From Trash Man to Cash Man: Myron Golden Got the Last Laugh

I love TikTok, and that is where I first came across Myron Golden. With his shock of white hair and handsome beard, he is instantly memorable. But even more memorable is his savvy entrepreneurship advice.

(And if you are so inclined, please answer Today’s Poll, below!)

In 1985, Myron Golden was married, had a new baby, and needed a job. Any job.

The one he found was driving a garbage truck for $6.25 an hour.

Myron remembers telling his young wife that if he could just bring home $300 a week, they were going to be OK. So he worked a lot of overtime, getting up at 2:30 in the morning, arriving at work by 4:00, and spending his days hauling other people's trash.

But Myron knew he wanted more. In fact, during breaks he would sit in the trash truck reading books about selling. His boss once saw him and asked why a trash man was reading sales books.

Myron's answer said everything.

Not a Trashman

He wasn't a trash man. That was simply what he did for a living.

At night, Myron had started a little side hustle selling insurance and investments. After his shift, he would come home, take a nap, get dressed, and head back out to make sales calls.

There was only one problem.

Myron Golden was a terrible salesman.

And I mean terrible.

He started selling in October 1985. He made presentations to friends and family. He knocked on doors. He pitched strangers. He kept trying.

Nothing.

Weeks became months. Months became a year. Still nothing.

Not a Salesman?

Think about that for a moment. You get up at 2:30 in the morning, drive a garbage truck all day, come home exhausted, and then head back out to a second job where you fail.

Again and again, for 18 months.

Most people would have quit. Myron didn't.

Finally, in April 1987, a year and a half after he started, Myron Golden made his first sale. His commission check was $125.66.

You might think that after 18 months of work, $125.66 would have been a disappointment.

Myron saw it completely differently.

He went home and told his wife, “We're going to be rich!”

Myron went home with that $125.66 check and told his wife, “We’re going to be rich!”

She understandably wondered what on earth he was talking about.

Cracking the Code

But Myron understood something had changed. After 18 months of failing, he had finally learned how to make a sale. And once he knew he could do it once, he knew he could do it again.

Boy, did he.

Within months, the guy who couldn’t sell anything became the top salesperson in his office.

But that was only the beginning.

Myron went on to become an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and business consultant. He built multiple businesses, created high-ticket training programs, and eventually became one of the best-known business and sales educators online, with more than a million YouTube subscribers.

And worth in excess of $20 million. Quite a journey for a guy who once got up at 2:30 in the morning to drive a garbage truck for $6.25 an hour.

Myron Golden has a lot of memorable sayings, but one seems almost custom-made for his own story:

“Most people are unwilling to be bad long enough to get good.”

Myron was.

And that made all the difference.

The Takeaway

We love stories about people who discover they have some natural gift. But Myron Golden's story offers a far more useful lesson for the rest of us: You don't have to be good at something when you start.

Your first sales pitch may stink. Your first product may flop. Your first video may get 17 views. So what? Being bad at something isn't evidence that you can't do it. Often, it's simply the price of admission to eventually becoming good at it.

Myron was willing to be bad for 18 months.

How long are you willing to be bad?

Steal This Strategy

🎥 Watch: Myron Golden: When I Knew We’d Be Rich. Hear Myron tell the story himself: 18 months without a single sale, the $125.66 commission check, and why that tiny first win convinced him that everything was about to change.

📚 Read: From the Trash Man to the Cash Man. Myron's own book about going from making $6.25 an hour driving a garbage truck to building wealth and becoming a successful entrepreneur and business consultant.

🎥 Watch: Why Are You Not Rich Yet? Myron goes deep and shares his unique perspective.

About Steve

Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!