The Dinner Table Question

Tonight's story is about a girl whose dad asked her every week at the dinner table — "What did you fail at this week?" — and who grew up to cut the feet off a pair of tights, turn it into a billion-dollar idea, and back herself when no manufacturer would. Through Sara Blakely's journey from seven years selling fax machines door-to-door to becoming the youngest self-made female billionaire in history, families discover that every "no" is part of the path to "yes," wrapped in calming breath work, guided visualization, and affirmations to send little dreamers off to sleep believing their simple ideas are worth backing.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome to Future Me, the podcast for dreamers, doers, and champions in the making. Get cozy, take a breath, and let's begin. Did you know Sarah Blakely started her company Spanks with just $5,000 of her own savings? Money she had earned selling fax machines door to door, and no business experience whatsoever. She wrote her own patent application using a textbook from the library because she couldn't afford a lawyer. Every single manufacturer she approached said no. She eventually convinced one to give her a chance, and within a few years, Spenks was a billion-dollar brand, making Sarah Blakely the youngest self-made billionaire in history at the time. Tonight I want to tell you of a story of how a woman with a simple idea, a lot of determination, and absolutely no experience built one of the most successful businesses in the world, and what her father did every single week of her childhood that made all the difference. Hey there, champion. Welcome back to Future Me. It's so good to have you here. Let's get cozy, find your spot, pull your blanket up, and let everything else drift a slow deep breath in and breathe it all the way out. One more time, breathe in, and breathe out. Let your whole body feel warm and still. Good. You're here now. And tonight's story starts with a question. Have you ever had a really simple idea, so simple it almost seemed too obvious? And then wondered if it was worth anything? Sarah Blakely had one of those ideas, and she turned it into something the whole world wanted. But the most important part of her story isn't the idea. It's what her dad taught her every single week at the dinner table. And I think when you hear it, it might change the way you think about things for the rest of your life. Sarah Blakeley was born in 1971 in Clearwater, Florida. She grew up in a warm, encouraging family. Her father was a lawyer, but the most important thing he ever did for Sarah had nothing to do with law. Every week at the dinner table, he would ask his children the same question. What did you fail at this week? Not what did you win? Not what were you best at? What did you fail at? And if Sarah and her brother had nothing to report, if they hadn't failed at anything, her father would be disappointed. Because to him, failure meant you were trying. It meant you were reaching. It meant you were brave enough to attempt something difficult. He would high-five them for failures. He celebrated the attempts, not just the outcomes. That lesson, that failure is not something to be ashamed of, but something to be proud of, became the foundation of everything Sarah would later build. After college, Sarah tried to get into law school. She didn't make it. She auditioned to work at Disney World as a character performer. She was too tall. She ended up selling fax machines door-to-door in Florida, knocking on strangers' door in the heat, being told no dozens of times a day for seven years. Most people would have given up. Sarah just kept going. And she kept noticing things. One day she was getting ready for a party and she wanted to wear a pair of cream-colored trousers. But she didn't have the right underwear to wear underneath them. She cut the feet off a pair of tights, wore them under her trousers, and thought, that worked. That actually worked really well. And then she thought, I wonder if other women have this problem. They did. Millions of them. Sarah had $5,000 in savings. She spent two years researching the hosiery industry in her spare time, calling manufacturers from her apartment at night, writing her own patent with a textbook from the library, designing her own packaging. Every manufacturer she contacted said no. She wasn't deterred. She kept calling. One manufacturer finally agreed to a meeting, and legend has it, that he went home and told his daughters about this woman with the crazy idea, and his daughter said, Dad, that idea is brilliant. You have to make it. He called Sarah the next day. She named the company Spanx, designed the packaging herself, and sold it out of her apartment. She convinced a buyer at Neiman Marcus, one of America's most famous department stores, to take a meeting and then pulled out her product right there in the bathroom to show how it worked. Neiman Marcus placed an order. Then Oprah named Spanx one of her favorite things of the year, and overnight, everything changed. Sarah Blakely became the youngest self-made female billionaire in history. Not because she had connections or a business degree or a lot of money to start with, because she had a simple idea, the courage to believe in it when nobody else did, and a father who had taught her from childhood that failing just means you're trying. She has since given away half her wealth, signed the giving pledge along with some of the world's greatest philanthropists, and spent years encouraging other women to start businesses and back themselves. Because she knows better than almost anyone that the only thing standing between a good idea and something extraordinary is the courage to keep going. I want you to think about something.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Sarah's dad asked his kids every week, what did you fail at? I want to ask you the same thing, put in a gentler way. Is there something you tried recently that didn't go the way you hoped? Something you attempted and it didn't work out?

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Something you were brave enough to try even though you weren't sure? If there is, I want you to feel proud of that.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Really proud. Because attempting something hard, something new, something uncertain, that takes a lot of courage. More courage than staying safe and never trying at all. Sarah Blakely was rejected by every manufacturer she called.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

She was turned down for law school. She was told she was too tall to be a theme park character. She spent seven years being told no by strangers at their front doors. And every single one of those no's was just part of the path to yes. Your no's are part of your path too. So the next time something doesn't work, the next time you try and fall short, I want you to imagine Sarah's dad sitting across from you at the dinner table. And I want you to hear him say, Tell me about it.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

I'm proud of you for trying. Because that is exactly what he would say.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Let's say these phrases together. Let every single one be true. I am brave enough to try, even when I might fail. My ideas are worth believing in. Every no brings me closer to yes. I back myself even when no one else does.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

I am future me.

SPEAKER_03 8:17

As you drift towards sleep tonight, I want you to picture an idea. It might be something you already have. Or something that hasn't arrived yet. Just let one come. It might feel small, maybe even silly. That's okay. Sarah Blakely's idea was cutting the feet off her tights. That's it. That was the whole thing. Now picture yourself backing that idea. Believing in it when nobody else does.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Working on it quietly, steadily, one small step at a time. Picture the moment it works. You did that.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

With your idea, with your courage, with your refusal to give up. You are inventive, you are brave, and your best idea might be the one you haven't had yet. Good night, champion.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

See you next time on Future Me.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

A note from parents. Sarah Blakely's father changed her relationship with failure before she ever had a chance to face it in the real world.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

You can do the same. Starting tonight, try asking your child at dinner once a week, what did you try this week that was hard? What didn't go perfectly? And when they answer, celebrate that attempt. High-fi them for the try, not just the result. Over time, that simple ritual builds a child who is not afraid to reach.

SPEAKER_03 10:20

Seven episodes, seven extraordinary lives, and one child who has fallen asleep night after night, hearing that their dreams are worth chasing. That is what you have given them.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Keep going, because so will we.