You think you have problems….

Louisville, Kentucky –?“What’s the big deal Dad? It was really only a big party.”

My grandfather was born and raised in Louisville, KY. Home of the?thoroughbred?racehorse, blue grass and?bourbon.?

His grandfather (Carl Tafel) settled there back in the 1850s. Like many pioneer families, he had a large family – 8 sons and 2 daughters. Must be something in the water because large families were a tradition for a few more generations and now, the largest concentration of Tafels live in this area still.?

For this reason, our family association held our biannual family reunion in this city (delayed for 2 years). Last time I visited was back in 1976 so it was high time to reconnect.

The reason my ancestor ended up here, however, is a little unusual.?

He left his homeland of Germany in?1848?under a bit of cloud. You see, his father basically?kicked him out?of home and country with a?one-way ticket to the new world.

Why?

Well, if you learned??a bit of European history, you would know that the idea of democracy and freedom were spilling over from the success of the American experiment and the year 1848 in particular, witnessed?many uprisings?against the established monarchies.

My ancestor,?Carl, a young man of just 23, had become enamored with the concept of democracy, perhaps from his school days at the University of Tübingen.

But, when your father is a senior minister, whose employer is the?King of Württemberg, such ideas where not just frowned upon but downright treasonous.

Hence the one-way ticket.

Carl tried his hand at farming (big failure) and other pursuits (more failures) before finally settling on opening a pharmacy. Since he had studied pharmacy in university, it is a wonder that he didn’t do this sooner.

What impresses me most, however, was his perseverance and determination not to let any of the early obstacles, including being forced from his family and homeland, bring him down to despair.

This trait seems to have survived him to this day.

The number of successful cousins I have in this city is a testament to this. From the owner of a?Mercedes dealership?to that of a charter plane company. One cousin even had a Kentucky Derby winning horse! (Street Sense 2007)

What’s the business lesson in all this?

A couple of things:?

1. No matter how difficult you think your situation is, there are?always others?who are?facing greater challenges?and odds. And our forebears even more so. If they can overcome them, so can you.?
2. ?
3. All the most successful men and women achieved their success with?support groups and mentors. When my ancestor arrived, he went to Cincinnati, at that time already a city of 60,000 with a large population of Germans from his very own region. Surround yourself with like-minded, success driven folk.

Until next week,

Stay healthy and focus on profit!?

- Hugh?

The “Profit Accelerator” Expert

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