Blue Collar Executive

By Lewis Taulbee

Achieve your destiny by staying rooted in a strong work ethic, faith, determination, and integrity.

With an eighth-grade education, my parents taught me the greatest lessons in life with their common folk wisdom, faith in God, and deep love for everyone. My journey to business success wasn't typical. My path was narrower and had a few more

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637691939

Book preview

Foreword

A young man plowing a field with a team of mules dreamed of something better. Every generation of his family before him were farmers and that seemed to be his only destiny. He had to quit school in the eighth grade to work the family farm when his dad became ill. At the age of sixteen, with little education and not much more than the clothes on his back, he drove a worn-out car to the nearest big city. Looking for a job with his only knowledge and skills being farm work, he saw a sign in a window reading, Welder Wanted. He went inside and introduced himself to the manager as the new welder. The manager asked if he could weld and without even knowing what the word meant he looked around the shop at the men working, looked back at the manager and replied I can do anything any other man in this place can do. He went on to work twelve years and became one of the best welders in the company.

For the next forty years he worked factory jobs, sometimes three at one time, to support his family. It was always hard, dirty, back breaking work, but he knew that he was a success because his sons would have bigger opportunities. He would say, I do this, so you won’t have to. And he always insisted they get an education and make something better of themselves.

Because of the courage and heart of Lewis Taulbee, Sr. there is no limit to the destiny of his legacy. It is now up to his sons, grandchildren, and future generations to continue blazing the path.

Preface

Webster’s dictionary defines the word WHY as cause, reason, or purpose. Have you ever stopped and wondered what your why is? What is the cause, reason, or purpose for what you do, who you are, and the purpose for your life? When we understand our why, we are able to clearly articulate what makes us feel fulfilled and to better understand what drives us to our natural best. I am going to share why I wrote this book.

On a cold February night in 2020, I was sleeping in my downtown Chicago 36th floor apartment. I stayed in this corporate apartment alone throughout the week because it was within walking distance to my office and then I would return to my rural home in Goshen, Ohio every weekend. I had been doing this for a year and had grown accustomed to the nightly noises from the city.

However, on this particular morning at 3:00 a.m. I awoke and sat straight up in my bed. I heard in my head or call it a thought, real estate is not your calling. I sat there gazing out the window at the skyline of this giant city looking at the buildings and thought about how much I really enjoy real estate. I have always been fascinated by the architecture of these giant buildings and the operations of malls and hotels. Not to mention, I have spent my entire career doing it. I thought I must have just had a bad dream, but I was still sitting straight up and wide-awake pondering that statement. I then heard the same silent voice say, all of the success you have had was achieved by others. You just motivated and inspired them to reach their full potential. That was a humbling thought and I wanted to argue, but as I sat there thinking about my accomplishments, I couldn’t find a single victory where that wasn’t the case. Not just in real estate, but pretty much everything I had done in life.

One of my loves is baseball. I have coached for many years. My teams have won championships, but I have never hit that game winning home run or made that game saving catch. I never won a single play from that dugout, rather I just gave every player the necessary support and motivation that they needed and then sat back and cheered them on.

Managing people has always come very easy to me. I’ve been in some type of management role since I was seventeen and have managed thousands of employees. I have won leadership awards and never really thought much about them, because it came so easy. I have seen people struggling to manage or seen books on leadership and never really understood why all that is needed.

It was now past 4:00 a.m. and I was still sitting there looking back on my entire career. I realized that this voice was right. My God given gift was helping others to be their best. Now to clarify, I didn’t hear an audible voice, but I heard it as loud as if I was sitting right next to someone talking. It may have just been a thought and you can believe as you wish, but I believe it was God.

The following day, I decided to dust off an old manuscript that I had written a few years prior titled, Blue Collar Executive. I didn’t write it with an intent to publish it, but rather thought it may be something for my kids and grandkids to know more about my parents and their ancestry. Particularly, since they never got to meet my mom and dad, who passed when they were very young.

In this book, I tell stories of my experiences from my childhood and throughout my entire career. I explain how being raised in a blue-collar family by two very hard working and loving parents gave me the foundation I needed to push myself and overcome obstacles throughout my journey. As I read it back to myself, I felt compelled to expand upon it and began typing. As I added more chapters the stories and biblical references just flooded my heart faster than I could type. Just like managing people, writing this book came incredibly easy for me.

I have spent my entire career building businesses and real estate, so the thought of doing something different now seems crazy. However, I have never felt as passionate about any business deal as I feel about the words in this book. I began thinking about what I heard that night in my Chicago apartment and thought maybe have I been on the wrong path my entire career. If so, I have wasted so many years. Then I heard that same silent voice say, you have not wasted a minute, it took fifty years to write this book. That is absolutely right! What would I write about if I didn’t have my journey or my story? See, my career is what I do and now being able to share my journey to help and inspire others is my why.

Abraham and Sarah were in their nineties before they conceived their first child, yet he’s the father of all nations. Moses was in his forties before he was called to be one of the greatest leaders of all time. Colonel Sanders was in his sixties before he opened his first store. The key is staying patient and always walking in the faith that God is leading us on the right path. There will be stumbling blocks along the way, but as long as we keep stepping toward Gods light and not turn back there will never be a roadblock on the path to our why.

So, this is my story. I hope you find some inspiration in the lessons that I have learned along the journey or at the very least find it entertaining.

Proverbs 16:9 (KJV): A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Acknowledgement

This book has taken a lifetime to write and so many people have played a huge role in the journey, so it would be impossible to thank them all by name. To my brother, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and mentors please know that each and every one of you have had a huge impact on my life and I am forever grateful for you.

To my Grandma Sturgill, Great Grandma Collins, Mamaw and Papaw Taulbee, thank you for always believing in me and covering me with your love and prayers.

To my children Matthew, Nicholas, and Olivia. I never knew how much I loved and needed my parents until I lost them, and