You think you’ve had bad days? W Mitchell has had bad days.
He was a San Francisco cable car grip man in peak physical condition when in 1971 he took his brand new motorcycle out for a ride and was cut off by a laundry truck. He laid the bike down to avoid crashing into the truck but slid under it instead. The gas cap popped off, soaking him with fuel. The friction from the slide ignited Mitchell’s clothing, burning him over 65 percent of his body. Mitchell lost his fingers in the accident and was severely disfigured.
That certainly qualifies as a bad day, but as Mitchell sees it, he doesn’t have bad days, just bad hours and occasionally bad mornings, but never bad days.
It’s this optimism and refusal to give in to despair that has helped Mitchell overcome adversity and become a successful entrepreneur.
After a long and painful recovery, Mitchell set off to start his life over again. He co-founded Vermont Castings, which went on to become one of the largest wood burning stove companies in the country.
Mitchell went on to get his pilot’s license, a process he had started before the motorcycle accident. Four years after the crash, he took three friends up in his plane for a ride. As the plane reached 100 feet it stalled, then plunged to the ground, like a rock. The three passengers made it out of the plane with only minor cuts and bruises. Mitchell, however, broke his back and was paralyzed from the waist down.
Later, recovering in the hospital, he met a mountain climber who was also left paralyzed from an accident. The man was deeply depressed, feeling that his life was over. After awhile Mitchell went over to him and said, “There used to be 10,000 things that I could do. Now there are only 9,000. If I get to do even a few hundred of them I will have been one of the luckiest people on the planet.”
It’s this spirit that helped make Vermont Castings a success and that gave Mitchell the motivation to meet other challenges. He learned how to operate a car, got back behind the controls of a plane, has been skydiving and worked as a radio and television host. One of his most treasured accomplishments was his success taking on a large mining company. He was living in Crested Butte, Col., when in 1977, he learned of the company’s plans to strip mine a nearby mountain. Mitchell ran for mayor, was elected, and persevered through a four-year legal battle with the company, putting more than $160,000 of his own money toward the fight. The mining company abandoned its plans and the mountain was saved.
Mitchell ultimately sold his interest in Vermont Castings for several million and now tours the world as a motivational speaker. He’s also written a book, It’s Not What Happens to You, It’s What You Do About It. (Phoenix Press, 1-800-421-4840).
Mitchell represents a role model for all small-business owners and entrepreneurs who may deal with frustrating circumstances daily. Through Mitchell’s example, it becomes clear that nothing is insurmountable and that there are no bad days.
