At the age of 18 Louis did trow the kitchen table at the face of his father, for some profound disagreement they had on some topics. He then grabbed his bag and left home. With only the content of his bag as his whole possession, he headed west to find job. He did and worked hard.
Its during his hard working days that were repeating back to back it seamed without end that he came to the conclusion that he would not do that for the rest of his life. He taught that a degree in engineering would look god on a business card and decided to attend university. So he packed his bag once again and came back to his home town. But not at his parent's place. He rented an apartment with the money he saved while working and started school.
He received an electrical engineer degree a few years later and started to work for a engineering firm. After only six months in the firm he came to the conclusion that taking orders from someone else was not for him. So he quited his position and partnered with a friend to start a company. He would build houses.
In the beginning he had no practical idea on how to build a house. He had all the technical skills but not the hands on skills. So they got in an agreement with another friend of their that actually wanted to build a house for himself. The friend would buy the materials and Louis and his partner would build the house. Their first. Once this endeavor was conclusive, they settled to build more. They invested in land and started constructing houses. And they sold it. With the money they repaid the bank and invested in some more lands to build other houses... and so on.
Today Louis is in his 40s. He has no personal debts. Has a big house for himself that he payed cash a few years ago. His company runs fully and has no debt. Louis enjoys life. He answers to no one, starts in the morning when he arrives at his office. Stops went he wants. If he doesn't feel like working or feel a little tired in the afternoon, he fire the chess game on his computer and play. Louis travels to Europe and the Caribbeans about twice a year. And he takes his vacations just when ever he wants.
Louis does what he has to do to maintain the success of his business. But he doesn't fall into the "customer is king" madness. When he's late, he's late. He doesn't bow nor gives excuses. You want the house buy it. You don't then buzz off.
Once asked what he would do if the house business would wane he answered. "I will simply do something else. I know I will succeed in just what ever I may decide to do". When confronted with a challenge or fear, Louis meets it head on. He goes straight ahead without hesitation. That may be an ingredient of his success.
Louis is the perfect example of freedom. An inspiration on how I want to live my life.
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