JR Ewing
I would be nothing without Ole JR Ewing! As strange as that sounds - it is the truth.
In 1989, I was fired (for good cause) from a high paying job in a business I had spent most of my adult life. All of the wheels had temporarily come off my wagon, I did not focus on business, and I understood why I had lost my job.
However, the man who fired me was very afraid of me taking a job with a competitor, as he knew I was very good at what I did. In three years, I took his bankrupt 11-year-old collection agency, employing about a dozen collectors, bringing in a measly $25,000 a month in revenue - to a fully automated company employing almost 200, bringing in over $500,000 per month in revenue, and earning about $200,000 per month in profit.
Where he made his mistake was when he started on a campaign of blackballing me with spreading horrible lies, in an attempt to ruin my career. He spent a lot of time and a lot of money doing this. Companies were afraid of hiring me, not because they believed him (none did and all knew him for the asshole he was), but because he was so driven on trying to ruin me — that they did not want to hire anyone that had to look over his shoulder as much as I would have to.
I was so determine to beat him that I borrowed $75,000 and started my own business. Immediately my offices were found to have been bugged, sugar was poured in the gas tanks of all of my employee’s cars, all of the windows of my wife’s car were smashed at her work, death threats were made to both myself and my salesman (who couldn’t take it any more and finally quit) - and I’m only scratching the surface. I was dealing with a complete wild man intent on ruining me, regardless of the cost. My real problem was that I had helped to build his business to finance this blackballing and harassment of my employees, family, clients, and myself! I ultimately hired away each any every one of his key people, save his brother, and learned the shocking details of things that I had not known he had done to me.
About the time this all started, I had a daily ritual of watching the TV show Dallas for business motivation. What I learned from JR Ewing was that when people like Cliff Barnes would try to ruin him - he would fight back with the tenacity of a pit bull. JR’s policy was to get more than even. Persons who hurt JR required severe punishment.
I adopted this policy of JR’s. Within eighteen months, my tormentor completely lost his business and was flat broke, while my business thrived and I sold it in 1998 for an 8-digit profit.
Please do not misunderstand my point. Given the choice, I would much rather get along with someone than have to fight them - but I have adopted JR’s policy of taking out anyone who tries to do my family or I harm. I think it is a good policy. I do not believe in forgiveness or turning the other cheek with someone who tries to hurt me. Crush him is the only option! I am proud to say my record on this policy is perfect.
Thank you JR! I learned from you that it is better to live comfortable than not, and that you have to be ruthless with your true enemies.
