Rich DeVos - Simply Rich Life and Lessons from the Cofounder of Amway: a memoir

Howard Books

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Copyright 2014 by Richard DeVos

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Howard Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Howard Books hardcover edition April 2014

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Interior design by Davina Mock-Maniscalco

Jacket design by Bruce Gore

Jacket photographs courtesy of the author

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

DeVos, Richard M.

Simply rich: life and lessons from the cofounder of Amway : a memoir / Rich deVos.

pages cm

1. Amway CorporationHistory. 2. DeVos, Richard M. 3. BusinessmenUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.

HF5439.H82D48 2014

381'.142092dc23

[B]

2013037271

ISBN 978-1-4767-5177-1

ISBN 978-1-4767-5178-8 (ebook)

I dedicate this book to my wife, Helen, who was an integral part of it. None of it would have happened without her love, patience, and encouragement.

I VE TRIED TO CAPTURE in this book some of the memories and lessons Ive learned in my life. I give God the glory for the people Ive worked with who have helped me along the way. This includes, first of all, my partner, Jay Van Andel. We were friends since high school and in business together more than fifty years. Gods hand was truly on this remarkable relationship.

I also give God the glory for my wife, Helen, to whom Ive dedicated this book. As my marriage partner of more than sixty years, she has participated in so many of my memories and lived through so many of my life experiences. It was only natural that Helen played a big role editing this book.

Immeasurable credit goes to all of the many other people who have helped shape my life and the lessons contained in this book as well as those who contributed time and energy to this project. These individuals are too numerous to mention, but you know who you are and I am most grateful to you.

This book would not have been possible without Marc Longstreet and Kim Bruyn. I am the talker, and Marc captured my words and helped me write them down. It was Kim who told me, You can do it! when she encouraged me to write one more book and who also guided the project from start to finish.

I VE BEEN A CHEERLEADER most of my life, from leading cheers in high school to cheering on people to seize opportunities and realize their dreams. Cheering others on has taken me to nearly every country in the world. Ive met hundreds of thousands of people along the way. I wrote this book for all of them: the millions worldwide who have their own businesses through Amway; the thousands of Amway employees who cover the globe; members of the Orlando Magic organization and Magic fans; the business, government, and community leaders I worked with in my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in central Florida, where I now reside; fellow church members; leaders of Christian, political, and educational causes; many others whose life paths have crossed mine; and those Ive yet to meet as I continue to travel around the world. I hope all of them will in some way enjoy and benefit from my life journey and the lessons Ive learned along the way.

This book is not a full-blown autobiography containing every detail of my life. Yet it does go into much greater detail than my previous booksincluding Believe!, Hope from My Heart, and Ten Powerful Phrases for Positive People and paints a more complete picture of the experiences that have shaped me, been most meaningful in my memory, and taught me important life lessons. I hope you will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at some of the events of my life, in many of which you may have played a role. I will also be gratified if you pick up a few ideas that might be helpful in your own life.

My previous books all have included my thoughts on the importance of perseverance, faith, family, freedom, an upward look, and other values. I touch on those values in this book, but looking back at eighty-eight years of life, I believe one principle rises above the others. People who achieve the highest levels of successwhether in business or in raising families or simply in discovering fulfillment and satisfaction and purpose in lifeare those who place their focus on other people rather than themselves. I have succeeded only by helping others succeed. My friend and partner Jay Van Andel and I discovered that this was at the heart of the Amway business we started and built together. If there is only one lesson to be gained from my life story as presented in this book, I hope it is that viewing each person as a unique individual created by God, with personal talents and a distinct purpose, is the most important thing. That truly has been my key not only to success but also to fulfillment and abundant joy in my life.

M Y GRANDFATHERS GIFT FOR the art of selling was almost magical to me. I dont know if I was a born salesman, but I remember as a boy being fascinated by my grandfather and other men like him in my neighborhood. Their livelihoods in those hard times depended on their talents for selling.

My grandfather would let me ride with him in his Model T truck as it sputtered and rattled through our streets, filled with the fruits and vegetables he bought from farmers in the morning and then sold door-to-door. He was a people person; housewives who interrupted their cooking and cleaning, wiping their hands on aprons or dish towels as they came out of their houses at the sound of his truck horn, seemed to be attracted as much by his humor, easy demeanor, and conversation as by the color and freshness of his produce.

It was on that route that he gave me my first opportunity to try to make a sale. I earned just a few pennies, but that memorable achievement was a definitive moment in who I became as a man.

I cant dismiss my roots as a kid growing up during the Great Depression in the ordinary midwestern town of Grand Rapids, Michigan. From the standpoint of money and material possessions, we were barely scraping by. But I remember my boyhood years as a happy time of rich experiences. Life was friendly and cozy and easy. Even the need for hard work and sacrifice during those tough times made me stronger and taught me important life lessons. I was fortunate to grow up in the right atmosphere.

My foundation was built at home and the homes of friends, on the streets and playgrounds, in classrooms and church pews; from my parents and grandparents, teachers, and pastors. I learned how to run my own business as a paperboy. I experienced the rewards of that first sale from my grandfather peddling produce door-to-door. I wrote and delivered my first speech as senior class president in high school. My budding Christian faith was planted and nurtured during family devotions and in Sunday school. I was assured by the lasting bond and successful partnership of a loving mother and father. I gained a confidence and optimism from my fathers constant encouragement, and first began to think of myself as a potential leader because of the kindness of a wise and thoughtful teacher.