Now who doesn’t love a classic comeback story?
The Underdog! The David vs. Goliath! The Miracle on Ice! The Rocky Balboa! The Oliver Twist!
John Paul DeJoria is the very definition of an underdog. To often these stories become high publicized and materialized by mainstream media and hollywood, but instead these stories should be understood from the humble beginnings in which they originate.
Born in Los Angeles, California to an immigrant mother and father, John was immaculately tossed into a world of challenges. When he was two his parents divorced, and by the age of nine John was selling christmas cards and newspapers on the street. A year later he and his brother were forced into foster care. By his mid 30s, he was a single father selling hair care products and living out of his car with his daughter. Without many options left, he began to lose hope.
Pushing his hair care products on whoever would buy them, he was fortunate enough to meet Paul Mitchell, a famous hair dresser. Together, with a $700 loan, the two formed John Mitchell Systems, and needless to say the rest is history.
Now worth over $3 Billion, actively involved in entrepreneurship and charitable acts, John is telling his story.
But how do we find these stories to inspire us?
We watch the news, read the newspaper, browse articles on social media, and hear stories through word of 
mouth. Nevertheless, I didn’t find John’s story this way, but rather on a podcast (would highly recommend listening to this). One of my favourite athletes of all time has recently dedicated his post athletic life to podcasts, sharing stories from people all around the world and their incredible journey throughout life.
While driving home one evening with my brother, we listened to Lance Armstrong’s interview with John Paul DeJoria. While telling his rags to riches story, he paused to give great credit to his selectivity of business ventures, where premium quality and sustainable actions were at the very root of his decision making.
While his partner was in Mexico on a business trip, he sampled an exclusive batch of tequila. With its superior taste and humble distilling process, he immediately called John. John flew down the next morning to sign a deal, on the basis that the glass battles would only be produced with recycled glass.
This tequila is the one and only, industry dominating, Patron.
i love tequila
Aaron! First off, I love your style of writing, it is so engaging. The story of tequila reminds me of a certain character named Turtle that became very wealthy by selling tequila in the show Entourage. The underdog-type character is a favorite of mine. Too often we hear of massive success stories of already-famous people. While everyone has roots, and most famous people started small, we often forget to hone in on this area while constructing these beloved public figures. I always think that if more people knew that Elon Musk was from a family of three, or that Bill Gates dropped out of school; maybe it would encourage more of us to be brave and bold. At the end of the day, sustainability doesn’t and in fact shouldn’t always be made to be a big deal. We as a society should learn to incorporate it into the very fabric of who we are. It put a smile on my face to learn that this is embodied in the Patron tequila bottle. Yet another reason to order it at the bar.