Reflections On Reaching 72 Years Of Age

 

This morning I have achieved 72 years of age. I am a very lucky man. In thinking over what to share today, I came up with an interesting story. We all have seen the large offshore oil rigs that drill for oil and gas in the ocean. There is quite a story about how these engineering marvels were invented. It all started during the Great Depression. An engineer in Louisiana made 5 attempts to develop a platform that would allow oil companies to drill for oil and gas offshore. He failed 5 times. World War II came. He went to the US Navy. He continued to work on his dream. He got a design completed that he was sure would work. When he left the US Navy, he made an appointment to see a very wealthy man in New Orleans. He went to the meeting. He was requesting one million dollars to make his oil drilling platform work. In 1946, one could buy a full sized Chevrolet or Ford sedan for $800 US. The house that Elena and I live in is worth $1,300,000 today. In 1946 you could buy this house for $5,000 US. In simple language the engineer was asking for a lot of money.

       The wealthy man listened to his presentation. He took a few notes. He glanced at the stack of engineering drawings. He asked a few questions. Then he went silent for what seemed like an eternity. He looked at the engineer. He made a profound comment: "Each time you tried this and failed you learned something. I think that you got it right this time." He motioned for his accountant to come over. He instructed him to write the man a check for $1,000,000. The accountant protested. The wealthy man just waved his hand and smiled.

      The engineer got his $1,000,000 check. He went to work out in the Gulf of Mexico. This time his platform worked. A revolution began in the oil and gas industry. Try to imagine all the money that the wealthy New Orleans man made in the years that followed. It could have been anything from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. It was a handsome return on his investment.

     I was a failure until I was 52 years of age. Then Elena came into my life. She saw something in me that other women had missed. She became a wonderful and good influence on me. All the failures that I had experienced taught me great lessons. I used these lessons to turn around my life. I had to face impossible obstacles and hopeless situations many times. I never quit or gave up.