In the 1990’s my younger brother decided to seek a better life for himself. He went to school and became a certified air conditioning contractor. He found work right away. He was very successful. His work was top quality. Customers loved him. They asked for him by name. My brother worked his way into the role of project manager in record time. His output was so extraordinary that his employer told him that he was “indispensable” to the business. He was rewarded for his efforts. Over the years my brother managed to save a bit of money. Each year my brother would win awards for outstanding sales performance, customer service, and the like. Friends and family routinely suggested he go into business for himself. He considered it. But year after year he kept on working for his company. He knew that going into business for himself would be every expensive and very risky. More importantly he didn’t want to hurt his employer by leaving, and potentially becoming a competitor. He didn’t want to be selfish. Then one day it happened. An “angel” arrived in the form of a former customer. My brother was faced with an opportunity that would be very hard to refuse. The former customer was so impressed with my brother’s work he offered to sponsor a significant percentage of the startup costs if my brother would open his own shop. My brother considered the trade offs. Stay with his current employer and continue to make a secure living, or, risk it all and go solo on the hope of making it really big. For a long time he pondered the opportunity. It meant risking his hard earned savings and going on the line for a big loan. Failure would be very expensive indeed. Finally he decided take the plunge. With a heavy heart he approached his boss of many years and told him the news. He was going solo. His new shop would open on the other side of town within a few weeks. His boss tried to talk him into staying but my brother’s mind was made up. That night, and for many nights to follow my brother agonized over his decision. His feelings were a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and guilt. A few weeks later my brother’s air-conditioning shop opened. He placed orders for equipment. He bought a truck. He had a sign painted. Within a week he had his first contract with a local firm and it was a big project. He placed ads in the local newspaper for help. Within three months he had several contracts and six full-time employees. He bought more trucks. After six months he had so many orders he was forced to hire more people and buy more trucks and more equipment. Next he hired a full time salesperson and a full time project manager. He held a party to celebrate their first year in business. Several employees gave spontaneous speeches expressing their gratitude for the opportunity my brother created for them. The business continued to grow. At the end of two years my brother had 14 full time employees. His operation had expanded so much that the shop was barely big enough to hold the equipment. Despite all the success my brother still felt guilty. He still felt bad about leaving his old job. Finally he made some calls to find out what happened to his previous employer after he left. To his surprise they were doing just fine. My brother’s experience illustrates one of the fundamental lessons of the free market. Only by serving others can we serve ourselves. We see this same phenomenon played out again and again. Individuals seeking to fulfill their own self-interest have created the great abundances of our society. From light bulbs, to computers, to cell phones, to cars, to houses, to air conditioners, the vast number of products and services we enjoy were produced by other individuals who were simply seeking to serve their own self-interest. Or, as economist Walter Williams said, One of the wonderful things about free markets is that the path to greater wealth comes not from looting, plundering and enslaving one's fellow man, as it has throughout most of human history, but by serving and pleasing him. So it was with my brother. He started by seeking a better life for himself by earning certification as an air conditioning contractor. By starting his own business in an attempt to better serve his own self-interest he provided his wife and children with a better life and a far brighter future. In the process he created 14 new full-time jobs. Think if it, 14 families enjoying a better life because of his “self-interested” decision. And finally, by taking a self-interested entrepreneurial risk, my brother ended up maximizing his contribution to society. He is now serving and pleasing hundreds of people in his community.
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