02/11/2026
* something I wrote for a contest several years ago. This time I'm posting in honor of my dad who passed January 30, 2023. I finally spread his ashes last weekend. He was my 1st business coach.
Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” Abraham Lincoln
I blend faith & hustle, hustle & faith….
For me, the hustle came first. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs who hustled. My paternal grandfather came here from Greece, at age twelve, with a steamer trunk, a limited grasp of the English language, a dream & eventually built a business & a beautiful life for himself & his family. (He only had a 5th grade education. But I believe he was brilliant.) He owned a neighborhood market & a liquor store. "Folks always gotta eat", I often heard in regards to his success. Keep it simple. Many of our relatives worked in the family business; including my Dad. Eventually my Dad decided he needed a college education & found his own way & entrepreneurial dream & started a recruiting franchise in 1975. (I guess folks need a job) Oh, how I loved visiting his office! It was in the fancy highrise "twin towers" of Dearborn. I remember my dad beaming & full of energy in his step, as he showed we around the building. Proctor & Gamble was HQ there too he added. (Because this was his WHQ, in my dad's mind) And his former employer, Ford WHQ was just in view.
*My dad did eventually start a new franchise in California & later Nevada.
My maternal grandfather’s family came here from Ireland, by way of Calgary, Canada. They were farmers. He worked his way southeast to Windsor & eventually to Detroit. He was sixteen & working as a cowboy, roping cattle & such & a farmhand until he reached his destination. Eventually he started a business restoring the brick on old buildings in Detroit. I sure learned a lot about architecture & our cities history. He was very into politics & had a charisma when sharing his views, that kept you listening & asking questions. He was also very funny, creative & an inventor!
I started my own babysitting business at age twelve – complete with actual business cards. I had my first “real” job at age fourteen working at the local cider mill. Later, I put myself through university by – you guessed it – hustling. I worked at a swanky hotel as a waitress, bartender, banquet server, valet parking, floral delivery, Concierge, tour guide, phone sales, ski instructor, retail sales & anything else that would afford me the income I needed to pursue my education & put a roof over my head. I even participated in a couple of pageants to earn scholarship money. I had little sleep in those days – but a whole lotta hustle. Hustle is in my DNA!!!
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Faith…. that came later. That came AFTER I started my current business… over twenty years ago. By that time, I was no longer a student existing on Ramen noodles & naps, rather than actual sleep. I was working my way up the corporate ladder & winning awards & vacations & making a very comfortable living. But…. I was comfortably uncomfortable or uncomfortably comfortable. I had NO JOY in my career & NO LOVE for the corporate culture – way too may rats in that rat race!!! It didn’t suit me – at all!!! But…. the money was intoxicating after all the years of struggle & hustle. (My parents found a feeling of safety in my accomplishments in main stream work force.) I had already started my business & was working at it nights & weekends & still working my day job. I guess I just thought I’d keep that up a while longer & build up my bank account a little more before resigning. And then one day, from out of nowhere, when I was driving back to Michigan, from a meeting in Ohio, I got a phone call that changed my life forever. A major wakeup call…. indisputable proof that my boss was trying to pass off my work as his own -- so he could climb on my back… to his next promotion. And of course absorb my commission. I got really, really Freaking MAD!!!! How could anyone do that???? I'd spent MONTHS cultivating relationships to put together the largest deal in our companies history. I still had many miles to travel, LOTS on my mind & heart & a the silence that only the open road offers.
And I listened…...
I heard that voice in me say…hey Stace…. this guy WISHES he had your innovative ideas, drive or your hustle. But he doesn’t! You can’t go back there & PRETEND its okay – it’s crushing your SOUL. But, you’re gonna be okay. You’ve got this! And I did. So, when I got home, I emailed my resignation immediately!! (I found out later that MY outrage & bold moves prompted two co-workers, who worked in other states, to also resign that week.)
I went ALL IN on ME & growing MY business. Even with a very promising offer on the table, from the competition. Ya know what? I trusted myself. No regrets. The lean times have only afforded me the opportunity to innovate again & again & again.
The Marin Luther King, Jr. quote really resonates with me. I’ve never actually SEEN the full staircase all these years in business. What do I see??? The next step. One. Step. At. A. Time. And when you have FAITH…. that’s all you ever really NEED. What’s next? And then TRUST…. that you are being divinely guided to a higher purpose. Your life’s calling. Your reason for BE-ing – the gift you are here to share.
This is my LIFE & I'm playing to WIN!
So let's put a little hustle in our steps, roll up.our sleeves & get to it, shall we???
*The photo is of my GREAT grandparents, on my dad's side. They are in the family store's humble beginnings on 7 mile in Detroit. Mid 1920s. Initially my dad's family lived in a one bedroom apartment above the store. The store grew over the years & so did the family & when my dad was five, they finally bought a house nearby & he got his first bike. Everybody on my dad's side of the family worked in the store or the liquor store at some point. (I know how to pick produce & pack groceries, thanks Dad)
