Mitzi Perdue

One Good Idea Can Change Your Life

A brief story about Ernest Henderson

Do what it takes to find good ideas. The reason? One good idea can change your life. And lots of good ideas can lead to undreamed of success!

Let me explain why I say this by sharing a brief story about my father, Ernest Henderson. He was a success in several areas because not only did he found the Sheraton Hotels, he also founded the Investment Trust of Boston, and one of his companies, Thompson Industries, made the chrome for many of the Detroit car companies. He was also big in oil.

As a child, I was fascinated by his success. I was always wondering, how did he do it? What made him a success?

Actually, it was easy enough to ask him, and I regularly did. He gave several answers, which you can find in some of my other blog posts, but the one I’m sharing now is an answer I learned when I knew he had gone to a lecture on business in a small town in New Hampshire. I knew it was an all day journey to get there and back from Boston. I also knew that the people who were attending were local businessmen and women, including the owner of a local gas station and a small town grocery store – and here was the president of a national hotel chain that employed 20,000 people. The question I asked my father was: “Why did you go? You’re a busy man, and these aren’t the VIP people you could be hanging out with.”

I’ll never forget his answer. “The subject was an important one, and if you can get one good idea, wherever you find it, it can change your life.” He felt that having access to good ideas gave him a leg up on his competition.

Go out of your way to find good ideas

So, dear friends, to repeat, go out of your way to find good ideas.

– Take classes
– Read books and journals
– Attend lectures
– Go to conventions
– Join organizations
– Network with people who are related to your field
– Have Google alerts on your topic
– Sign up for newsletters
– Listen to podcasts

The general point is unendingly to put yourself in the way of finding good ideas. One good idea can change your life, and dozens of good ideas can make you successful on a scale you didn’t dream

Mitzi Perdue is a speaker, author, and businesswoman. She is the widow of Frank Perdue and daughter of Ernest Henderson, founder of the Sheraton Hotel Chain.

Permission is granted to reprint this article in your newsletter or magazine with the following byline and clickable link: www.MitziPerdue.com. Please let Mitzi know when you do this!

To find out more about her programs and services,
write to: Mitzi@MitziPerdue.com
or call 410 860 4444.