Close Ad

Barbara Corcoran Reveals the Job She Would Do If She Lost Her Fortune, Amazes Us With Her Choice
Barbara Corcoran is a powerful business woman
Entrepreneurs

Barbara Corcoran Reveals the Job She Would Do If She Lost Her Fortune, Amazes Us With Her Choice

Real estate mogul and Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran is worth $80 million.

What would she do if she lost everything and had to start her career from scratch? Work as a waitress, according to a CNBC interview.


barbara-corcoran-powerful-businesswoman

"You learn more in waitressing than you can in any other job, and I had every kind of menial job you can imagine," Corcoran, who had 22 different jobs before she turned 23, told CNBC journalist Faroosh Torabi.

Hot Stories

"Being a server is the best way to learn about sales," she said. "It's your charm, it's the ability to have a conversation and get the coffee right away so they don't have to ask for it. It's knowing what they ordered last time."

Her surprising answer teaches us two very important lessons about life and growth:

1. Your skills are your most valuable asset

Corcoran built her fortune from the ground up, from working as a secretary in a real estate company in her early 20s to borrowing $1,000 from an ex to start her own real estate firm in Manhattan.

She became rich when she sold her company for $66 million in 2001, and she negotiated hard for it -- the initial offer was only $22 million.

So when asked what she would do if she had to start over, she could have said that she would work in the real estate industry again. It is, after all, what led her to success.

But by choosing waitressing as her plan B, Corcoran shows that she values learning before anything else. She knows that even if she found herself with literally zero money to her name, she would be able to rely on a priceless commodity: her acquired skills.

Remember the "teach a man how to fish" saying? It pretty much sums this up.

2. You're never too good for a task or a job

We all have to start from somewhere, and having the right attitude is what helps propel us forward. The truth is, you're not special, I'm not special, all of us have dreams and fears and needs and wants.

Perceiving any task as something beneath you is a disservice to yourself. There is value in every life experience and if you can recognize that, you'll get a lot more out of the opportunities that are presented to you -- and you'll also be able to notice opportunities where others see challenges.

Also, Corcoran's reasoning shows that being humble shouldn't stop once you "make it." In fact, studies have shown that humility offers a competitive advantage in business.

Think about it: Who do you look up to? And who do you want to be as a person?

Why Jennifer Hudson Forgave Her Mother's Killer -- Life Stories By Goalcast

At the peak of her career, Jennifer Hudson faced a horrific family tragedy. Hudson's mother and brother were brutally attacked in their family home, and her seven-year-old nephew was kidnapped. What followed was a heart-wrenching manhunt to rescue her nephew and seek justice against the man who took her family. Hudson speaks from the heart in this video on what happened to her family and how she was able to move forward.

Celebrities
ideas and thinking

bright ideas

The 21st century has brought great new opportunities for entrepreneurs. The digital revolution has completely changed the way we live -- and the landscape for aspiring CEOs and innovators.

powerful-business-woman

Keep ReadingShow less
Entrepreneurs
Sad woman arms on face
woman crying on a beach

While life is beautiful in so many ways, it is also filled with struggles and obstacles. We can’t truly appreciate happiness without experiencing some sort of pain.

Pain is inevitable. No matter how much we try to prevent bad things from happening, life will strike. Maybe you will have to face grief, betrayal or a broken heart. These experiences can tear you down in unspeakable ways. Some of them will cause so much pain that you’ll do anything that comes to mind to avoid it or feel a bit of joy, even if just for a few seconds.

Keep ReadingShow less
Authors