Success
Ludwig Otto
About the Author
Ludwig Otto has a philosophical sense of humor. He retired from professional prizefighting undefeated in ten fights, and as an infantry officer and military law instructor in the US Army Reserve as a believer in the need for a strong military. Dr. Otto spent 20 years as a computer entrepreneur and became a multimillionaire pioneer in the industry. He left the computer industry to serve as a senior pastor of four Southern Baptist churches in north Texas. Today, he serves as a Professor of English teaching writing and literature, and also as CEO of several international companies. Along the way he has had many adventures. He has earned degrees and certificates from Blackstone School of Law, City University of New York, Columbia University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southern Methodist University, University of Texas, and the University of Dallas.
Dedicated to my best friend, fellow traveler, and wife Maxine Edna Otto
Preface
The American Management Association estimated that managers spend 24 % of their time dealing with conflict. Researchers frequently discuss different conflict management styles and have concluded that the most frequent is Avoiding. If conflict raises its questioning face then avoid the potentially disagreeable issue. Don’t challenge it. Don’t try to understand it. Avoid conflict at all cost. The hope is that eventually it will solve itself and go away.
The USA is facing a conflict that has more destructive power than any world war, or Islamic terrorist group. The conflict is now and will be for some time to come the Great Educational Divide. Students from poor families are being told that it is acceptable to fail. In the city of Detroit, Michigan only 23% of poor, minority students are graduating from high school. The problem is that they are not told that they can succeed. They are not motivated to succeed! This motivational book Success is written to tell the dramatic story of Americans who have succeeded in spite of overwhelming odds against them. We want to get this book into the hands of teachers, administrators, students and parents. Students can only be motivated to succeed from the inside out and this book can begin the process.
Below is an example of what we are trying to prevent: State deems failing grades good enough to pass AIMS
Try scoring a 59 percent on a reading test, and most high school teachers would flunk you. But that is now a passing grade on the reading section of the high school AIMS test for the Arizona's Class of 2006. You can now get 60 percent correct on the math section and still pass.
This year's junior class is the first that must pass the reading, writing and math high school AIMS test to get a diploma. They got a considerable break when state officials reviewed their spring test results and then officially lowered the score needed to pass the exit exam, whose full name is Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards.
With the help of the new, lowered passing scores, and after taking a third crack at the high school AIMS test, an estimated 61 percent of the Class of 2006 passed. That's up from the 43 percent passing rate for the fall 2004 tests.
We must motivate students to learn and do better than the mediocre standards that some are expecting of them. The purpose of this book is to motivate young people to succeed in school and in life. On Thursday, August 18, 2005, Professor Michael F. Shaughnessy, Chairman, Department of Education, Eastern New Mexico University, interviewed Ludwig Otto about "Success"
1) Dr. Otto, you are about to publish yet another book, this one about " Success " What prompted you to write this book?
Steve Jobs and others like him. Thanks for asking that question. Jobs was poor and had only a limited education when he founded Apple Computer in the proverbial “garage.” Yet he worked past and through the obstacles to produce a huge success.
There is a continuing need for positive role models in our country. Heroes are an important part of any culture and we are fortunate to have many in the USA. We need to spend more time in school and public life emphasizing these unique people. As a student of history and literature, I believe that we have more positive role models than any other country in the history of civilization. We need to make students and others aware of that important fact. We have many great men and women who were born poor and have made great contributions to the USA.
Dr. Robert Schuller said it best when describing his relationship with the enormously successful “King of Clubs,” Robert Dedman: “I have a lot in common with Robert Dedman. You could even say that we were cut from the same cloth. Humble circumstances brought us both into the world, but we soon learned about helping hands.” Two unique individuals who were born poor and became successes in their chosen field: Schuller as a minister of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Dedman as leader in business who has given away over a $100 million to charities, hospitals, and universities.
2) You have been teaching in various capacities since 1966. What have you noticed about education and teaching over the past thirty or so years?
Students are curious and are an inspiration; however, students today are less inclined to believe in the heroic goodness of the U.S.A. Hopefully, this book will help change that impression. We have been so bombarded with negative examples that we sometimes forget that the American Revolution, and what it stands for, has never been equaled in all of history. The French Revolution never met the expectations of the French people, but the American Revolution did meet our hopes and dreams. The Russian Revolution never met the expectations of the Russian people, but the American Revolution did meet our wildest expectations. The Cuban Revolution never met the expectations of the Cuban people, but the American Revolution did meet our dream of responsible individual freedom and prosperity.
Democracy in America is arguably one of the most influential books ever written about American politics and society. The author of this book, Alexis de Tocqueville, came to this country from France, in 1831. After nine months and hundreds of interviews about the “democratic revolution that was changing the Western world,” he returned to France and read everything possible about this “unprecedented equality” he found in the USA. His conclusion was summed up in these words, “America is great, because America is good.” Do we have problems, of course, but de Tocqueville was correct when he said, “America is great, because America is good,” and good people working together can overcome any problem.
We need to remember the gallant efforts of men and women, who forged new industries, created new technologies, developed new medicines, and produced some of the finest educational systems in the world. People from all over the world come to our universities and medical centers for the best in education and medical treatment. The names of some our people and some of our institutions are synonymous with generosity, creativity, and opportunity: Ford, Rockefeller, Lilly, Kellogg and hundreds of other foundations that support research and education. Our research centers still produce the best in science and industrial innovations. The world still looks to us for ideas and programs that work to the betterment of human kind. We are the most gifted nation in the world and that is due in part to some of the people that this book will introduce to you.
3) You are conducting conferences in association with Missouri State University, Texas Southern University, Minnesota State University, Purdue University, and King’s College on critical thinking issues. Why do you feel it important to investigate these issues?
Exchanging ideas that influence decisions in business, government, and academic life is foundational to the improvement of the USA citizen’s quality of life. Thinking critically about issues is the beginning point for correct application of principles that make the system work to the improvement of the quality of life for all. Many today believe that there are no absolutes. Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, Einstein, and the Christian Bible, would disagree. Many believe false assumptions about important values because of the lack of critical thinking skills. These same people commit Hasty Generalizations, Red Herrings, and False Analogies when dealing with life changing decisions. Some of these people lead major institutions as evident in recent and on going educational, political, and corporate scandals. For example, Freud’s Oedipus Complex, which he claims proves that every young man harbors the desire to kill his father and marry his mother. The Oedipus Complex does not exist in Greek play. We need to learn to think critically about what we are taught. Critical thinking skills can be acquired through practice and application. Hopefully these conferences and others like them will introduce skills and give all of us much needed practice. A “critical thinker” takes the position that your opinion should be heard, as long as you can present your opinion in an ethical and logical manner, and you are willing to consider my opinion.
4) You indicate that there is a "lack of patriotism" in our country. How did this come about and what can the average parent or teacher do about this?
We rely heavily on what professional educators, celebrities and media tell us. They are all an important part of American life. They should be recognized for their important role in illustrating the opportunities for success that everyone has in the USA. However, they are often not authorities in government, politics, or world affairs, and many times they have an unhappy, disruptive philosophic agenda with no answers, just complaints. They have the right to express their opinion, but they are not authorities in those areas and should not be treated as such. Many times they express attitudes and opinions about our country that display great ignorance and distain for the purpose of the USA. Unfortunately their expression of these negative and ill formed opinions have a powerful impact on the minds of the those with little experience. We should not place restraints on their freedom of speech, but we should make certain that everyone understands that they are no better informed about issues of “State” than the average citizen.
Television and radio are excellent sources for quick information and a general overview of issues. However, for an in-depth study and contextual understanding of a complex issue, such as the Viet Nam war, or the Iraqi war, we need to read not only newspapers, but also books with varied viewpoints. I believe that if a parent or young person reads enough about an issue that they will be impressed with the integrity and compassion that the U.S.A. foreign policy contains and exhibits in its global decisions. They will then agree with Alexis de Tocqueville view: America is great, because America is good.
5) Why, in your mind, was Thomas Edison a genius?
Edison never quit, and he overcame many obstacles: poor hearing, limited education, and hostile childhood. One of his most quoted sayings was that Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Edison was the American inventor who made his early fortune with the stock ticker and the phonograph record, and he is credited with inventing the light bulb. Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio. He was a dreamer in school; his teacher called him "addled," and his mother taught him at home. Today, making the decision to home school is usually very difficult and not one to be taken lightly. It is a highly personal decision that has been the path to learning of many personal achievers like Edison. He was also unique because success did not ruin him.
He used the money from his inventions to set up a lab with a number of employees; he held a record 1,093 patents in his name. When asked if he ever became discouraged when after over 989 attempts to invent a light bulb, and he continued to fail, until at the 990th attempt he succeeded, he replied, “No, I just found over 989 ways not to invent a light bulb.” Edison had that common ingredient that all success stories in this book possessed. They had a vision of what their lives could be that was greater than the circumstances they found themselves in at that time. They were visionaries and dreamers who put wheels on their dreams and pushed them until it reached the path leading to reality. Edison had a vision of a light bulb that would not die because of some temporary set back. Bill Gates had that vision when he founded Microsoft and Steve Jobs had that vision when he founded Apple Computer Corporation. Our country has enormous human resources that never give up and never blame circumstances for their mistakes and failures. They are like Thomas Edison and turn those failures into successes.
6) In your book, you link Colin Powell, and Thurgood Marshall. Why did you choose these individuals as exemplars of " Born Poor: American Success Stories "?
I was a student at the City University of New York (CUNY) at about the same time as General Powell. CUNY has always been a haven for the underdog, it was called the “poor man’s Harvard,” but even at CUNY, black students in the 50's were not always treated as equals. I remember walking across the Campus with a female black student, after leaving a French language class, and feeling somehow strange about that harmless and perfectly normal exchange between two students who admired a strange and compelling college class. Our professor was “rapier thin” and musically intellectual. Sitting in her French 101 class was like visiting Cannes, Paris, and Strasburg in one hour. My black female partner was intellectually brilliant and practical like a trip to the mountaintops of Nice that viewed the French Riviera, but you could feel the questioning eyes that followed us the short distance between buildings on that ivy clad university campus. I hope that she remembers me, because, I can still remember her, even though we never so much as held hands.
But Secretary of State Powell did not let racial bigotry deter him. He set his eyes on the goal and did not let anything deter him. He knew that he was bigger than any stereotypical ignorance based on race. He had a vision of what he could become in the freedom that the USA would eventually offer everyone. The same can be said for Jackie Robinson, Marshall, and Joe Louis: they had tremendous odds to overcome on the way to success and they never quit. How wonderful it would be if we all had that attitude towards life! Maya Angelou wrote a wonderful short story about blacks listening to Joe Louis knock out some white fighter on the radio. In the small town in Arkansas, where the story takes place, no one thought of a black having the audacity to beat a white into submission on national radio. Maybe in the 1940’s there was some hope for black Americans. The clever remark that was used when baseball great Jackie Robinson played against white opponents was “this is the only place where a black man can wave a stick at a white man and get away with it.” America is great, because America is good.
7) Further, you link Ronald Reagan, John D. Rockefeller and Benjamin Franklin. What are the core personality traits, in your mind that propelled these individuals to success?
They had an indefinable quality that allowed them to believe in themselves, plus they believed in the U.S.A. Shakespeare summed up his beliefs about love of country when he said in Julius Caesar III.ii Who is here so vile that will not love his country? Reagan, Rockefeller and Franklin were risk takers who never made excuses for their impoverished background. They understood the mandate in Luke 6: 38 that states, when you give, you shall receive a return on your investment that will far exceed what you invested, when you invest for the right reasons. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but I believe that I have the essence of what the Bible is saying. They had that common ingredient that all success stories in this book possessed. They had a vision of what could be in the future that was greater than the circumstances they found themselves in at that time. They were visionaries and dreamers who put wheels on their dreams and pushed those dreams until the dreams reached the path leading to reality, and what is most important: They were willing to give of themselves, because they believed in the character and opportunity that exists only in the USA.
8) What are some of the core values that you are fostering in this book?
An essential quality that all of my examples exhibit is the willingness to change, the willingness to give of them selves, and the willingness to take on new challenges. Warren Buffet, the world’s richest man, is a good example of that quality. He gave to a number of foundations over 30 Billion dollars to accomplish various goals: overcome poverty, cure AIDS, fight world hunger. What that quality requires is the willingness to admit mistakes in personal choices and the willingness to begin again from ground zero. However, he is not in this book, because he was not born poor. Caesar Chavez and Benjamin Franklin are my heroes! They changed directions several times in life and never quit trying, even when life seemed desperate and beyond repair, they kept trying to achieve their goals. How many great men and women do you know who have had similar experiences?
9) Why is it important to understand the "heroic nature of our country"?
Because we can draw strength from the understanding the goal of the American people has always been to do what is right. Not all of the people, of course. We have had our share of charlatans, but our unified goal has always been to do the right thing. That is why we have the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." My, O, My, how wonderful a statement of a heartfelt belief is that thought. President Thomas Jefferson said, The foundation on which all our constitutions are built is the natural equality of men.
Americans are proud to be part of something that is headed in the right direction. No country is perfect, but the USA is sincerely concerned about the plight of others and that is reflected in those appearing in this book. American navel members, marines, and soldiers are heroes who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our present day freedom. Many Americans have died defending the rights of others and we need to advertise that fact to every child and adult. Education begins in the home, and if parents are not proud of our country, then how can the rest of the world believe in our motives? We have always understood that God has blessed our nation so that we can be a blessing to others. We need to let others understand that principle!
10) The of the book is "Success". Why is it important to underscore this issue?
I have been fortunate in that I have had the opportunity to travel to other countries. Wherever I go, people ask, "Can I be a success in the USA?" The answer is "Yes!" Being born poor will not prevent you from changing your life into a success story. Being uneducated will not prevent you from changing your life into a success story. The USA is the place of new beginnings for everyone. Many of those presented in this book understood that quality of the American people and American life. My mother, Anna Messina was the child of Italian immigrants from Sicily. They lived in Newark, New Jersey and really appreciated the opportunity that they were given in the USA. Uncle Charlie Messina fought with the Marine Corp. in the Philippines, and Uncle Frank Messina was a veteran of Infantry combat in Europe. As Italian – Americans, they loved the Messina name, but they taught their children to love America more. My cousin Dominick is a politician, somewhere in California, my cousin Mattie is an entrepreneur, and Lillian and Stephanie were successful investors on Wall Street.
My dad was an illegal alien, who spent years interned in a concentration camp at Ellis Island during World War II. There are many who held erroneous beliefs about our country during the WWII. My dad was one of those who believed that Hitler was right and that he would eventually win the war. My dad was wrong, as were many others, but the USA is forgiving and released him after the war to return to his family. Only in the USA is such forgiveness possible.
11) What question have I neglected to ask? None. Thanks for the opportunity to share my views. I am fortunate to be born in the USA. My goal is to encourage everyone to pay the price in time and effort to become as successful as those listed in this book. You can do it! Please let me hear from you at ludwigotto@sbcglobal.net. This book can be purchased at the Book Store page of Franklin Publishing Company www.franklinpublishing.net , or at London Press www.londonpress.us . If you believe in the mission of this book and you would like to support the continued effort to give thousands of these books free of any cost to disadvantaged high school children then please go to the web site of Franklin Education and Development Corporation at www.franklindevelopment.org an IRS approved 501 (C) 3 non profit organization. For those who would prefer to use a check or money order to either purchase the book or make a contribution, our mailing address is 2723 Steamboat Circle, Arlington, Texas 76006. 100% of all money received will be used to produce books that advertise the goodness and greatness of the USA. In the words of all of our past presidents and our present president, Barack Obama, “God Bless America.”
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