Episode 268: What is Success? Interview John Ply

Episode 268: What is Success? Interview John Ply

Welcome to the Love Your Story podcast. John Ply is a successful business man who started his own company - twice - and made millions. His father  - Ziggy - was a Polish immigrant who was captured by the Germans in WWII and survived the horrors of a POW camp and then moved to America with nothing but the clothes on his back. 

Both men personify different types of success, and on today’s show John Ply joins me to share stories and lessons learned from both lives.

Stay tuned as we talk about  stories of his father turning in a lost $20 bill when it would have paid his mortgage for a month, or when he refused to shoot a woman the Germans in the POW camp demanded he kill or be killed. 

John Ply has taken the stories of his father and the things he learned from him and written a book about both of their lives. The book is called YOU CAN BE THE BEST.

Today John is here with me and we are going to share stories and some beautiful ideas for successful living.

Tune into the audio to hear our conversation with topics like:

A. Tell us all about you - your story - Let me give you a jumping off point:  In one of the first chapters of the book you have a section entitled “You never know where becoming the best is going to take you.” 

I love this idea of doing the best you can do at anything you try and stirring that in with the magic of the unknown - how that translates into opportunity. So lets start in the summer after 8th grade….

B. Let’s talk about “Being the Best You.”

I loved how you said, “Be the best “you” and everything else tends to take care of itself.”

C. There are so many culturally dictated ideas of success. Let’s talk about a couple different things here:   

1. Our own individual definitions of success  

2. What your definition of success is.  

3. What did you learn about success from Ziggy?

D. Ziggy - Your favorite stories about him and what he taught you.

E. You have a concept called “The Clubs of Success”  Will you run through those for us?

To find John or get his book:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-ply-author-332449270/
• Amazon: https://geni.us/youcanbethebest

  In his book John says, “ America has been called the land of opportunity, but the thing about opportunity is that it comes down to choices. My father eded up having an incredible life in America because he built that life.”

There are so many powerful concepts in the book, and I’ll just end with this one: Ziggy came with nothing but a lot of trauma, a great work ethic, and a sense of morals and ethics. Despite having come from undoubtedly experiencing horrors in that war and POW camp he made choice after choice to keep a good attitude, to work hard, to take care of others, to find a profession and do his best at it. While life is never simple, I think the old tried and true concepts of attitude, working hard, and living with a moral and ethical compass can be the simple truths that create a beautiful, and successful life.