If you decide or think you want to do something you better take some kind of action on it within 10 days or you just won’t do it. I guess that explains how I made it to London, Ontario on the 21st of February when I had only met her son Rob Szabo on the 5th! Thanks Mom.
Meet Barbara Szabo. In the mid 1950’s Barbara, a young woman, risked the border crossing from Hungry into Austria in her early twenties on Christmas Eve. I ask her why; and she looked at me very matter of fact and said, “communism my love.” She had dreams. She believed there was more for her and that she could not live those dreams in Hungry. She fled with another young woman and made her way to Canada.
She had to hang out in an Austrian camp for about 6 months before they could get the proper arrangements to go on to Canada. I asked her what she did while she was there. She said, “Not too much of anything but I did learn a bit of German.” Everything Barbara touched seemed to have good meaning for her and to her. She must have used the phrase “I have a happy life” 6 or 7 times during our conversation. I believe that she lives “happy life” on purpose.
Once Barbara made it to Canada she eventually went to work in a delicatessen for a German shop owner. Very soon was running the store as if it were her own business. The owners were so confident in her ability that they left the business to her as they traveled for two months at a time. Mrs. Szabo made $25 per week. After about a year, the love of her life suggested that it was time for her to ask for a raise. She did.
What happens next is the absolute epitome of success, belief, risk, guts, vision, faith… Her owner said in response to her raise request, “Barbara, if you think you are so smart why don’t you go over to that shop that is for rent (just a few streets over) and start your own delicatessen”. Barbara told her boyfriend what had happened and they decided to go check on the shop that was for rent. The phone number hung in the window, so they stepped just a few feet away and used the pay phone to call. It turns out that the landlord lived up above the space that was for lease. Excited that there was a prospect he came downstairs and showed them the place on the spot.
Barbara liked the location. The landlord explained that the rent was $135 per month. I believe Barbara Szabo is probably a fairly good negotiator because she looked in her purse and saw that she had $100 and promptly offered that as the 1st month’s rent payment. The landlord said yes immediately and Barbara was in business!
She went to work the next day and told her (unwilling to pay a raise owner) that she had taken his advice and leased the space that he had mentioned to her the day before. Barbara told me that her boss exclaimed that he had NOT really meant that she should go and start her own deli! He let her work all day and then fired her that evening. He was concerned that most of his customers came to his delicatessen because they loved Barbara. She knew he was right and was not surprised that they became her customers the minute the doors were opened.
Gotta’ love that story. Right? I’m so inspired by this woman. Ms. Szabo was not intending to give me advice; and I suspect she’s even unaware of how inspirational she is. There were 3 things that really stood out to me and I’m compelled to share them with you:
- She laid out her success very simply by stating that it is 90% work and 10% luck. I sure think that so many of us just view or desire the luck. It’s a small part… the rest is what we do. It’s the work.
- Don’t touch it! She was specific about doing the best, being the best, and having the best. That is you couldn’t do things at a top level, whether you were the janitor, the waitress, the chef, the boss or the owner, that you shouldn’t event touch it! Sound advice I think. Why not get “all in” if you are going to do something.
- This one piece of wisdom was the most significant to me. She seems to have a gift of not worrying. The reason I say this is that I asked her what was hard about business. She paused, looked a bit confused, and then said, “nothing”. I wasn’t expecting that answer. It made me think that without worry nothing has to be difficult. Ms. Szabo said, “You don’t know if things will work. You try and if it works, wonderful. If it doesn’t work, you do something else”. There’s nothing to worry about with this philosophy. It’s simple. I think Nike must know Barbara Szabo!
Barbara used the phrase “happy life” probably 7 times in our conversation. This is an intentional way that Ms. Szabo has chosen to live. It shows in her son. It shows in their staff that has a long tenure with Palasad. It shows in the youthfulness of her beautiful 80 year old face.
You know I travel a lot and have the wonderful fortune to have some very nice dinners and to meet some very interesting people. Saturday night, February 23rd is one dinner with one amazing business woman that I’ll not forget. I asked Mrs. Szabo if I could write her story. She said, “no”. So if you are reading this now, somehow I was able to convince her to let me print her story. If not I don’t even care. I have the story recorded so that I won’t forget a single detail.
Thank you for a beautiful evening Barbara… You make me feel so proud to be a woman in business.
