After Square One
These local entrepreneurs, business leaders and philanthropists didn't let mistakes or bad fortune call the shots in their lives. They transformed challenge into opportunity.
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The bottom: Many of us have been there at one point, whether it's from being born into a disadvantaged situation, or later in life, when things fall apart due to bad decisions or to circumstance. But the local entrepreneurs, business leaders and philanthropists profiled in this story didn’t let mistakes or bad fortune call the shots in their lives. No, these are stories of transformation – the kind of life-changing 180s that hard work, determination and character make happen – and that inspire us all to try harder, give more and reach higher. Here, they tell us in their own words why their challenges meant only one thing: opportunity.
George Esquivel
Founder of Esquivel Shoes
Volunteer
Tell us your story.
I basically grew up in motels. I was one of the motel kids. My dad was on drugs. When I was 16, I was the one who collected cash for the drugs sometimes. Last time I counted, I went to 14 different schools growing up. We would start the school year at one school and then my dad would spend all the money or he wouldn’t want to pay the rent so we would get evicted and we’d have to move into a motel. So we’d have to change schools.
Growing up the way I did, you don’t dream about anything – nobody teaches you to dream. I used to think I could be a really good drug dealer because I hate drugs. But then finding shoemaking changed everything. I loved working with my hands and I found someone who taught me how to make shoes. I had that door opened up for me. It was amazing. When I fell into it, I latched on and just did everything I could to make it work.
What was a pivotal moment in your life?
In junior high, we were living in a motel in Fullerton, and one day I went to school and this guy made fun of me. He said, “At least I don’t live in a motel.” I still remember his name, I know what he looks like – it was so hurtful and painful. That’s when I knew I didn’t want to be like my dad.
How have your past experiences shaped your present?
At some point, you see what’s normal. I think what kept us sane the whole time was my mom – she always taught us to work hard and to keep moving forward and things will be fine.
I’m living the dream. What I get to do for a job – what people pay me for – is something I could only dream about. I remember calling my brother after a client took me to a $500 sushi dinner because there were times when we wouldn’t have any food.
I wouldn’t change what I went through. I wouldn’t be able to understand the kids living in motels who we’re mentoring now [through the organization, Giving Children Hope]. I can pull kids aside and say, “This is what will happen if you don’t give up and keep moving forward.” Everything happens for a reason.
Who was your mentor?
The guy who taught me lived in Commerce. I met him by accident.
I used to drive a delivery truck for a linen chain and I’d stop at all the shoe repairs and ask them if they knew anyone who could make shoes. I found one guy to make me shoes, but they were really bad so I demanded my money back. This gentleman followed me out. He explained that he was a retired shoemaker and invited me to go by his house. Six months into this, he got really behind, so I started helping him by taking out the trash, then I started helping to organize the leather, then he started showing me how to make shoes.
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, I just think you should try to be better every day.
Giving Children Hope :: gchope.com
Esquivel Shoes :: esquivelshoes.com
Lauri Burns
Business owner and IT consultant for Northrop Grumman
Founder of The Teen Project, foster mom, inspirational speaker, author
Tell us your story.
I was born in New York and grew up in a middle-class Jewish home on Long Island. Although my family looked normal on the outside, there was abuse as far back as I can remember. Just following my bat mitzvah, my mother and father split up and we were left alone with my father while my mother sought out a home for us in California. During this time, my father’s abuse escalated, and during one event there was a witness to the abuse. In fear of what would happen to him, my father hid his handgun and called the police, alleging I had taken it because I wanted to kill him. I was sent to a psychiatric center for treatment. By the time I left the hospital, my spirit was broken. For the next 10 years, my behavior turned dangerous and led me to juvenile hall, and eventually I became a ward of the court and was placed in several different group homes. I started using intravenous drugs at the age of 16 and I was a prostitute by the time I was 19. On January 5, 1987, at the age of 23, I was picked up and driven to the woods and beaten brutally at the hands of two men with a gun. I was left on the canyon road for dead. My life was saved by a stranger that night. Three years later, the first abused kid showed up on my doorstep.
What do you find rewarding about what you currently do?
[As a foster mom] I have got to tell you, I get way more than I give! To see the way the foster kids come to me – in many cases, shy and withdrawn – and then to experience the changes as they start to come alive again is life changing for me.
[As founder of The Teen Project] About five years ago, I was invited to serve on the Orange County Foster Care Advisory Board. It was through my service on the board that I learned about emancipated youth. I had heard of “emancipation court hearings” because my kids had them. It was something that happened at the end of foster care – when they would stop paying for the child. When I Googled the word, I saw that 65% of kids were forced out of care on their 18th birthday to homelessness. I was driven [to help].
I always imagined there was a reason that I was in technology and a foster mom, although they seemed so far removed from each other. About two years ago, we created a national online shelter database and replicated it through Myspace and Facebook, but I knew there was more. Last March, a brilliant developer that works for me at Northrop and one of his friends decided they were going to help. They proposed a text service where a homeless youth could text SHELTER and their zip code to 99000 and [the service] could use an algorithm to return [to the child] the closest shelter within 40 seconds.
How do you apply your past experiences to the way you currently lead your life?
I thank my lucky stars for every day. I don’t take myself too seriously. I love people from all walks of life. I tend not to overreact to anything. I try to keep everything in perspective. Having walked out of hell, nothing is really that bad.
What’s playing on your iPod?
What is an iPod? Just kidding. I just started loading my songs on it – Edwin McCain, Carole King… Anyway, I hear the kids boasting that you can put a hundred thousand songs on there or something. I am old. I only know 20 songs that I like.
What are some words or phrases that you live by?
Be the change you want to see in the world.
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
No carbs, Pilates at least two times a week and talk into the world like I never have before.
:: theteenproject.com
Glenn Stearns
Entrepreneur, mortgage banker
Philanthropist
What do you find rewarding about what you currently do?
I love the problem-solving aspect of business. We live in a world of change. Many of the best experiences happen during the most turbulent of times. The financial service world is disjointed right now. This is the best time for opportunities.
How did you get into what you currently do?
I came on a visit to California from Maryland after college and never went back. I found myself sitting on a bench overlooking the Pacific Ocean and I became inspired. I walked up to a man in his yard and I asked him, “What did it take to get this home? I know I can do it.” He turned to me and said: “Señor, I am the gardener, but I believe the man is in real estate!” It was then that I decided to stay and try my luck in real estate.
How have your past experiences shaped your present?
I grew up hard. We were poor and my parents were alcoholics. I had dyslexia, failed the fourth grade and then had a child at 14 years of age in the eighth grade.
I was fortunate at an early age to be given these wonderful gifts. You have to have been in the valley to appreciate what it is like at the top [of the mountain]. We all have our moments – highs and lows. My experiences have taught me that the places we find ourselves in are not permanent. The times I thought were the worst in my life turned out to be my biggest blessings – I have a beautiful 33-year-old daughter now with two granddaughters. It taught me that every experience I have can always lead me to an opportunity. It just might not be where I am looking for it.
How do you apply your past experiences to the way you currently lead your life?
I live my life with integrity. I am grateful because I have seen the hard side of life. I understand that there are many who do not have it as easy or as good as I have it. Everything is relative. Whether you have a lot or a little, each of our successes and failures are as important to each of us. One man’s achievement is no less than another’s, regardless of how big or small.
Why do you feel the need to give back?
I believe in karma. The more you give, the more you get. It is our responsibility to all try and make a difference. Whether we give time or money, we can all give something. I was very fortunate this year to have Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas bestow on me the Horatio Alger medallion [an award given to community leaders who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and who have overcome significant adversity in their lives]. in a ceremony in the Supreme Court. To be put into that class of men and women who have all been recognized for making a difference was a wonderful acknowledgement.
Do people change?
I think people evolve – some more than others.
:: stearnslending.com
