A Letter to My Younger Self: Three Crucial Needs in Your Life

“Keep on with the talents that the Lord has given you. You weren’t put on earth to be a loner. If you are a loner, you have real problems ahead of you.”

This is part of the advice that Richard Eckart, 80, would give if he could write a letter to his younger self. He started out as a son of a farmer in Copley Ohio and ended up beginning a very successful company. His love for the farm and of the lessons from his parents is evidenced in the large china cabinet in his home filled with classic models of John Deere tractors. But his experiences since leaving the farm have made him the man he is today.

After graduating from college with a degree in chemistry and turning down a prestigious fellowship at a graduate school, Richard worked for twenty years in the rubber industry, with Goodyear and Mohawk Rubber. While at Goodyear, he learned about the varying aspects of manufacturing tires. Over just a few years, he worked with and learned from specialists in every process of tire manufacturing. He learned about all the ingredients that go into the several compounds needed to make tires, the temperatures each compound needs to be cured, and what companies supplied the raw materials. By the time he left Goodyear, he had a tremendous understanding of the intricacies involved in making rubber.

While at Mohawk, he advanced to being responsible for three of Mohawk’s retread materials manufacturing plants. He got to know the people who made retreads very well, and gained their trust because of his reputation for honesty and integrity. While the salespeople were more interested in wining and dining their clientele and in chasing after women and getting drunk, Richard simply helped the retread manufacturers make a good product at a low cost. By the time he left Mohawk, he knew the retreading business inside-out.

All of these experiences led Dick to create Production Systems, Inc. (P.S.I.). This was the genius of the enterprise: Richard was able to inexpensively purchase from the major rubber companies loads of rejected raw materials because they had such stringent requirements for manufacturing new tires. He was then able to assess how these raw materials could be repurposed and then sold them to companies that made products like retreads and conveyer belts, advising them what materials to use and how to actually make their products.

What made it all work? Richard’s experiences had led to his expertise in (1) the procurement of raw materials, (2) the assessment of how the raw materials could best be repurposed, (3) the nuanced chemistry involved to make the best rubber compounds for different applications, (4) the temperatures needed to make the final product, and, of course, (5) developing relationships with the people who relied on him to make their businesses successful.

Not only was Richard good at what he did, he had developed a reputation for honesty and integrity. People knew that his word was solid and that they could trust him. His clients knew that they were going to make a quality product because he made sure that it was. As a result, P.S.I. became very successful.

But it was a huge risk to become an entrepreneur. In their second year of business, the company had very little money in the bank. One of his main clients owed P.S.I. $140,000, but the check never arrived in the mail.

“At that stage of the game, it was something that we could not overcome. I was not ever comfortable as a solicitor of money, but I went to New York and asked the owner of the company if he could perhaps pay us in three payments. And even though they had gone into bankruptcy, I received all three payments. Two other suppliers for them lost a lot of money when they declared. But I got paid. God was very good to us.”

What sustained Richard through both the hard times and the good? As I was interviewing him, three themes rose to the top. If he were writing a letter to his younger self, Richard would say this:

1. Know what you believe.

“Conscience is developed. Learn biblical principles. Go to church. You won’t develop the honesty and integrity you’ll need at the local bar on Friday night. Learn the real essentials—that God created everything, that he sent his Son who gave his life for us. God is always in control. He directs our path—all my experiences led me to be able to do what I did. Know that every day, there is a reason for you being here.”

2. Surround yourself with good friends.

“I think that many are not in a good place because they don’t have the support structure of good, like-minded friends. When you are out in the business world, you are surrounded with some people who are totally different—cynical, devious. Not all of them, but many. You need friends—they can be serious, they can be funny, they’re supportive. Good friends are unflappable; their word is solid. Friends act as a guide. And that includes the commitment and steadiness of my wife, Carolyn.”

3. Find a good mentor.

“Dave Wilson has been a great person to know. He’s 93 now. I’ve always looked up to him. A strong leader, sensible, quiet, well-thought out in his statements and his actions. An absolute straight-arrow. Everybody respected him. He has always been a gentleman. We still go out to dinner with him and his wife, Evelyn. You don’t come upon very many people like that.”