A brilliant businessman once said, "It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction" ("Warren Buffett Says It Best," 2008). That wise man was none other than Warren Buffett, and his advice confirmed that my penchant for surrounding myself with high-caliber people was on target.
One such individual was my second cousin, David, who was my constant companion growing up and eventually my mentor. David and my father worked together, so I made a point of spending time at his business whenever I could. Although David came to America with very little, he made a success of himself through hard work and an ability to recognize and take full advantage of opportunities. He started out owning one of the smallest shops in the Third Street Mall and ended up owning a business on Central Avenue in Los Angeles with annual sales comfortably in the eight-figure range. This success was not automatic, nor was it quick. It was a systematic process marked by good decisions. David's first step was to accept a lease deal offered to him during the late 1980s when the area was becoming gentrified. The shabby Third Street Mall subsequently became the premier Third Street Promenade, elevating his business with it. Sometime later, David decided to buy a better property on Central Avenue, and there he was able to take his business to a completely new level. Today he is extremely successful, and I have been not only his friend and confidant during all of those years but also his most avid pupil.
One of the things I learned from David was that it helps to have an education. As my mentor, he shared both his successes and his failures with me, and I learned much from both. One of his failures occurred when some minor legal technicalities caused a business partnership to work against David's benefit. Had he gained a college education a...