Secrets of Frederick Smith's Success: From Illness to Business Empire

12.12.2024 20:15

Frederick Wallace Smith is a famous and successful businessman who created the world's largest international freight delivery company.

But how did he achieve success in his business?

Childhood

Frederick was born in 1944 in Mississippi. The boy's father died when he was four years old.

After that, he was raised by his uncle and mother. From birth, he had poor health due to a bone disease. But by the age of 10, treatment had paid off and he was able to overcome the disease.

After this, Frederick began playing football, and by the age of 15 he had even mastered flying a plane.

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Photo: © TUT NEWS

Studies

After finishing school, Frederick entered Yale University, majoring in economics, and graduated with honors in 1966.

At the university, he was not only engaged in studies, but also was a member of the university fraternity and later its president. It was here that he met future US President George Bush and became friends with actor Jim Carrey.

Army

After graduating from university, Frederick joined the army. He was a Marine and fought in Vietnam.

The U.S. government awarded him the Silver and Gold Stars and the Purple Heart for his military achievements.

Already in the army, he began to pay attention to methods of transporting and delivering goods, and this later became very useful for opening his own business.

Career

He founded his own freight transportation company in 1971, using money he inherited from his father.

Unlike many of his peers, he was in no hurry to spend his inheritance on entertainment, but decided to create his own business. Within two years, her services were used in 25 cities across the country.

The company had some tough times when it first started. At times, it had no money to pay its fuel suppliers.

At one of these moments, Frederick even took a risk and withdrew his last 5 thousand dollars and put them into a game of Blackjack, and was able to win money that allowed him to pay off his bills. Today, FedEx is one of the largest logistics corporations in the world.

In conclusion

Frederick Wallace Smith was able to create a logistics company and achieve its development solely due to his fearlessness, extraordinary energy and self-confidence.

He never engaged in this type of activity, but was able to achieve success that made him a world-famous businessman.

Earlier I told you how to turn a simple vegetable seller into a world-class businessman.

Author: Vitaly Kisterny Director

Content
  1. Childhood
  2. Studies
  3. Army
  4. Career
  5. In conclusion