From a farm boy living in the outskirts of Oklahoma to becoming the richest man in America in the 1980s and revolutionizing the way the country did business, Sam Walton’s legacy continues to live on. By the time he passed away in 1992, Sam Walton had amassed a fortune in excess of $25 billion and today, his brainchild Wal-Mart continues to bring in revenues of over $300 billion, making it the world’s largest retailer.

Sam Walton passed away in 1992 but his legacy lives on. It is estimated that if the Wal-Mart chain was its own economy, it would rank 30th in the world, behind Saudi Arabia. The company’s revenues continue to grow at roughly 10% a year, likely surpassing half a trillion dollars in sales within the next decade. The international division of Wal-Mart is also its fastest-growing division, which indicates that the company is continuing to increase its presence around the world. If Sam Walton were alive today, he would be the richest person in the world, with twice the fortune of Bill Gates. How did a farm boy from Oklahoma accomplish all of this?

“If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever. I think I overcame every single one of my personal shortcomings by the sheer passion I brought to my work. I don’t know if you’re born with this kind of passion, or if you can learn it. But I do know you need it.

Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction. Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else. Capital isn’t scarce. Vision is.

Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. My feeling is that just because we work so hard, we don’t have to go around with long faces all the time. While we’re doing all of this work, we like to have a good time. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you.

Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm – always. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you. Don’t do a hula on Wall Street. It’s been done. Think up your own stunt. All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think, and it really fools the competition. “Why should we take those cornballs at Wal-Mart seriously?” 

Money and ownership alone aren’t enough. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune. We’re all working together; that’s the secret.

The folks on the front lines – the ones who actually talk to the customer – are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there. The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign, ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’. They’re still up there, and they have made all the difference. Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.“

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