First Lesson in Business: When I was about eight years old, my family had a farm. It wasn't quite like Old McDonald's farm, but close. My parents would let me take our eggs to the store to trade them for items we didn't raise or grow; at least, I thought I was trading them. But actually, I was leaving them on consignment. The store had about 15 buckets where they would display the eggs and would credit my family's account when they sold. Hens often laid eggs in mud, making them dirty and unappealing. Today, in the US, store eggs are cleaned, unlike in most European countries. For some reason, I started washing our eggs and out clean eggs sold out first. My family even increased the number of our laying hens. I don't remember anyone else figuring out why our eggs sold so well. Though I didn't know anything about business then, looking back, I realize this was my first taste of business and it taught me the importance of standing out from the croud and that small details are essential for success. 

Understanding People: At eight, I remember exactly where I was when someone a little older told me the Japanese had shot down the largest American flag. This was devastating because we said the Pledge of Allegiance every morning, and the flag represented America to me.  A little later I learned they were actually talking about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I couldn't understand why anyone would do such a thing, and this started my quest to understand people and their capacity for such awful actions.

Individuality Over Group Identity: I learned early that I couldn't learn much from others my age, so I stayed close to my parents and other adults. Often my dad had friends over to play dominoes and discuss various topics. Once, they talked about a candidate they thought was terrible but still planned to vote for. I didn't understand this, so I asked my dad why. He said, "You will understand later." To this day, I don't understand. But I decided then that it's not about the group a person belongs to; it's about the individual.

Empathy and Helping Others: My family didn't raise horses, but we had some for pulling wagons and plowing. One was a beautiful dark red stallion named Rex. Whenever a mare was nearby, he would go nuts trying to get to her. My younger brother and I would ride him bareback after climbing onto a fence to get on him. He was always calm with us, even with a mare around. We were devastated when the bank took Rex and our cows and horses because we couldn't pay the loan. I couldn't understand why the bankers wouldn't accept produce as payment. This experience instilled in me a desire to help others avoid similar situations. I believe in the Chinese Proverb, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." I believe in helping others help themselves.

Thinking Outside the Box: My dad rigged a windmill on our house, connected a car generator (now called an alternator) to a car battery, and hooked it up to a car radio. Every Saturday, my mother prepared a large meal, and neighbors would come over. We all huddled around the radio to listen to the Grand Ole Opry broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee, with Roy Acuff singing "The Great Speckled Bird." This taught me the value of thinking outside the box.