
The primary a part of Lewis’ chat included insights from his e-book, “Stable Floor: A Basis for Profitable in Work and in Life,” revealed in 2020. It revealed methods to realize success whereas rejecting myths and overcoming roadblocks.
5 hundred copies of the e-book had been bought and will likely be distributed to college students, CCOB Dean John Kaites mentioned.
“Whenever you graduate from school, what are you going to do?” Lewis requested. “The world is complicated, at finest. You must have a plan. I perceive how that works.
“… You don’t have to choose the proper job.”
Lewis advisable to a enterprise scholar uncertain of his post-graduation plans however contemplating an MBA: proceed your schooling.
The grasp’s in enterprise administration, Lewis mentioned, “That’s a differentiator.”
Lewis earned his MBA on the College of North Carolina and felt afterward that “I had a bonus after that. Get a job and transfer after two years.”
Lewis believed it was vital to achieve expertise by working for a number of corporations and shifting continuously in his 20s. The son of a Navy officer, he moved continuously as a youth. He had six jobs over an 18-year interval, stationed in locations resembling Richmond, Virginia, and Dayton and Akron, Ohio.
In 1979, Lewis married and moved west the following day to begin a job with a home-building firm.
“We loaded a Volkswagen Rabbit and drove to Phoenix,” Lewis mentioned. “I used to be open to experiment. I used to be not afraid to maneuver to take a brand new job.”
Lewis’ message to college students? “You can’t be profitable with out taking some dangers.” The chance to achieve expertise and meet individuals, “That’s the way you develop.”
He began his personal enterprise in 1991, taking six years to “get rolling.” However his firm earned $300 million in product sales at its peak.
Lewis then shared some tenets of success from his e-book. They included:
- Set objectives. “You need your dream to return true, however what’s your dream?” Lewis requested. “An individual and not using a aim is a ship and not using a rudder. … Set objectives that encourage you. Set objectives with phrases, not numbers.”
- Work arduous. Strive more durable. “You fail, get again up,” Lewis mentioned. “In that cycle, there are nice issues that occur – resilience, persistence and self-worth go approach up. That’s the way you construct competence and confidence.”
- Take dangers. “There is no such thing as a safety. There is no such thing as a protected place. Exit on a limb. Don’t be afraid to fail. Everybody does it.”
- Handle your profession. “Be ready to make strikes. Whenever you make strikes, there are extra potentialities. I encourage you to maintain shifting in your 20s.”
On the identical time, pay attention to myths, resembling:
- Observe your ardour. Do what you like is a key to success and happiness. Nope. “Success and fervour are two various things,” Lewis mentioned. “Success is the results of arduous work and persistence.”
- You are able to do something you need. “No, you possibly can’t,” Lewis mentioned. “I needed to be a university soccer participant however didn’t have it.”
- Work smarter, not more durable. “Which means you don’t should work that tough,” Lewis mentioned. “You must do each.”
Lewis turned motivated to write down his e-book in 2010 after he and his spouse, Jan, interviewed 40 applicant finalists for scholarships funded by their T.W. Lewis Basis.
This was across the creation of social media, and candidates began saying they needed to seek out their ardour as a substitute of pursuing particular careers, resembling medical doctors or legal professionals.
However Lewis’ attraction to varsity by no means wavered, and he discovered he shared comparable values with GCU.
“I see smiles on college students’ faces. I discover it’s a contented place, greater than others.”
A bout with most cancers seven years in the past bolstered Lewis’ religion. He was raised a Christian, and studying the New Testomony introduced him calmness and confidence – and the motivation to help GCU.
“I made a take care of God to maintain me going,” Lewis mentioned.
GCU Information senior author Mark Gonzales may be reached at [email protected]
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