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America’s most successful veteran entrepreneur is not only speaking to the 146th NGAUS General Conference & Exhibition in Detroit this month, but he is also bringing some wares from his latest business.
Bob Parsons — the founder of GoDaddy and now the CEO of Parsons Xtreme Golf — will set up a golf simulator at the tradeshow and give away a set of PXG clubs.
He will also host a book-signing of his first literary work, Fire in the Hole! The Untold Story of My Traumatic Life and Explosive Success.
Parsons holds nothing back in the book, which was released earlier this year and reached The New York Times best-seller’s list.
He grew up in a tough, working-class section of East Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were gamblers and not particularly good ones. He struggled in school, failing the fifth grade. Parsons was headed nowhere fast when he and two friends decided to join the Marine Corps in 1968.
It was the height of the Vietnam War, and Parsons soon found himself on the front lines.
Parsons was wounded in action and medically evacuated before spending two months at a naval hospital recovering from his physical wounds.
His invisible wounds took longer to heal — not just the ones from the battlefield, but also those from his childhood. But Parsons combined what he learned in uniform with big dreams and found a way forward.
Parsons discusses treating himself with psychedelics in his book, including psilocybin, which he says brought him "home."
He eventually attended the University of Baltimore on the GI Bill, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in accounting. Parsons taught himself how to write computer programs, opened his first business and never looked back.
Today, he is worth an estimated $3.6 billion, according to Forbes' list of the world's billionaires.
Parsons now operates his business and life by 16 rules that his journey has taught him. Many of these rules apply to any leadership or management endeavor.
The first rule is "Get Out and Stay Out of Your Comfort Zone." No. 10 is "Anything That is Not Managed Will Deteriorate." No. 16 is "There’s Always a Reason to Smile."
To learn more about Bob Parsons — or to purchase Fire in the Hole! — visit bobparsons.com/fire-in-the-hole.
More information about the conference is available at www.ngaus.org/events/146th-general-conference-exhibition.
