The smell of French fries that clung to his blue maintenance uniform was the humble beginning of a legend. That night in 1989, John Haremza arrived two hours late to a meeting about water filters, coming straight from his shift at the snack factory. With his hair covered by a net, safety glasses on and the greasy aroma of fries stuck to his clothes, he felt the disdainful stares of impeccably dressed executives: “We waited two hours for this guy?”
In that moment of shame, he discovered a fundamental truth: “Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s moving forward with fear while smelling like French fries.”
The Shadow of Invisibility
Severe dyslexia marked his early years. In school, teachers would read his exams out loud while his classmates laughed. “My only goal was to be invisible,” he confesses about a youth in which he felt condemned to failure.
After graduating without self-esteem, he found refuge in a maintenance job in Fargo, North Dakota: $9 an hour, exhausting shifts and zero expectations. The idea of speaking in public or leading teams seemed as foreign to him as flying to the moon. “I had never sold anything. I couldn’t even read properly,” he admits about his 24-year-old self.
The Turning Point: When Fear Became Fuel
After that disastrous meeting, something clicked. While his friends abandoned the network marketing opportunity the next day, he persisted. Not out of innate talent, but because of a microscopic decision: “I’d rather smell like French fries in front of 1,000 people than die having been invisible.” He began to apply his philosophy of “small steps, not quantum leaps.” This consists of:
- Daily personal development: He compares it to “taking a bath”: if you don’t do it, you become toxic. He devoured Zig Ziglar audiobooks and adopted the 4-7-8 breathing technique to calm his nerves before speaking.
- “Right or Almost Right”: In his book of the same name, he explains that the difference between phenomenal success and mediocre results comes down to tiny adjustments: “Working 12 hours without strategy is almost right. Two hours of focused action is right.”
- Active loyalty: After 36 years in the industry and $30 million in personal earnings, he has never burned bridges. When collaborators left his teams, he would say: “How can I support you?”
Leadership in Times of Crisis
His rise wasn’t linear. He experienced company collapses, traumatic mergers and times when “moths came out of the fruit bars” he sold. In those moments, he applied his 5 Non-Negotiable Pillars to evaluate any company:
- Company: Does it protect the distributor before profits?
- Product: Would it solve my neighbor’s problem even if I earned no commission?
- Compensation: Does it reward consistent effort or only recruitment?
- Timing: Did I get in too early (unstable) or too late (saturated)?
- Training: Do they teach you to fish or hand you rotten fish?
“Working hard in the wrong environment is drowning on dry land,” he warns. That’s why, after every fall, he was reborn: $4 million in his second company, $12 million in his third and a record $3.6 million annual income in 2019.
The Art of Turning Weaknesses into Weapons
His dyslexia never disappeared, but he recycled it into superpowers:
- Superior episodic memory: Not relying on texts, he retains every story from his team.
- Auditory sensitivity: He picks up on nuances of doubt in voices that others ignore.
- Visual communication: His presentations are 80% images, 20% text.
Today, he speaks before 10,000 people with the same vulnerability that humanizes him: “The stage isn’t for the brave. It’s for the terrified who decided their message is worth more than their fear.”
Key Lessons to Overcome Fear and Lead
John Haremza’s journey offers universal lessons:
- Constant action: fear retreats when you expose yourself again and again. Every presentation is new training.
- Support network: seek mentors and peers who push you forward. Constructive feedback accelerates growth.
- Focus on purpose: keep your “why” always present. Helping others improve their lives is stronger than the fear of what people will say.
- Celebrate every step: recognize your small victories to fuel motivation. A modest check or an effective talk deserves celebration.
Your “French Fry Smell” Awaits You
At the end of his talks, Haremza issues a challenge: “What are you avoiding today? The call to the ‘impossible’ prospect? The live video where you don’t look perfect?” His legacy is a paradox: greatness is born when we stop hiding our French fries. After helping generate $1 billion in sales, his message remains simple: “You don’t need a perfect past to create an extraordinary future.”
In a world obsessed with shortcuts, Haremza is proof that miracles are built with microscopic steps. As he himself puts it: “Never underestimate the impact of each decision, no matter how small it seems. Wearing that stinky uniform in 1989 changed my life… and thousands of others.” John Haremza’s story confirms that the greatest obstacle is in the mind. From factory worker to international leader, he learned that fear is a reflection of our ambition. Each of us can give a brave “yes” that transforms our life. Dare: your global stage awaits you.
