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Here is the story behind today's story about Toms Shoes.
"I owe my sister a half-million dollars," Blake Mycoskie confessed to me.
Blake is the founder of Toms Shoes, the inspiring shoe company that gives away a pair of shoes to underprivileged children for every pair of shoe that it sells.
That makes for a great story. So does the events that led to the creation of the company.
Blake and his sister, Paige, were contestants on Season 2 of The Amazing Race, the CBS reality show. They lost out on the million dollar first place prize by four minutes! Yes, four minutes.
As I wound down last week's interview with Blake, I just kinda wondered. "What made the difference in those four minutes?" I asked.
"It was totally my fault," Blake owned. "It was the last leg of the competition. We had come to a crucial juncture, deciding which direction to go. My sister wanted to pull out our map and ask for directions. I insisted that I just knew the way we were meant to go. I was wrong and it cost us the competition."
As you watch the video you'll see that Blake was pretty bummed about losing and headed out to see many of the countries he and his sister had just zoomed through while shooting the show.
He was in Argentina learning to be a polo player when he saw a level of poverty he had never experienced. That's where the inspiration came for Toms Shoes.
Blake and Toms have already given away thousands and thousands of shoes. He calls the give aways, "Shoe Drops," and says it is the best feeling he's ever had.
"There's nothing like giving a kid his first pair of new shoes and watching him go play for the first time or telling him that now he has shoes on his feet, he can go to school. It has changed my life."
Toms Shoes and the Shoe Drops have given Mycoskie purpose and joy. He was bummed about losing out on the million bucks and has apologized profusely to his sister. (Good brother, move, Blake!)
But, isn't it interesting, that in this case, at least, a man not asking for directions has paid off big time. It means Mycoskie's life has found the exact direction it was meant to take, after all
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