“Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners.”
--Robert T. Kiyosaki, author, entrepreneur, investor
Steps Toward Success:
Weathering the Perfect Storm
To the east, stored summer heat hung—hurricanes forming over the warm waters, treacherous swells ranged in size from fifteen feet at shoreline to heights of thirty feet offshore while winds sustained peaks of more than sixty knots. Stuck somewhere in that Atlantic, opposing air masses clashed in October of ’91—tempests, cyclones, nor’easters—all converged one agonizing week to create the perfect storm.
Yet unlike the sword fishing boat Andrea Gail, one can survive the perfect storm’s peak intensity by exhibiting an elusive trait. With each passing season, that invaluable, mysterious character trait always proves to be perseverance.
AmeriSciences’ Co-founder and Chairman Lou Gallardo is one such leader who never quit on himself and the journey of this entrepreneur is a study in the inevitable steps toward success.
“You have to be an explorer.”
According to Lou Gallardo, weathering the high-pressure centers of a perfect storm require positioning yourself to expect your best expectations. For Lou, he experienced that sudden perception and instantaneous meaning--an epiphany--a short time after majoring in microbiology from the University of Florida. Literally down to his final five dollars, Lou placed that last bill in a church offering bucket and asked that his life be changed. Then silently added, “I want to become the person I want to become—to live my life differently.”
At that point, Lou Gallardo owned and operated a car-detailing business in Fort Lauderdale. However, Lou saw that opportunity was limited. With his education, he saw a job as “just over broke.” At that critical juncture, he took responsibility for himself and family—a key criterion of perseverance. Then that elusive character trait enabled Lou to pull himself free of the waves and start to pursue his dreams. The integrity of his action aligned with his professed beliefs kept him focused. He recalls, “I knew I had to own my own business—I knew my voice could be heard.”
His wife, Paula, who worked with a nationwide homebuilder, agreed wholeheartedly: They had to step out, take risks and succeed. At that point, they lived in a small one-bedroom apartment and basically had to “check the gas and fill the oil.” Yet, they both knew that when they were true to themselves, they would nourish their will to persevere.
It was then that Lou had the good fortune to sit down with one of the leaders of the multi-level marketing industry, a gentleman already featured in Success magazine. Always keeping in mind his belief that true motivation comes from within; Lou began his due diligence . . . .
“You know what is amazing?” he asks. “Think about all of you that have gone through school . . . through a university, maybe you’ve been successful in your life, maybe you’ve worked for a Fortune 100 or a 500 company. I mean people just don’t talk about those kinds of things, but somebody did. And you know what? That got my attention. It absolutely arrested me. And it got my attention so much that I said you know what, I really need to look at this, I really need to understand it.” Following that initial period of reflection, Lou discovered that “I believed what he believed.”
After even more exploration, Lou avoided the “no action” alibi reserved for not persevering and finally asked the entrepreneur, “Can I count on you?”
The successful businessman answered, “Absolutely,” and at that precise moment Lou Gallardo joined the network marketing industry. He had persevered over the riskiest choice of all—that of not choosing. The Chairman of AmeriSciences affirms this decision today, “I got involved in multi-level marketing like most people. I was young, I was looking for an opportunity and I was looking for something I could build a future with.”
“What are your wildest dreams? What are the
things that you want to accomplish beyond your wildest expectations?”
With this clarity of purpose, intensity of passion, plus support of his family, especially Paula, the subsequent development of a multi-national distributorship comprised of tens of thousands of distributors soon emerged while the accomplishments of Lou Gallardo eventually ranked as one of the top success stories in network marketing. Continuing to seek positive re-enforcement, Lou surrounded himself with those who had habits who lived similar beliefs and habits. It was after forming a partnership with Barry Cocheu that the dynamic pair gained worldwide recognition as industry leaders by being responsible for the international expansion of a billion-dollar company. Sought after as consultants throughout the multilevel marketing industry, Lou Gallardo and Barry Cocheu eventually became responsible for over $160 million in sales and developed the largest network of healthcare professionals the industry has ever seen.
Upon reaching the pinnacle of the industry, Lou nevertheless recognized flaws within their present company. Fortunately, this entrepreneur knew that perseverance and failure could not coexist. And he was willing to acknowledge and address areas about himself that he was dissatisfied with. Once again relying on his self-confidence, his independent thought and action propelled him once more to change his circumstances and achieve his goals.
He quotes, “I wanted to spread my sails and within my present situation, I could not. For me, true motivation comes from people getting the knowledge and having a crystallized vision about where they are and where they want to go. Then allowing that vision and that excitement about how they’re going to go out and make changes in their life and positively impact them their families and people around them.” Seeking the challenge of creating his own corporation within those ideals, Lou Gallardo again weathered the perfect storm and joined Barry Cocheu and Steve Redman to found AmeriSciences on traditional business principles.