John H. Johnson went from living on welfare to living in extreme wealth, becoming the first African American to make it onto the Forbes 400 list of the nation’s richest individuals. By the time he died in 2005, his empire was worth an estimated $600 million. Not only did he amass great wealth, but he also gave African Americans a voice at a time when they were both relatively invisible and discriminated against in the mainstream culture.

Retirement is not in this company’s vocabulary,” Johnson once said. “If you are well and able to work, you can stay at the company and that’s what I plan to do.” And, that is exactly what he did. Right up until the time of his death, Johnson continued to play an active role in the company. Although he named his daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, CEO of the company, he remained the inspiration behind its every move. He rose from the despair of welfare to become named the Greatest Minority Entrepreneur in U.S. History by Baylor University in 2003. A true rags to riches story, how did Johnson achieve the American Dream?

I was a working child. I learned how to work before I learned how to play. Both my mother and I were determined that we weren’t going to stay on welfare. We always worked toward doing better, toward having a better life. We never had any doubts that we would.

Dream small dreams. If you make them too big, you get overwhelmed and you don’t do anything. If you make small goals and accomplish them, it gives you the confidence to go on to higher goals.  

The word I wanted to hear, then and now, was success. The energy I sought, then and now, was the energy that comes from focusing all your powers, like a beam, on a single point. I used to lock myself up in my office and say the word success out loud, over and over, like a Buddhist monk chanting his mantra. I used to say to myself, ‘John Johnson you can make it, John Johnson, you can make it, John Johnson, you can make it. John Johnson you can make it, John Johnson, you can and must make it. 

I’m convinced that the only way to get ahead in this world is to live and sell dangerously. You’ve got to live beyond your means. You’ve got to commit yourself to an act or vision that pulls you further than you want to go and forces you to use your hidden strengths.

Long shots do come in and hard work, dedication and perseverance will overcome almost any prejudice and open almost any door.

I would tell young people to start where they are with what they have and that the secret of a big success is starting with a small success and dreaming bigger and bigger dreams, I would tell them also that a young Black woman or a young Black man can’t dream too much today or dare too much if he or she works hard, perseveres and dedicates themselves to excellence. 

When I see a barrier, I cry and I curse, and then I get a ladder and climb over it. Failure is a word I don’t accept.

Evan Carmichael