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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajving. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul

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<v Speaker 1>fella Aledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode four eighty five. Today, I want to tell

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<v Speaker 2>you a story. A story about a man who failed

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<v Speaker 2>more times than most of us could tolerate, yet built

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<v Speaker 2>one of the sweetest empires in the world. His name

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<v Speaker 2>is Milton Hershey, the man behind the Hershey Chocolate Company.

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<v Speaker 2>Milton Hershey's story begins in rural Pennsylvania in the mid

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen hundreds.

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<v Speaker 1>He grew up poor, with little formal.

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<v Speaker 2>Education and a father who couldn't provide stability. At age fourteen,

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<v Speaker 2>Hershey dropped out of school and started apprenticing with a printer.

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<v Speaker 2>That didn't last long. He was fired, But instead of

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<v Speaker 2>quitting on life, he tried something new, candy making. And

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<v Speaker 2>here's where the story gets interesting. His first business in

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<v Speaker 2>Philadelphia failed. He lost everything, so he moved to Denver

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<v Speaker 2>and tried again. Failed. Chicago failed, New York City failed again.

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<v Speaker 2>By the time he returned home, Hershey had been knocked

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<v Speaker 2>down by failure so many times that most people would

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<v Speaker 2>have quit. But Hershey wasn't most people. He believed in

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<v Speaker 2>one thing, candy. He had learned enough from his failures

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<v Speaker 2>to know there was a better way. In Lancaster, Pennsylvania,

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<v Speaker 2>he launched the Lancaster Carmel Company. This time he struck gold.

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<v Speaker 2>His caramel was different. It was made with fresh milk,

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<v Speaker 2>and the taste caught on like wildfire. Within a few years,

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<v Speaker 2>Hershey was shipping caramels all over the world.

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<v Speaker 1>World.

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<v Speaker 2>Now here's the real leadership. Lesson Milton. Hershey had finally

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<v Speaker 2>built success, but he wasn't satisfied. He saw the future

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<v Speaker 2>was chocolate. At the time, chocolate was considered a luxury

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<v Speaker 2>item imported from Europe, too expensive for the average person.

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<v Speaker 2>But Hershey had a vision chocolate for everyone. So he

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<v Speaker 2>sold his caramel company for a million dollars, which in

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<v Speaker 2>today's money would have been about thirty million. Then he

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<v Speaker 2>beted all on chocolate. Think about that for a second.

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<v Speaker 2>He had failed over and over, finally built a thriving

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<v Speaker 2>business and then sold it to chase another idea. That

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<v Speaker 2>takes courage, that takes vision, that takes real leadership. In

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen hundred, Milton Hershey released his first milk chocolate bar,

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<v Speaker 2>and by nineteen oh five he opened the Hershey Chalk

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<v Speaker 2>Company factory in Dairy Township, Pennsylvania, right in the middle

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<v Speaker 2>of Dairy Country, so he could have access to fresh milk.

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<v Speaker 2>But Hershey's vision wasn't just about making candy. It was

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<v Speaker 2>also about building a community. He built the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania,

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<v Speaker 2>with homes, schools, transportation, parks, even a theater. He believed

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<v Speaker 2>his workers deserved a quality life, not just a paycheck.

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<v Speaker 2>When the Great Depression hit in the nineteen thirties, instead

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<v Speaker 2>of laying off employees, Hershey launched construction projects, building Hershey Park, hotels,

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<v Speaker 2>even a sports arena, just to keep people working in

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<v Speaker 2>the Success didn't stop there. During World War Two, Hershey

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<v Speaker 2>produced over a billion specially designed Hershey's ration bars for

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<v Speaker 2>US troops. It wasn't just candy, it was fuel for soldiers,

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<v Speaker 2>and it built morale leadership that serves beyond profit. But

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<v Speaker 2>Hershey's greatest legacy wasn't chocolate, it was people. In nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>oh nine, he and his wife founded a school for

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<v Speaker 2>orphaned boys what is now the Milton Hershey School. One

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<v Speaker 2>of the wealthiest and most impactful private schools in the nation,

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<v Speaker 2>and when he died in nineteen forty five, Hershey left

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<v Speaker 2>nearly his entire fortune to the school. Today that school

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<v Speaker 2>educates thousands of children every year, funded by the chocolate Empire.

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<v Speaker 2>Milton Hershey built from failure after failure. So what are

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<v Speaker 2>the leadership lessons with this story? Number one, Failure is

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<v Speaker 2>not the end. Milton Hershey failed multiple times before success

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<v Speaker 2>ever found him. Each failure gave him experience for the

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<v Speaker 2>next step of his life. Number two, bet on your vision.

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<v Speaker 2>He saw hold a successful company because he saw the future.

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<v Speaker 2>Leaders don't play small when they see opportunity. And number

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<v Speaker 2>three people matter. Hershey built a community, not just a company.

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<v Speaker 2>He invested in his employees, his town, in children who

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<v Speaker 2>would never even know him. And number four, legacy outlives you.

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<v Speaker 2>Hershey's chocolate bars may melt, but his impact on education

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<v Speaker 2>and community is solid and lasting. So Milton Hershey reminds

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<v Speaker 2>us that leadership isn't just about what you build, it's

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<v Speaker 2>about who benefits from what you build. His life teaches

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<v Speaker 2>us that sometimes the sweetest success is born from the

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<v Speaker 2>most bitter failures. And if you haven't done so, please

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<v Speaker 2>five star review the show and share it with a colleague.

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<v Speaker 2>I thank you for your continued support and hoping this

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<v Speaker 2>show grow and reach as many leaders as it can

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<v Speaker 2>around the world. This has been the seven minute Leadership podcast,

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<v Speaker 2>and I thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.