Blake Mycoskie

"A driving force behind my business ventures is my deep seated passion to inspire people to help make tomorrow better, encouraging them to include giving in everything they do" (PR Newswire). This quote depicts Mycoskie's ambition to help others and explains his motivation to create the shoe company TOMS, a company that provides a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair sold. Blake Mycoskie grew up and went to school in Arlington, Texas. By the time he graduated from Southern Methodist University he had already founded a handful of businesses. Following college, Mycoskie took some time off work to travel to Argentina where he was inspired to start the TOMS shoes company and which later developed into his "One for One" idea that has helped millions of people across the world. The One for One idea later developed into additional  businesses including one that provides eye glasses to those in need and one that provides clean water to poverty stricken communities. Blake Mycoskie's success in business and his passion to help others while remaining extraordinarily humble, has inspired numerous other people to follow his model and help to make the world a better place.

     Mycoskie's passion to help others led him to become one of the most famous and influential business men in the world. His track record of successes began in college when he developed a laundry service for college students. After college Mycoskie pursued his own advertising company and also a driver's education school. While taking some time off of work in Argentina, the young Mr. Mycoskie witnessed the poverty stricken children and families in each village that were so poor they didn't even have shoes. It was this experience that inspired the One for One business model where the company would help a person in need with every product purchased. He built his TOMS shoe business to provide children in need with shoes. Mycoskie's unique approach to business and charity saw him awarded with the Secretary of State's 2009 Award of Corporate Excellence ("Blake Mycoskie"). Mycoskie's early career demonstrates his passion and hard work.  When he witnessed the children in need of shoes he automatically believed that it was his responsibility to help them.  Mycoskie is always looking for new ways to improve the lives of others. After providing 10 million pairs of shoes to children in need, Blake Mycoskie decided to write a book about his successful business. "In the fall of 2011, Blake released his first book, Start Something That Matters, offering his own amazing story of inspiration, and the power of incorporating giving in business" (TOMS). Mycoskie wrote his book to teach others about his company and inspire them to follow in his footsteps. Blake Mycoskie is passionate about opening people's eyes to the poverty in some areas of the world and influencing them to help make the world a better place.

  Even through the tremendous success of his work, Blake Mycoskie remained humble and continued to search for ways to help people. With the TOMS business, Mycoskie often traveled around the world visiting poor communities. When he witnessed people still in need, and in need of more than just shoes, he worked to help them and provide new ways to get them what they needed. Based on the success of One for One, Blake created new projects. "Over the course of its first five years, TOMS was successful enough in providing shoes for children in need. But Blake, having recognized other vital needs during his travels around the world, realized that One for One could be applied to more than shoes" (TOMS). Mycoskie, after providing shoes for so many people in need still did not feel like it was enough. He insisted on helping even more people by providing them with eye glasses. This proves that Blake puts others needs before his and is always looking for ways to improve people's lives. In 2014 Blake Mycoskie created his third One for One business.  In this case, the idea was to sell coffee in order to provide clean drinking water to under privileged communities. Mycoskie stated in an interview, ''I think once people understand the impact they can make buying a cup or bag of coffee, it will create an even stronger connection to Toms than they might already have,'' Mr. Mycoskie said. ''And that's what business is about" (Strom). Blake Mycoskie believes, and has shown repeatedly, that the point of running a business is to help others. If everyone thought and acted like Blake Mycoskie, then the world would be a much better place. Mycoskie's compassion for those in need, his desire and willingness to help, and his creativity and success in finding novel solutions has enabled him to translate his generosity into results and qualifies him as a true hero.

  Blake Mycoskie demonstrates true dedication in all of his work and has remained humble throughout all his success. Blake Mycoskie is an inspiration to business leaders around the world though his accomplishments; supplying 10 million children with shoes, restoring sight to over 175,000 people in need, and also by providing clean water to developing communities around the world through his One for One business ( "Blake Mycoskie"). He inspires others to help make a difference in the world and influences everyone to work together and help each other out. Mycoskie's successful business will continue to influence the world in a positive way for many years to come.

Work Cited

"Blake Mycoskie, TOMS Founder and Chief Shoe Giver, joins The B Team." PR Newswire 22 Jan. 2014. Biography in Context. Web. 21 May 2014.

"Blake Mycoskie." Newsmakers. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Biography in Context. Web. 5  May 2014.

"Blake Mycoskie." TOMS : One for One. TOMS, n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.

Strom, Stephanie. "Turning Coffee Into Water to Expand Business Model." New York Times   

12 Mar. 2014: B3(L). Biography in Context. Web. 9 May 2014