The CEO and Chairman of McDan Group, Daniel McKorley has revealed that in his adolescent years he was the least likely among his friends to be successful.
In a LinkedIn post Mr McKorley said if his friends had been asked who will be successful in life, “I don’t think anybody would have pointed to me. And I mean, that’s the truth. At age 18, I was the one that people pointed to and say, ‘Well, what’s going to happen to Daniel?’”
He therefore decided that he would take his life into his own hands. He worked hard and looked for people outside his community to mentor him.
He said in that time of his life, he learnt that “you can’t allow others to define who you are. I had to define myself.”
Read the full post below
I have to tell you at age 18, if you had lined up all of my friends and you had asked people who would be successful in life, I don’t think anybody would have pointed to me. And I mean, that’s the truth. At age 18, I was the one that people pointed to and say, ‘Well, what’s going to happen to Daniel?’ And, at that point, I knew that I needed to take my life into my hands.
What did I do? I kept my head down and worked hard. I learned that my home and immediate community weren’t where I was going to find the people I wanted to be like. So, I looked for them somewhere else. It was of course challenging, but it taught me, at a very early age, that you can’t allow others to define who you are. I had to define myself. Those early experiences are what have shaped me into who I am today.
So if you’re a young person out there, please know what you want and where you aspire to be. You will endure some falls along your journey, but you must realise that persistence, courage, a positive attitude and determination are the most crucial ingredients for your own success.
