Stick with It: Mastering the Art of Adherence

10Sharpening Personal Focus

Dave Thomas’s (founder of Wendy’s) life shows how a sharp focus can yield the results we desire. Given up for adoption soon after he was born, Dave’s adoptive mother died when he was five. He spent the remainder of his childhood moving around as his adoptive father looked for employment. Never having had a traditional family, one of his earliest pleasures was eating at restaurants and watching families enjoying being together—a memory that focused all his efforts and ultimately fueled his success.

Dave worked at several restaurants as a teenager, even getting fired once when his employer discovered his young age. While he was in the tenth grade, he dropped out of school to work full time. Never losing sight of his ...