Boss Blog: June 21, 2017
An Immigrant Success Story
Rags to riches stories always seem to amaze people including myself. We all have heard about the poor immigrant coming to the land of opportunity to gain success and become wealthy beyond measures. What about the immigrant who comes over and lives a quiet life and uses that to achieve success. Modest success from humble beginnings is impressive to me, especially when the roads of life could have taken them on a much different path. These stories don’t get movies made of them and I don’t see any books in the future. It is these everyday triumphs that lead to a strong fabric of society. Today I am going to speak about the story of one particular person, who against all odds became a Canadian Success Story.
Born in 1959 our hero was diagnosed with Polio at an early age. He was only 5 when his family left The Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese Islands had no jobs and no health care to help the young boy deal with his ailment. The son of a Laborer and a Hospital cleaner, he was told he wouldn’t live to the age of 13. He was also told he would never walk. In a wheelchair, he amazingly learned to walk at age 8. Despite this, he would never walk without a very visible limp. By the time he got to high school he was an avid writer and history buff. Despite his love for school, he dropped out at 17 due to trouble at home. His father was an abusive alcoholic who took out the anger of the day on our hero. Leaving home at an early age wasn’t easy and it wasn’t made easy with the climate of the late 1970’s. Drugs and Disco were prevalent and many found themselves caught in the trap of that lifestyle. Our hero found himself getting into trouble and being on the wrong side of the tracks many times. He welcomed 2 young children into the world by the time he was 26 years old. It was then that he realized he had to straighten out and fly right. He got a job working at Converse Shoes in Brampton, Ontario driving a forklift and lifting boxes. The mother of his children was out of the picture but he wanted to make sure his two boys had a good life so he took them in. Along with his wife, he raised his two boys and did his best to give them everything he didn’t have. An old school guy, nonsense, and smartassery were not tolerated and hard work is what was preached. Much like he had to, earning their keep was what he bestowed upon his kids. He wasn’t easy on them, but there was always love.
He welcomed 2 young children into the world by the time he was 26 years old. It was then that he realized he had to straighten out and fly right. He got a job working at a shoe in Brampton, Ontario driving a forklift and lifting boxes. The mother of his children was out of the picture but he wanted to make sure his two boys had a good life so he took them in. Along with his wife, he raised his two boys and did his best to give them everything he didn’t have. An old school guy, nonsense, and smartassery were not tolerated and hard work is what was preached. Much like he had to, earning their keep was what he bestowed upon his kids. He wasn’t easy on them, but there was always love.
Our hero never worked at a high-paying job. He did, however, become a leader in the workplace. Leading by example he brought in a union at his job to help himself and his co-workers battle a terrible boss. With his efforts, he secured regular raises for the workers, an RRSP plan and most importantly well due respect. He leveraged his meager pay into buying a rental unit in Dundalk, Ontario. A few years later he was able to purchase another unit in Brampton, Ontario where his family lived in the basement. He rented out the upper unit to get extra funds to help pay down the mortgage. It was 5 years after that when he was able to leverage his two properties into his dream home in the countryside. This Hillsburgh, Ontario property was an extreme fixer upper but had great potential as it sat on 7 acres of land and he was good with his hands. Using those two fully rented units as cash cows he was able to have his dream home paid off in about 10 years. 10 years after that he had both those properties paid off and was the owner of 3 mortgage free homes. This brings us to present day and in a real estate market that had boomed he unloaded the rentals for a solid profit.
One of five children, our hero turned what could have been a meager life into what was an extraordinary one. He won’t make the papers for the things he has done and there have been very few pats on the back. He never earned more than 45K per year and even had to clean the warehouse where he worked during the day at 3 AM every night. I know he did this for extra money when I was 8 years old because our hero is my Dad. Gilbert Manuel Ferreira took a life of pain, heartache, and misery and flipped the script into a life of success. The days were long, the setbacks came often. It was the perseverance and hard work that allowed him to succeed. I mention him in this week’s Boss Blog for 2 reasons. Being that it is mortgage week in the world of Budget Boss I find it only fitting to mention a man who turned home ownership into early retirement. More importantly, being that Father’s Day was last Sunday, I find it also fitting to mention a person who exemplifies the spirit of what I try to accomplish with Budget Boss. Hard-work, dedication, patience, frugalness, planning, and care are what he taught me.
He also taught me the most important lesson I ever learned in life. From a young age, he always wanted me to know that I was no better than anyone else. Equally important he wanted me to know that no person, not one, is better than me. I always deserve my place at the table but make sure I earn it. Those words I think are ones we all should live by and I’m glad I had them drilled into me early on. Thanks, Dad, Happy Father’s Day!
“My father gave me the Greatest Gift anyone could give another person, He believed in me.” – Jim Valvano
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Joseph James Francis is a Financial Advisor. You can find him on various social media platforms and at www.budgetboss.ca.