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Hahana Stone Massage - Hot Stone Massage Kits, Hot Stone Massage... hahana.com.au |
William Clement Stone (May 4, 1902– September 3, 2002) was a businessman, philanthropist and self-help book author. Stone contributed up to $10 million to President Richard Nixon's election campaigns in 1968 and 1972; these were cited in Congressional debates after Watergate to institute campaign spending limits.[1]
[edit] Early life and workW. Clement Stone's father died when he was 3, leaving the family impoverished because of his gambling losses. At the age of 6, Stone began hawking newspapers on Chicago's South Side, while his mother worked as a dressmaker. At 13, he owned his own newsstand.[1] At the age of 16, Stone went to Detroit to help his mother in the insurance agency she had opened there. He went from office to office, making cold calls (he called them gold calls) to sell casualty insurance, and he was soon making $100 a week. He devoured the Horatio Alger stories, in which poor boys make good.[1] Stone dropped out of high school to concentrate on selling insurance, and he eventually received a diploma from the Young Men's Christian Association Central High School in Chicago. The rest of his formal education consisted of a few courses at Detroit College of Law and Northwestern University.[1] Much of what is known about W. Clement Stone comes from his autobiography The Success System That Never Fails.[2] In that book, he tells of his early business life which started with the selling of newspapers in restaurants. At the time, this was a very novel thing to do, which deviated dramatically from the normal practice of young boys hawking newspapers on street corners. At first, the managers of restaurants tried to discourage him from this practice, but he gradually won them over, due in part to his politeness, charm, persistence and the fact that by and large, the patrons of the restaurants had no objection to this new way of selling his newspapers. From there he graduated to selling insurance policies very successfully in the business offices of buildings many stories tall. His mother was the initiator of his new career, and together they did quite well, she as the manager of the business, and he as the salesperson. It wasn't long after he started selling casualty insurance that he was making $100 a week.[1] Stone was a fitting example of the rags-to-riches characters in those Horatio Alger stories he loved so much. In 1919, Stone built the Combined Insurance Company of America (a door to door accident and health insurance company) and, by 1930, he had over 1000 agents selling insurance for him across the United States.[2] By 1979, Stone’s insurance company exceeded $1 billion in assets. His company merged with the Patrick Ryan Group to form the Aon Corporation in 1987.[2] The Combined Insurance Company of America was one of Aon's largest subsidiaries until sold to ACE Limited in April 2008 for $2.56 billion.[3] [edit] BooksStone emphasized using a "positive mental attitude" to make money.[1] In 1960, Stone teamed up with Napoleon Hill to author Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude.[4] The two also founded a monthly digest magazine, entitled Success Unlimited.[citation needed] Two years later, Stone wrote the Success System That Never Fails, in which he suggested how to become wealthy and have a healthy, productive lifestyle.[citation needed] In 1964, he and Norma Lee Browning collaborated on writing The Other Side of the Mind.[5] [edit] Philanthropy
Stone's striking appearance included his pencil-thin black mustache, vibrant suspenders, polka-dot bow ties and spats,[1] as well as his charitable endeavors of over $275 million to mental health and Christian organizations.[1] He was also a gifted inspirational speaker, and would shout "Bingo!" at board meetings if attention lapsed.[1] Stone was once quoted as saying, "All I want to do is change the world".[1] Among his philanthropic activities, one was his long-time support of the Boys Clubs of America (now Boys and Girls Clubs of America), of which he was at one time the National Board Chairman.[citation needed] The Jessie V. and W. Clement Stone Foundation provided for the college scholarships– requiring little more than diligence and good citizenship[citation needed]– of many individuals through the years. One such recipient, Elliott Stonecipher, now a Louisiana-based political and demographic analyst, described his lone meeting, at age 16, with Stone as, "... astounding at the time, and increasingly remarkable ever since."[citation needed] Stonecipher received a full college scholarship from Stone after the benefactor heard and was impressed by a speech the teen gave in Macon, Georgia, in 1967, detailing the "life-saving" role the Boys Club had played in his life.[citation needed]
Stonecipher described the experience with Stone as " ... among the most quietly powerful, important and remarkable of my life, or - I am certain - any other life".[citation needed] Stone also was a trustee of the Interlochen Center for the Arts.[citation needed] In addition to writing blank checks, Stone served as president of the Board of Trustees for several years and remained an Honorary Trustee after officially leaving the Board.[citation needed] Several buildings at the center are named for him and his wife.[6] In 1980 he received recognition for his philanthropic endeavors in founding the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation.[citation needed] Stone celebrated his 100th birthday in May 2002 with a gift of $100,000 to the University of Illinois at Chicago.[citation needed] Stone provided much of the initial funding for the self-help organization, GROW.[7] Stone was inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, and was a 33rd degree FreeMason.[citation needed] [edit] See also
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[edit] External links
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