“You Can’t do That, Dan”
Purveyors of conventional wisdom have told me for years I couldn’t do this or that.
I did. I’ve kept the list of the things I “Couldn’t do” …… but did. These are listed also in my book “Your First 100 Million”. The message, of course, is that you can do that!
| Ninety-Five “Can’t Dos” Which I Did! | |
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1.
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You can’t take 26 units in one semester (1/2 year) of college/university! |
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2.
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You can’t take 15 units during summer school at two universities simultaneously when 6 units is the max! |
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3.
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You can’t leave Bear Stearns and go in to the oil business, a business you know nothing about! |
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4.
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You can’t play 72 holes of golf in one day! |
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5.
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You can’t run 1,000 miles in one month! |
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6.
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You can’t run 100 miles in one day! |
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7.
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You can’t run 38 miles on your 38th birthday! |
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8.
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You can’t build the 50th largest exploration and production company from scratch in a collapsing market! |
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9.
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You can’t buy a castle! |
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10.
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You can’t build the fastest growing natural resource company during the worst recession the energy business has experienced in 50 years! (GWRI grew at 67,000% per year for eight years, or over 500,000% in total!). |
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11.
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You can’t convince the Kuwaiti Investment Office (KIO) to a restructuring that will sell in The City (The London financial district) |
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12.
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You can’t hire the Kuwaiti Investment Office’s (KIO) own brokerage firm and use them as a mediator to negotiate a restructuring with the KIO! |
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13.
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You can’t convince the KIO to back a long-range plan to build a natural resource company! |
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14.
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You can’t go public using a $60,000 option on property you don’t even own and turn it in to $50,000,000 in 3½ months! |
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15.
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You can’t buy Bow Valley USA (“BV”); it’s too large. It’s 5 times larger and owned by one of the largest energy conglomerates in North America. |
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16.
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You can’t get financing to buy Bow Valley in such a short time frame! (Seven weeks) |
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17.
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You can’t tell the Financial Times journalist he has faeces for brains! |
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18.
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You can’t marry a virgin! |
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19.
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You can’t leave the US to raise your kids! You can’t move back to the US and back again. |
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20.
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You can’t change your social economic milieu! |
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21.
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You can’t go to college/university! |
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22.
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You can’t finish 3 years of college/university in 1½ years! |
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23.
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You can’t change your major area of studies over and over again and still graduate! |
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24.
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You can’t live an outrageous life and ever amount to anything! |
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25.
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You will never reach the age of 21…30…40…50…55! |
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26.
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You can’t get quality people to leave their jobs for less money, no contract, and relocate at their expense! |
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27.
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You can’t do $50million in revenue your first year in business with only one employee (me!). |
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28.
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You can’t get a major contract with the US federal government (FDFC) with no employees, no office or money, and only a leased fax machine! |
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29.
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You can’t be engaged to be married for 2½ years! |
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30.
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You can’t marry, and stay married, to a woman whose parents loathe you! |
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31.
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You can’t plot to overthrow a communist government (Haiti) in the western hemisphere in 1980! |
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32.
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You cant’ do a major equity offering on the back of a major restructuring of Great Western Resources Inc (GWRI)! |
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33.
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You can’t get the KIO to participate pro rata in restucturing! |
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34.
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You can’t get the KIO to put up money pro rata in a major equity offering a week after Desert Storm! |
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35.
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You can’t get The City to participate in the growth of GWRI when your persona is so outrageously controversial! |
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36.
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You can’t take GWRI public when you have no experience in the energy business. |
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37.
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You can’t get the most prestigious law firm in the UK to represent you for the public offering! |
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38.
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You can’t get the Israeli government to choose GWRI over major oil companies to drill in Israel! |
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39.
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You can’t sell your first drilling fund in 1982 with an injunction against Great Western Energy Corp. (“GWEC”)! |
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40.
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You, an unknown, can’t compete in a drilling fund market that is already saturated! |
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41.
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You can’t get a New York Stock Exchange member firm to sponsor your drilling fund! |
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42.
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You can’t get a “Fortune 200″ size firm to affiliate itself with your drilling fund sales! |
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43.
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You can’t build a refinery with no engineering experience, fighting the unions! |
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44.
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You can’t get Orthodox Jews to sign a contract for the Israeli government on the Sabbath, while in Israel! |
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45.
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You can’t resurrect the Bow Valley negotiations once they’ve left the table and headed on back to Canada! |
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46.
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You can’t convince Bow Valley you can perform! |
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47.
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You can’t get a bank to put up $85 million to buy Bow Valley’s coal operations when you have no coal experience! |
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48.
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You can’t get Citicorp to back you when no one at the bank has ever done business with you! |
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49.
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You can’t get City Stockbrokers to guarantee the Bow Valley transactions! |
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50.
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You can’t get the KIO to guarantee the Bow Valley transaction! |
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51.
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You can’t get the KIO to underwrite GWRI while in the acquisition mode! |
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52.
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You can’t get a major accounting and law firm to carry GWRI like a bank during the growth mode! |
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53.
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You can’t turn down $30 million for your shares in GWRI! (the 1989 attempted takeover). |
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54.
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You can’t be one of the highest paid energy executives in the US (Top 5, 1986 – 88)! |
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55.
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You can’t get a multi-million dollar rent free lease in Houston when your company is still in the “minor leagues”! |
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56.
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You can’t pay an extra $1 million for a acquisition when the deal is already cut! |
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57.
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You can’t honour an acquisition deal when oil prices collapsed before funding and when the price of oil dropped in half! |
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58.
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You will never get the KIO to back you after your mole’s departure! |
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59.
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You can’t get a court to issue an injunction to stop the issuing of the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s October Marathon first place award to a bogus winner! |
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60.
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You can’t get blue-blooded advisors in The City when you first come to London! |
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61.
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You and your wife can’t go to the Cotton Club in Harlem in 1978! (The only white attendees). |
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62.
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You can’t out-drink (1981) the biggest drinker in The City! |
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63.
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You can’t change the way you think about raising children! |
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64.
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You can’t change the way you think about being a husband! |
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65.
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You can’t volunteer for the draft at the highest point of the Vietnam War! (June 1966). |
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66.
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You can’t continue to lift weights with a torn rotator cuff and double hernia! |
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67.
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You can’t go public the same day as Jaguar (a UK government-owned legend) and finish the day at a premium! |
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68.
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You can’t change the investment direction from the public offering prospectus so soon after receiving the money! |
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69.
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You can’t cut the overhead (senior sales (40%), benefits etc.) so soon (90 days) after a public offering! |
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70.
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You can’t go public in the UK! |
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71.
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You can’t buy a foreign company over the phone on New Year’s Eve! |
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72.
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You can’t buy a foreign company for less than it has in the bank! |
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73.
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You can’t have a dream come true unless you have a dream! |
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74.
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You can’t restore Guthrie Castle in less than one year! |
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75.
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You can’t live off-post (against Army regulations) as a single junior officer! |
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76.
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You can’t buck the Mafia…and win! |
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77.
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You can’t find anyone that will take GWRI paper in an acquisition! |
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78.
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You can’t double GWRI’s share price (in a few weeks) in order to make an acquisition in December 1985! |
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79.
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You can’t grow GWRI without giving up control! |
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80.
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You can’t shove a major energy company out of an acquisition deal while you were a non-player! |
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81.
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You can’t run GWRI from Guthrie Castle! |
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82.
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You can’t continue to out-trade KIO! |
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83.
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You can’t write a Seminar manual in less than four months! |
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84.
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You can’t do a Seminar entitled “You Can’t Do That”! |
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85.
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You can’t start a Wall Street financial planning seminar (TFC) from scratch! (1975) |
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86.
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You can’t interest people in the “You Can’t Do That!” philosophy! |
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87.
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You can’t double GWRI share price in four months from the initial public offering! |
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88.
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You can’t write a book (first of a trilogy) in less than 100 days! |
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89.
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You can’t build a 18 hole golf course at Guthrie without planning permission! |
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90.
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You can’t sue The Financial Times newspaper (arguably one of the most influential financial papers in the world) and win! |
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91.
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You can’t coach unsophisticated neophytes to acquire and consolidate fragmented (“cottage”) industries! |
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92.
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You can’t coach individuals with no financial acumen to engage international accounting and law firms to act on a strict “success orientated” fee basis only! |
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93.
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You can’t teach unsophisticated “neophytes” to finance deals at 100% (or more) using debt/equity financing with other people’s money (OPM) entirely! And you can’t use the same methodology with top 25 world companies. |
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94.
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You can’t spread your Quantum Leap Advantage methodology throughout the UK and Europe! |
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95.
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You can’t rent Glamis Castle (The Queen Mother’s home) for your 50th birthday! |
