Road To Success - Epilogue

Roads To Success – Epilogue

The last episode of Secrets Of Success was shot sometime in 2006.  Over the years the production of each episode had gradually grown further and further apart.  None of us producing the show really understood the decision to discontinue production.  The weekly viewing audience at the time was still astronomically high and there were certainly more highly successful business individuals available to interview.

Internal politics may have played a part in the show’s demise; Campus Crusade for Christ had slowly been losing enthusiasm for the show and they eventually just pulled the plug.  Without their fund raising and far-reaching distribution network the series simply did not have a future.
 
I will always have fond memories of my experiences during production of the Secrets Of Success series.  The people working with me were and still are extremely talented.  They are people of strong faith and strong character, and each of them cared deeply about the product we were producing.  Travelling all over the United States and Canada together we got to know each other extremely well.

The greatest value received by all of us working on the series came directly from the business people featured in each episode.  Witnessing firsthand how they lived each day and used their success to benefit others created in all of us the desire to do the same.  All of our featured guests had experienced failures, and some had staggered their way through personal tragedies.  Family members and colleagues who witnessed these struggles most often provided the descriptions of how our subjects reached out to God to overcome their challenges, and how they drew strength from their faith.   Both the processes and the results were nothing less than extraordinary.

In introducing this compilation of stories I provided a list of commonalities shared by the individuals featured on the Secrets Of Success television series.  I think it is well worth reviewing them here.  With only one or two exceptions, all of our show subjects had built their financial success from nothing, or next to nothing.  They all place a high priority on their families.  They care deeply and sincerely for, and value, all people.  Finally, they judge their success not on how much they own or profit, but in how much they are able to give to individuals or charitable organizations in need.  God, of course, knows our hearts and it seemed to me that He knew well in advance how these individuals would use the success He helped them achieve.

Money is certainly important to each and every one of these professionals; they are in business to make money, they know that their businesses must show profits in order to thrive.  But for all of them the desire to generate greater profits is less about amassing more personal wealth and more about creating greater resources to benefit employees, better serve the community, help the less fortunate, and most of all to serve God.

Obviously, each of these successful people benefit from and enjoy their wealth, but it is important to understand that accumulating more cash is not what drives them forward or controls their lives.  Every one of them will tell you it is their love of God, seeking to understand God’s plan for them, and walking in faith which is what brings true value to their lives.

© 2012 Philip Kassel

Roads To Success 4.12

Real Success

The influence of Wayne Huizenga, Jr.'s conversion to a life in Christ first touched his immediate family.  As he has grown in his faith over the years Wayne, Jr. has been able to share the Good News of his life within business as well.

The time constraints of a Secrets Of Success television episode made it impossible to include a great amount of story details, and some of what follows had not yet occurred at the time of production.  Fortunately, Wayne, Jr.’s interview for the I Am Second movement documented many of those details.

 “I like to think that I’m a shrewd businessman.  I’m very passionate about business,” Wayne, Jr. described himself.  “But I try to also bring God into business.  I share my convictions with my employees every chance I get.  When we have successes I talk of those successes because of God blessing us.  I pray for them.  I’ll pray for our company.  I pray for them individually.  I have a number of employees that will come to me that some are believers and followers of Christ and some aren’t.  They will come and say, ‘Junior, God listens to your prayers would you pray for my son, or my daughter, or my wife, they are having difficult times.’  I am happy to do that and I’m blessed to be able to follow up with them.”

Wayne, Jr. has been able to expand beyond his one-on-one sharing of faith.  “We have a Bible study at our office every Monday at noon and the Gospel is shared every Monday.  We invite our workers as well as our customers to come.  It is a special time.  I’m very, very blessed to be the head of my company.  I think it is easier for me to conduct myself that way and to be, to share what I believe in, and share who Jesus is to my life than someone that’s maybe in middle management or has a boss that doesn’t accept that.”

So, what do the people surrounding Wayne Huizenga, Jr. think of his success?

"His success is really a testimony to his dedication to his values and the experiences he has had over the years, "stated Carlos Vidueira during the Secrets Of Success interviews.

"He's always had a good heart.  I think that his faith has allowed him to take a good man and make him into what potentially can be a great man," commented Bill Pierce.

"My husband has been such a great success because he has allowed God to use him as a vessel.  He has not put himself first," stated Fonda Huizenga.

And what does Wayne, Jr. have to say about success?

“Success for me is that one day when I die and I see Jesus,” Wayne explained in his I Am Second interview.  “That he will look at me and say, ‘Well done my good and faithful son.’  I’ve been given such a gift based on the life that I lived, a second chance.  It’s a chance to follow Jesus, to go to heaven, to live an eternal life.  I’m going to live forever and I know for certainty that I’m going to live in Heaven.  That’s success.  And the other part of success is knowing that my bride and my children will also live with me for eternity in heaven.  Success is knowing that your family will live with you in heaven forever and ever.  I’m blessed to know that although my mother has already left this earth, she’s waiting [in heaven], and I’m blessed to know that my father has Jesus living in his heart as well.  Some of my brothers and some of my sisters [know Christ], not all of them, but I have hope.  Success is knowing that those that you love will make it to heaven.”

Wayne Jr.'s final statement in his Secrets Of Success interview summed it all up nicely.  "To me success is being able to use what we've been given to change other people's lives.  And I have this great desire to share what I have with other people.  To me that's success."

© 2012 Philip Kassel

Roads To Success 4.11

Business Faith

Through a season of loss and heartbreak Wayne and Fonda Huizenga stuck together and worked through it all.  More importantly, Fonda observed Wayne, Jr. displaying quiet strength, peace and even joy throughout one challenge after another.  The experience made it clear to Fonda that her husband’s conversion to Christianity was authentic, genuine and lasting.  She wanted those things in her life and after months of searching made a confession of faith to join her husband in a new life.

Fonda was not the only person to observe the “new” Wayne, Jr.  He became President of Huizenga Holdings shortly after his conversion and the changes in his life quickly became obvious to his colleagues.

“The primary changes I saw in Wayne, Jr., after he became a man of faith, were quite dramatic,” related Bill Pierce, at the time Chief Financial Officer for Dolphins Enterprises.  “It was apparent mainly in his ability to focus.  It also manifested itself in respect to the commitment and the time and the effort to understand the business from top to bottom.  And it manifested itself in newfound patience.”

Carlos Vidueira, Vice President at Huizenga Holdings commented, “He no longer wanted to be associated with or be around certain types of behavior.”

Wayne, Jr.’s father also noticed the changes in his son.  In his I Am Second interview Wayne, Jr. described an extremely deep conversation with his father.  Wayne, Sr. asked his son if he had ever considered returning to school, going to seminary to become a pastor.  Wayne, Jr. could not avoid wondering, “One of two things is happening.  Either I’m not doing a very good job as the president of the company and this is a way to conveniently move me on, or dad really things that I should become a pastor.”

In a sincere quest to discover God’s will for his life, Wayne, Jr. had already consulted with competent people sharing the Christian faith.  All of them advised that the business world was where he could be most effective.  Wayne, Jr. confidently answered his father with, “There are a lot of people who will never darken the doors of a church that are in this incredible business world we work in.  And this is exactly where I need to be.”

Wayne, Sr. was more than pleased to have his son remain in place as President of Huizenga Holdings.

Wayne Huizenga, Jr.’s faith is now apparent in all areas of his life, including business.  “We tend to pray before our business meetings and ask for leadership,” he said in his Secrets Of Success interview.

“After his [Wayne, Jr.’s] newfound faith what I found was a real focus on trying to capitalize on the opportunities to do good and to intertwine those with his business opportunities, instead of looking at those things separately,” related Carlos Vidueira.

"I ask for His interpretation of my family situations," Wayne, Jr. explained.  "How do I discipline my children?  How do I spend my money?  We've been blessed with so much.  How much should I use for worldly assets here?  How much should I give to support our community and support interests that are aligned with our church and faith?  And the most interesting part for me is the love I have for my employees now.  I think as a family and as businessmen Wayne, Sr. and I have always treated our employees fairly well.  But now I look past the ledger and balance sheet to the employees and their families and how they're doing."

“He is someone who really cares for people, whether they’re at the top of the organization or the bottom of the organization,” Pastor Mark Davis described Wayne, Jr.

“We recently acquired a large boat building and yacht refurbishing center and marina,” Wayne, Jr. related during his Secrets Of Success interview.  “Part of the deal included a promise to do our best to keep all of the employees.  Unfortunately, as we got deeper into the business we found that the business was not as viable as we first thought it was when we were doing our due diligence.  A promise is a promise, but especially a promise made in faith.  We embarked on a major renovation where we spent $7 or $8 million dollars rebuilding our facilities so we can continue to employ the 130 employees we made a promise to support.”

As Wayne, Jr. grew in his faith, his company would grow along with him.

© 2012 Philip Kassel