Wieners and Beans
In March of 2000, Evan Chrapko and his brother, Shane, sold their two-year-old internet business for more than half a billion dollars.
Internet. That’s the key word, right? Unless I miss my guess, right now you’re probably thinking, “So two guys made a lot of money on an internet startup. Big deal. Lots of internet techies cashed in for big bucks. My only problem is that I wasn’t an internet techie.”
Oddly enough, neither were Evan and Shane Chrapko. “Well, it takes money to make money, so Evan and Shane obviously came from a wealthy family, right?” No, Evan and Shane Chrapko were raised on the Chrapko family farm in rural Alberta, Canada. Their father, Victor, was unable to grasp the financial success of his sons. On the day that their multimillionaire status was announced, he said, “Before I see it in their bank account, I don’t believe it.”
But it is to this same man that the boys give all the credit for their success. Wearing a black knit shirt, faded jeans and a felt cowboy hat, Evan said, “Growing up on the farm together prepared us well for doing business together.” Nodding his head in agreement, Shane added, “Mom and Dad taught us the importance of being calm under pressure and seeing two sides to every issue.” During the years that they were developing their company, DocSpace, Evan and Shane slept at the office each night and lived on a diet of wieners and beans.
No, Evan and Shane Chrapko aren’t a couple of young internet technical geniuses. Evan brought into the business a degree in accounting and Shane contributed his years of experience as a river-rafting tour guide. People who know them best characterize their greatest assets as being (1.) the deep trust they have in their friends and in each other, (2.) their passion for an idea, and (3.) their willingness to follow through on a plan, regardless of the barriers.
An interesting story, right? Let me tell you how it ends: Ten years from now, Evan and Shane will look back on their days of wieners and beans as being the happiest days of their lives. I guarantee this unconditionally. Their single biggest worry will be how to give their children the hardships that made them rich. Their second biggest worry will be the motives of all the people who want to be their friends.
Are you still in the wieners and beans stage of your life? If so, let me encourage you to celebrate each and every day. Few people ever see as much excitement, anticipation, risk and reward as you see each day, and there are no better friends in life than the ones who will eat wieners and beans with you.
Why not get’em all together and tell’em how much they mean to you? After they’ve had their laugh and ridiculed you for being a sentimental fool, you can all sit around and feast a great feast upon the very finest wieners and beans.
Twenty-five years from now, it will be your fondest memory. This, too, I guarantee unconditionally.