Can you find the pattern here? Age 8: Sent door to door to sell yarn-covered coat hangers to help put food on the table. When sales got tough, offered to leave them a couple Coat Hangers with a Kung Fu Grip overnight to try. This worked great. Age 11: Delivering papers for the Riverside Press-Enterprise. Won most of the subscription contests by offering a Sunday paper for free and then getting them to buy a subscription. This worked great. Age 12: Paint curb numbers for homeowners. Knock on doors offering to paint it first and then get paid. Huge take rates. This worked great. Age 15-16: Cold called for Solar Appointments. Offered free quotes and spiffs just to set an appointment. Set 20+ appointments between 5pm - 9pm. Got paid per hour and $100 for every sale the salesperson closed. Often got paid more than his father. This worked great. Joined Navy at age 17... Age 23: Became youngest instructor at the US Navy Advanced Electronic School in San Diego, CA. How? By offering to fix any and all electronic equipment even if it wasn't his "job" for no extra pay. This worked great. Age 25: Got a broker at Merrill Lynch to sponsor him to get his Series 7 license even though most firms didn't hire someone without a college degree. How? By cold calling and offering to cold call for the broker for no money if the firm would sponsor him to take the test. Turned out the broker was a prince of a guy who wouldn't let him work for free and paid him well. This worked great. Age 26: Cold calling for a bond house to rich neighborhoods. Had to follow company rules. This DID NOT WORK! The only way new accounts were opened was after hours, calling and offering a free report FIRST - against company rules, but this worked great. Age 27: Moved from California to Arkansas. Started an auto detail shop with his brother. Cold called auto dealers and offered a free detail, if they liked it then asked for more dirty cars. We had so much business we outgrew our spot in 3 months. This worked great.