Turning problems into possibilities

A young American boy at 14 years went to work as a printer's apprentice. There he faced many problems and was forced to quit. However, with a fresh perspective, he soon joined as an apprentice confectioner, where he fared better.

For five years he le-arned his trade and at 19, started his own confectionery business in Philadelphia. Due to some problems he had to give up the business in six years. Still, he moved to Denver to work for another candy company. There too he faced many problems. He converted the problems into possibilities and started a candy company in Chicago with his father. Sadly, he was again plagued by problems.

Then he and his father mov-ed to New Orleans where another venture went proble-matic. New York was next. That too proved to be filled with problems. He saw fresh possibilities in them. With much knowledge of the confection trade and brimming with many new ideas he travelled to Pennsylvania around Christmas time and started the Lancaster Caramel Company.

It was a huge success. With new methods for processing milk chocolate, he perfected the art of making chocolate bars and by the end of the century he was able to sell the company for a million dollars and embark on another grand possibility. He built a factory that became the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant. Shortly, he built a town around the factory where his workers settled.

In 1909, along with his wife, Catherine, he established a school to provide a home and education for needy orphans. Later in 1918, having no children of his own, he transferred 99% of his personal wealth to a charitable foundation he established for philanthropic works.

At the time of his death in 1945, he was well known as an inventor, entrepreneur, indust-rialist, philanthropist and hum-anitarian. Though there were other factors that contributed to his success, the key among them was his ability to transfo-rm problems into possibilities.

Like this luminary, Milton Snavely Hershey, whose epon-ymous foundation, the M S He-rshey Foundation that dispenses millions of dollars to charity, hundreds of others have reached the top by looking for possibilities among problems. Indeed, problems pave the way for fresh possibilities.