Wally Amos was fresh out of secretary school when he landed a job at the William Morris talent agency. He started out in the mail room, but hard work and determination helped him climb the ladder. Eventually, Wally Amos became the first African American talent agent at William Morris. If that's all Amos accomplished, he'd still be an inspiration to anyone with a desire to succeed, but the real story is what he did next.
Wally Amos had developed a love for baking, passed on to him by his Aunt Della. Using her recipe as a starting point, Amos created his own recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and he used that recipe to set himself apart from other talent agents. He would make some cookies and send them to prospective clients along with an invitation to meet him. Eventually, he headed up William Morris's Rock and Roll department. He signed Simon and Garfunkel and represented luminaries such as Sam Cooke, Diana Ross, and Marvin Gaye.
It was actually Marvin Gaye who helped Amos write the next chapter of his life. With a loan from Marvin Gaye and Hellen Reddy, Wally Amos opened the first Famous Amos cookie store in Los Angeles. The business rapidly expanded, and Famous Amos cookies were indeed worthy of the name, carried in stores across America.
There are a number of lessons we can learn from Wally Amos. The first is that it isn't all that important where a person starts out in life. Wally Amos came from humble beginnings, but he never let that stop him. Whether we're on top or making our way up from the bottom, our circumstances are almost guaranteed to change, and for the most part, we as individuals are responsible for the direction that change takes. At any time of his life, Wally Amos could have coasted or chosen a different road, but he stayed on course and reaped the benefits. Others benefitted as well; Amos became a leading advocate for literacy through the Literacy Volunteers of America.
The second lesson is that cultivating a variety of interests will make our lives richer, even if those interests don't lead to a second career, as they did for Wally Amos. When young Wally was sitting in the kitchen with his Aunt Della, watching her bake cookies, he probably never dreamed that baking cookies would propel him into a lifetime of success. Our passions are part of what makes each of us unique. Having an avid interest isn't just good for the soul, it's good for business as well. Business is built on forming relationships with other people, and you never know when a passion of yours might give you the chance to connect with someone. As the old saying goes, it's not what you know, but who you know.
The more you know, the more you can participate in all that life has to offer. While Amos did spend a great deal of time working hard, he also pursued other interests, which set him apart from rival agents and allowed him to compete for the best clients.
Life is filled with opportunities to enrich yourself, and the richer your life is, the more opportunities you will have to enrich the lives of those around you. And you never know when a passion of yours might turn into something much, much bigger.