Back in 2001 Gary was a successful businessman working for a Fortune 500 compan
y in Silicon Valley. He was a successful sales and marketing specialist managing many global accounts such as Samsung, LG, Sony and many other global Consumer Electronics manufacturers around the world.
In 2005, in pursuit of his dream, he left the corporate world to start his very own business: a global sales representative firm, leveraging key network and relationships of his and his associates with the global brands he knew well. It was a small-scale operation compared to his past experiences, but it was moving ahead nicely. He even had a few strategic customers such as Mitsubishi and Sony.
Gary finally grew that business enough to sell it off and was able to exit the venture for the next milestone of his dreams. He found a business partner in Korea and started a waterproof outdoor LCD display manufacturing company. From the first year, his company received large orders generating millions of dollars. It grew fast.
The fall
However, life had a different plan for him. Gary found out that his business partner was embezzling funds. Gary lost not only millions of dollars, but also the trust of his clients. The situation took more negative turns, one after another, as Gary discovered his business partner had also sabotaged most of his supply-chain relationships.
Gary was unable to continue, and his business came to a sudden halt.
After bankrupting his business, Gary soon found himself homeless. He survived living in an office space, taking a shower at the public gym nearby and eating $1 menu items from McDonald’s week after week.
While surviving with occasional jobs as a removal man, a security guard and a cleaner, Gary finally found an opportunity that he believed was the way out of his hardship. Since the opportunity was in its infancy, it would require an unpredictably long sales cycle - exceeding well over one year. Nevertheless, he worked on that deal tirelessly for nearly 14 months.
Rebirth
His new company, an outdoor weatherproof and indoor specialty display manufacturing company, is growing well - steadily and healthily – with his recent digital display customers such as Marvel’s Avenger in Paris, Singapore and Las Vegas; projects in Australia; and more projects with Disney and Universal Studios coming up in Asia in 2017.
Today, he is not only managing his global company, but also pursuing his other dream. Gary is setting up a children’s foundation to help build more support and counselling infrastructure and create better financial and administrative support systems for the parents and the caregivers of children in need, and also to help educate more children’s counsellors, worldwide.
As a former children’s counsellor, it has been one of Gary’s dreams to help children that have special medical and psychological needs.
Achievement
Gary once asked me, “You may already know what to say when you are given a glass that is half full or half empty, but what would you say when you are given a glass that is completely empty?”
I hesitated. “It’s a Full of Opportunity!” He said, “Since it’s completely and absolutely empty, you can fill it up in any way you desire… in any way you desire your life to be!”
Despite the difficulties, he never gave up. As of today, Gary seems to be living proof of the saying: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!”
Credits: Nadia Queudeville
