The first story is of a really common man, actually, what I would call a sub-common man. Roberto was an immigrant from the Caribbean, of pure Spanish stock, stocky and strong. He was illiterate in his native language and spoke no English. Roberto found work as a warehouse laborer in a small business where the employees spoke Spanish. He eventually worked his way up to being in charge of the wood crating of the products the company sold for export.

Roberto did not know how to read and write, but because Spanish is written as it sounds, he got by and learned as he went. Roberto had no outstanding quality, he was not meticulous in his work, he did not undertake any more work than was asked of him, and he was not fast in his work. One could say that Roberto was lazy. There was only one trait that Roberto possessed and that was honesty and fidelity to the owner of the business. Roberto was a pain for all of his bosses, but when it came to the owner, Roberto would jump.

One day the warehouse foreman was caught stealing goods, and was fired. Roberto, after having worked making crates for three years, was promoted to warehouse foreman. Roberto who was illiterate in Spanish and English. Roberto worked as the warehouse foreman for 23 years.

On about his second year as the foreman, he was given the job of cleaning the offices at night as a private contractor. He cleaned the offices with his wife and children helping. He was terrible at doing the job. Any person that cleans offices can steal anything from Jєωels to trade information. Roberto got the job because he was honest, the owner knew Roberto would never do anything to harm him. In short order, the owner was recommending Roberto’s office cleaning services to his friends, and Roberto’s business through the years grew to where it was able to provide employment for his son and daughter’s family too.

Roberto came to own his house free and clear. Roberto paid for his two children’s education, and with his extra money bought some duplexes that he rented for income.  Roberto “who had no outstanding quality, was not meticulous in his work, did not undertake any more work than was asked of him, and was not fast in his work. Roberto who one could say had only one thing going for him, his honesty and fidelity to the owner of the business”.

The second true story involves a common man, a welder, that rose to become very wealthy.

Lazaro was exiled from Cuba after the Castro communist revolution in 1960’s, and ended up in Miami, FL. At that time, pretty much the only work in Miami was in the hotels and restaurants of Miami Beach during the Winter, when the city filled up with “snowbirds”. Exiled doctors, lawyers, and engineers became elevator operators, waiters, and busboys.

Lazaro was a welder, and he was lucky enough to get a job as a welder with a sugar cane grower in the Everglades. With his job, Lazaro was able to provide for his family. Over  time he learned and observed, he saw that the sugar cane carts he was repairing and their parts were coming all the way from a factory in Louisiana. He knew every detail about the carts, since he had been repairing them for a few years, and he thought he could make a better cart. He knew well the carts used in Cuba, the largest producer of sugar in the world before Castro, and thought he could incorporate their advantages.

Lazaro began making his own carts in his spare time. Before long, he was working full time making his carts and selling them to the Florida sugar cane growers. He went to Firestone tires and bought the molds and the rights to the tire molds for the B-26 bombers, which Firestone had discontinued. He began using his tires on his carts and selling them to cane growers all over the world. Before long he was competing all over South America with his sugar cane carts. He also incorporated many other implements and equipment used in the industry. Over a period of 15 years, Lazaro grew to be worth in excess of $50 million dollars in 1978. Lazaro, the exiled welder.