See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Ray Kroc Story.
Life Lesson #99 – Try, Really Try.
It was hard to hold young Sammy back when he decided to do something! His family lived on a farm in Oklahoma until Sammy was five years old, and then they moved to Missouri. There Sammy became a Boy Scout, and when he was in the eighth grade, he became an Eagle Scout. In fact, he was the youngest eagle scout in the history of the State!
Going through school was not easy for him. It seemed like other children could make good grades very easily. Not so for Sammy. He had to work hard for his good grades, but he did, and he became an honor student. School work wasn’t all that he did, though. He had to get up very early every morning to milk the cow, bottle the milk, and then deliver it to customers. He also delivered newspapers!
Sammy worked his way through college by waiting tables in restaurants, and by being a life guard. A little while after college, he was able to borrow enough money to buy a small store. Later he sold that store and bought another one. This time he named it after himself. His last name was Walton, so he called it Walton’s 5 and dime.
Because he worked hard to offer good service, and because year after year he kept his prices low, more and more people began to trust him. Soon, Sam Walton was able to built another store—and then another. Suddenly, it seemed, there were Walton stores everywhere. By this time he wanted to call his stores Walton’s Market, but he decided to shorten that name a little and instead of Walton’s Market, he would simply call them Wal—Mart. Wal-Mart! And Sam Walton became a HERO.
– Jim Lord