Shane Parrish

It's about attitude.

The company he built from a cow pasture now has factories on six continents.

It sells in over 160 countries, processes over one million pounds of potato products every single hour.

And if you drive through Florenceville, New Brunswick, you'll still see the sign that says Florenceville, French fry capital of the world.

When Harrison was asked for the secret of his success, his stock answer was that it was no secret at all.

Right time, right place, good luck.

But when pressed, he said more.

The first requirement to be successful, in my opinion, is a single-mindedness of purpose.

And I don't think the professors that teach kids who want to be a great success in their field pointed out to them with enough vigor and say, do you understand?

You have to sacrifice.

You have to make difficult choices and say, God damn it.

I said I was going to do it.

I'm going to do it and I'm going to do it if it kills me and you'll win.

You'll beat up the other guy who doesn't have that single mindedness of purpose.

So what contributed to McCain's success?

Sure, it was the right time, right place, and there was an element of good luck, but mostly it was single-mindedness of purpose.

This episode was based on the book Harrison McCain, Single-Minded Purpose by Donald Sebois.

If this story resonated with you, the book is full of details and stories I couldn't fit into a single episode, and it's well worth your time.

Thank you for listening and learning with me.

I'll see you next time.