He grew up in rural Nova Scotia in a house without plumbing and a wood stove for heating.

Today, he has eight cars, owns a $60 million golf club resort, and has so much money he has even offered to fly people on trips anywhere in the world if they can help improve his golf swing.

How did Ron Joyce get to where he is today? He did it by building a tiny coffee shop by the name of Tim Horton’s into one of Canada’s most beloved and successful brands.

Thanks to Joyce, Canada has been called by some the “Timbit Nation.” Even the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have an unofficial radio code for Tim Hortons, as 10-99 or “Tango Hotel.”

Every single day, for a product that costs just pennies to make, Tim Hortons brings in revenues of nearly $6 million.

How was this young boy from rural Nova Scotia who grew up on welfare able to become one of Canada’s most celebrated and successful businessmen?

“The amazing part of this story is that a young kid can leave small-town Nova Scotia at an early age, and be successful working hard at what he believed in�It�s a great story of what you can achieve in this country.

When you find the niche you love, that becomes your passion. For me it was Tim Hortons. It was my world.

I think people who excel in anything are often totally dedicated to it, but are only really good at one thing.

I look at the great athletes of all time, like Michael Jordan, who went from basketball to baseball and it didn’t work. Or Wayne Gretzky, who probably wouldn’t have been great at anything but hockey.”

You could waste years of your life heading in the wrong direction doing work that you are not meant to be doing. For tips on finding your calling, read our post from March: How To Find Your Calling.

Have you found your calling?

Evan Carmichael