Here is a story of my new HERO - he is my top ten now, Excellent story that I can use in talks etc.
Tom Monaghan a devote Roman Catholic, founded Domino’s Pizza in 1960 and after selling the company in 1998, dedicated his time, talent and several hundreds of millions of dollars to Catholic causes, including the pro-life movement and the founding of Ave Maria University. His active opposition to abortion first made headlines in 1989 when the National Organization for Women called for a boycott of Domino’s, and more recently, in 2013, Monaghan won a court battle to stop the federal government from requiring him to provide mandatory contraception coverage to the employees of his Domino’s Farms management company. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, their your heart will be also.” For the past 3 decades, Tom’s aversion to living lavishly, despite having the financial wherewithal to have or buy whatever he wants, and instead to use his fortune to save souls, reveals where his heart is. Tom Monaghan has been extremely successful in business while sticking to his Biblical values and using his influence to further the Gospel. A wonderful example of a Giant for God.
After high school, he bounced around to various jobs to raise money for college, eventually joining the military to fund his plan for a college degree. While stationed in Okinawa, Japan, he put himself on an intensive self improvement program and would build empires in his mind of his future as a wealthy and successful person. After saving up enough for college, on his release from the military, before he could enroll for the next semester, he got swindled out of all his money by an oil well investment deal gone bad. Undeterred, he, along with his brother Jim, borrowed $500 in 1960 to purchase DomiNick’s pizza so that Tom could pay his way through school. But after 8 months of long hours and very little pay, his brother wanted out. Although Jim didn’t want anything for his half, Tom paid him in the form of Volkswagen Beetle that they had used as a pizza delivery vehicle. After Jim left, Tom’s plans of getting an architectural degree from the University of Michigan fell by the wayside and Tom made the decision to commit himself heart and soul to being a pizza man.
The first thing Tom did was simplify his menu to focus on delivering pizzas to college students. It worked and he was making $400 per week after expenses. Tom saw the opportunity in expanding to other college towns in Michigan with his pizza shop concept. Tom was young, naïve and ambitious. This led him into many bad business decisions, including partnerships with people who didn’t share his vision, passion or work ethic. Over the next several years, Tom learned many hard lessons on what not to do in business. During these tumultuous times, bankruptcy loomed, the IRS threatened to lock his doors, gigantic class action lawsuits were filed by franchisees and at one point, a creditor held him a gun point to collect payment from Tom. But incredibly, despite having all the odds against him, Monaghan didn’t give up. And despite his early naïve business decisions, his core business of delivering pizzas within 30 minutes to college students was remarkably successful.
Once he was out from underneath more than 14 years of rookie business mistakes, he began to really hit his stride. He invented an insulated pizza box so that he could stack several on top of each other and the pizza would remain hot. “We were the first pizza shop to take delivery of pizza seriously,” remarked Tom. By the mid 1970s, Domino’s Pizza had over 100 different franchise locations across the United States and the future couldn’t have been brighter for Tom and Domino’s Pizza. But all that visibility generated a new problem for Tom, a trademark infringement lawsuit from Domino’s Sugar. They argued that his business was confusing grocery shoppers who thought the pizza restaurant was part of the Domino’s Sugar brand. After a long legal battle, Tom lost in court. It would have flattened almost anyone else, but not Tom Monaghan. He had been through so many years of obstacles that had tempered and hardened Tom into a resilient business person, that rather than throw in the towel and give up, Tom appealed the court’s decision. And remarkably, in April 1980, after a total of 5 grueling years of uncertainty with this intellectual property lawsuit hanging over his head, the appeals court ruled in favor of Tom.
The 1980s ushered in an unprecedented time for Domino’s Pizza. His mantra to his employees was 50% growth and however outlandish they felt it was, he pulled it off. The local press began to take notice of this rags to riches business tycoon and by 1982, it was estimated his net worth was $7 Million. When asked his thoughts on money, his response was, “Money is not evil, as so many people think. It pays for Bible and churches and hospitals.” In 1983, he purchased the Detroit Tigers, for $53 Million, the largest amount anyone had ever spent on a professional baseball team. Fortunately, in his first year as the owner, the Tigers won the world series and the “free” publicity created by the team’s success paid for itself many times over for Tom. By the late 1980’s, 54% of all the pizzas delivered in the United States came from Domino’s. Domino’s Pizza had become the dominant force in the pizza business.
Tom’s wealth exploded. He began to spend his money on cars, helicopters, boats, an island and the construction of a lavish corporate headquarters and personal mansion. He put together an autobiography, Pizza Tiger, with the help of Ray Kroc’s autobiographical collaborator Robert Anderson. He had become a symbol of all things great about America. The quintessential rags to riches entrepreneur who defied the odds to become incredibly rich. But meanwhile, deep down, there was something missing.
After reading the book Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, his behavior began to change. In reading the chapter on pride, Tom associated his ostentatious lifestyle as prideful and perhaps the real reason for buying all those toys was an inner desire to impress other people. This epiphany moved Monaghan to take, what he called, “the millionaire’s vow of poverty”, and decided to “give up the toys”. Immediately, he sold the Detroit Tigers, stopped further construction on the mansion he was building and turned his palatial office into a conference room. And this wasn’t just a short term commitment to self improvement, it became a life altering experience. For example, he hasn’t read his book Pizza Tiger since it first came out, noting that the facts in the book are exactly accurate but the tone and substance is far removed from the person he is today.
Competition began to creep up on Domino’s, especially from a PepsiCo funded company called Pizza Hut. They hired many of the talented people away from Domino’s to compete against them. In 1998, Tom sold his stake in Domino’s Pizza to the private equity firm Bain Capital for an estimated $1 Billion. He then devoted the rest of his life to blessing others. “I wanted to put my money where it did the most good and saved the most souls,” recalled Tom. So he began to think about where to deploy his vast fortune. He narrowed down his focus to higher education and since very few people had the economic wherewithal to start a university, he felt it was an obligation and a calling that he had to do. In 2003, he established the private Catholic university in southwest Florida, Ave Maria University, as well as developing a new town, Ave Maria, around the school. He made headlines, when in a May 2004 speech, Monaghan expressed his wish to have the new town and university campus be free from pre-marital sex, contraceptives, abortion and pornography, which created criticism from the international press who saw such proposed restrictions as violations of civil liberties. Although Tom wasn’t able to mandate the town completely of this vision, he was able to keep sex shops and strip clubs from operating in Ave Maria and he was able to keep his ban on contraception and porn in the university.
Many people say that they want to die broke but few take the necessary steps to do that. Tom Monaghan is doing just that. Tom is proving that his goal is to bring as many people to heaven as he can with the resources he has available to him. From his humble upbringings, to becoming one of the wealthiest people in the world, to taking a Millionaire’s vow of poverty, to creating an extraordinary institution of higher education, Tom Monaghan has lived the life of a Giant for God. To learn more about his life, read Living the Faith: A Life of Tom Monaghan by James Leonard
One of my most favorite talks from Monson
“Finishers Wanted”
“Finishers
Wanted”
On sunlit days during the noon hour,
the streets of Salt Lake City abound with men and women who for a moment leave
the confines of the tall office buildings and engage in that universal delight
called window shopping. On occasion I, too, am a participant.
One Wednesday I paused before the
elegant show window of a prestigious furniture store. That which caught and
held my attention was not the beautifully designed sofa nor the comfortable appearing
chair that stood at its side. Neither was it the beautiful chandelier
positioned overhead. Rather, my eyes rested on a small sign that had been
placed at the bottom right-hand corner of the window. Its message was brief:
“FINISHERS WANTED.”
The store had need of those persons
who possessed the talent and the skill to make ready for final sale the
expensive furniture the firm manufactured and sold. “Finishers Wanted.” The
words remained with me as I returned to the pressing activities of the day.
In life, as in business, there has
always been a need for those persons who could be called finishers. Their ranks
are few, their opportunities many, their contributions great.
From the very beginning to the
present time, a fundamental question remains to be answered by each who runs
the race of life. Shall I falter, or shall I finish? On the answer await the
blessings of joy and happiness here in mortality and eternal life in the world
to come.
We are not left without guidance to
make this momentous decision. The Holy Bible
contains those accounts, even those lessons that, if carefully learned, will
serve us well and be as a beacon light to guide our thoughts and influence our
actions. As we read, we sympathize with those who falter. We honor those who
finish.
The Apostle Paul likened life to a
great race when he declared, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run
all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” (1 Cor. 9:24.) And before the words of Paul fell
upon the ears of his listeners, the counsel of the son of David, king in
Jerusalem, cautioned, “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong.” (Eccl. 9:11.)
Could the son of David have been
referring to his own father? Judged by any standards, the greatest king Israel
ever had was David. Anointed by Samuel, he was honored by the Lord.
In the first flush of his incredible
triumphs, David rode the crest of popularity. As he achieved fresh victories,
in adoration the people exclaimed: “Behold, we are thy bone and flesh.” (2 Sam. 5:1.) Power he won, but peace he lost.
It happened late one afternoon when
David was walking on the rooftop patio of the king’s house that he saw a woman
bathing. “And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not
this Bathsheba, … the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So “David sent messengers,
and took her.” (2 Sam. 11:3–4.)
The gross sin of adultery was
followed by yet another. Commanded David: “Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the
hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.” (2 Sam. 11:15.) Lust and power had triumphed.
David’s rebuke came from the Lord
God of Israel: “Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast
taken his wife to be thy wife. …
“Now therefore the sword shall never
depart from thine house.” (2 Sam. 12:9–10.)
David commenced well the race, then
faltered and failed to finish his course.
Lest we lull ourselves into thinking
that only the gross sins of life cause us to falter, consider the experience of
the rich young man who came running to the Savior and asked the question: “Good
Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”
Jesus answered him: “If thou wilt
enter into life, keep the commandments.
“He saith unto him, Which?”
To Jesus’ enumeration of the
commandments, the young man replied, “All these things have I kept from my
youth up: what lack I yet?
“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt
be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, … and come and
follow me.
“But when the young man heard that
saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” (Matt. 19:16–18, 20–22.)
He preferred the comforts of earth
to the treasures of heaven. He would not purchase the things of eternity by
abandoning those of time.
So it was with Judas Iscariot. He
commenced his ministry as an Apostle of the Lord. He ended it a traitor. For
thirty paltry pieces of silver, he sold his soul. At last, realizing the
enormity of his sin, Judas, to his patrons and temptors, cried out: “I have
sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.” (Matt. 27:4.) Remorse led to despair, despair to
madness, and madness to suicide. He had succeeded in betraying the Christ. He
had failed to finish the apostolic ministry to which he had been divinely
called.
Lust for power, greed of gold, and
disdain of one’s honor have ever appeared as faces of failure in the panorama
of life. Captivated by their artificial attraction, many noble souls have
stumbled and fallen, thus losing the crown of victory reserved for the finisher
of life’s great race.
Let us turn from the lives of those
who faltered and consider some who finished and won the prize.
There was a man in the land of Uz
whose name was Job. That man was perfect and upright and one who feared God and
eschewed evil. Pious in his conduct, prosperous in his fortune, Job was to face
a test that would tempt any man. Shorn of his possessions, scorned by his
friends, afflicted by his suffering, even tempted by his wife to blame God, Job
was to declare from the depths of his noble soul: “Behold, my witness is in
heaven, and my record is on high.” (Job 16:19.) “I know that my redeemer liveth.” (Job 19:25.) Job did not falter. Job became a
finisher.
Following the earthly ministry of
the Lord, there were many who, rather than deny their testimony of him, would
forfeit their lives. Such was Paul the Apostle. The decision of his father to
send him to Jerusalem opened the door to Paul’s destiny. He would pass through
it and help shape a new world.
Gifted in his capacity to stir,
move, and manage groups of men, Paul was a peerless example of one who nobly
made the transition from sinner to saint. Though disappointment, heartache, and
trial were to beset him, yet Paul, at the conclusion of his ministry, could
say: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7.) Like Job, Paul was a finisher.
He admonished us to “lay aside …
sin” and to “run with patience the race … , looking [for an example] unto Jesus
the author and finisher of our faith.” (Heb. 12:1–2.)
Though Jesus was tempted by the evil
one, he resisted. Though he was hated, he loved. Though he was betrayed, he
triumphed. Not in a cloud of glory or chariot of fire was Jesus to depart
mortality, but with arms outstretched in agony upon the cruel cross. The
magnitude of his mission is depicted in the simplicity of his words. To his
Father he prayed, “The hour is come. … I have glorified thee on the earth: I
have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:1, 4.) “Into thy hands I commend my
spirit.” (Luke 23:46.) Mortality ended. Eternity began.
Times change and circumstances vary,
but the true marks of a finisher remain. Note them well, for they are vital to
our success.
- 1.
The Mark
of Vision. It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges, and
so do people’s lives. We are constantly making small decisions. The outcome
determines the success or failure of our lives. That is why it is worthwhile to
look ahead, to set a course, and at least be partly ready when the moment of
decision comes. True finishers have the capacity to visualize their objective.
- 2.
The Mark
of Effort. Vision without effort is daydreaming; effort without vision is
drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize.
Needed is the capacity to make that
second effort when life’s challenges lay us low.
Stick to your task ’til it sticks to
you;
Beginners are many, but enders are
few.
Honor, power, place and praise
Will always come to the one who
stays. Stick to your task ’til it sticks to you;
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at
it, too;
For out of the bend and the sweat
and the smile
Will come life’s victories after a
while.
—Author Unknown
3. The Mark of Faith. Many years ago
the psalmist wrote: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence
in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Ps. 118:8–9.) Recognize that faith and doubt
cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.
4. The Mark of Virtue. “Let virtue
garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.” (D&C 121:45.) This counsel from the Lord will
provide staying power in the race we run.
5. The Mark of Courage. Have the
courage—
To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow,
To run where the brave dare not go.
To right the unrightable wrong,
To love, pure and chaste from afar,
To try, when your arms are too
weary,
To reach the unreachable star! *
And you will thus become a finisher.
6. The Mark of Prayer. When the
burdens of life become heavy, when trials test one’s faith, when pain, sorrow,
and despair cause the light of hope to flicker and burn low, communication with
our Heavenly Father provides peace.
These, the marks of a true finisher,
will be as a lamp to our feet in the journey through life. Ever beckoning us onward
and lifting us upward is he who pleaded, “Come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22.)
Frequently God’s help comes
silently—and though silently, occasionally with dramatic impact. Such was my
experience some years ago when, as a mission president, I was afforded the
privilege to guide the activities of precious missionaries whom He had called.
Some had problems, others required motivation; but one came to me in utter
despair. He had made the decision to leave the mission field when but at the
halfway mark. His bags were packed, his return ticket purchased. He came to bid
me farewell.
We talked; we listened; we prayed.
There remained hidden the actual reason for his decision to quit. As we arose
from our knees in the quiet of my office, the missionary began to weep almost
uncontrollably. Flexing the muscle in his strong right arm, he blurted out,
“This is my problem. All through school my muscle power qualified me for honors
in football and track, but my mental power was neglected. President Monson, I’m
ashamed of my school record. It reveals that ‘with effort’ I have the capacity
to read at but the level of the fourth grade. I can’t even read the Book
of Mormon. How then can I understand its contents and teach others
its truths?”
The silence of the room was broken
by my young nine-year-old son who, without knocking, opened the door and, with
surprise, apologetically said, “Excuse me. I just wanted to put this book back
on the shelf.” He handed me the book. Its title: A Child’s Story of the Book of
Mormon, by Dr. Deta Petersen Neeley. I turned to the author’s preface and read
that this book was written with a scientifically controlled vocabulary to the
level of the fourth grade. A sincere prayer from an honest heart had been
dramatically answered.
My missionary accepted the challenge
to read the book. Half laughing, half crying, he declared: “It will be good to
read something I can understand.” Clouds of despair were dispelled by the
sunshine of hope. He completed an honorable mission. He became a finisher.
I am happy I walked by that
furniture store and gazed at the small sign in the large shop window. Everyone
can benefit from the true meaning of its words: “FINISHERS WANTED.”
No comments:
Post a Comment