Triple the determination

Watching Donny Deutsch's The Big Idea has become a habit for me. Well, it's a well-fed habit. CNBC has this pattern of rerunning TBI in the evening, and it rates better than most of its competitors on the tube.

Yesterday's episode was pretty cool, focused on millionaires who started their companies with less than $500. Of course, there's more to it than that, but Deutsch does a good job of always bringing in entrepeneurs who have legit stories to their success. One of them was Vicky Stringer, who started Triple Crown Publishing from the very bottom.

After leaving prison, Stringer wrote a book about her life, her mistakes and hopes. One of her hopes was to educate young women about the perils of bad choices and the ensuing consequences. Her book was rejected by 26 publishers.

Stringer, like all successful entrepeneurs, didn't give up. She learned how to self-publish, marketed her book everywhere and anywhere, and eventually rolled up a huge amount of momentum. Her company is now worth $1.8 million and is still growing.

She struck me as a poised, articulate and highly determined individual during her segment on TBI. It's no different anywhere I go, with people who have innate drive and desire. It's a matter of having opportunities and channeling those talents and skills, whether they involve writing, plain old hustle, or both. That is the case for Stringer, and she is a great inspiration.