I had heard this many years ago but it stayed with me and actually impacted my business too, without even me thinking about it.
Ralph Lauren – The Tie Story
Ralph Lauren was a 20-something very young designer and he took his first design to Bloomingdale’s, hoping they would sell his ties.
Bloomingdale’s liked it but they wanted some changes made. They wanted the tie to be thinner as no one wore broad ties at the time and wanted to put their name on his tie instead of his.
He was faced with an odd predicament. Here was an established business willing to sell his ties & willing to pay him but the only problem they wanted to take his creation and sell it on their terms.
What do you do when you’re tempted?
He stayed true to himself, even though the temptation was strong, and said no.
After 6 months, they called him and soon there was a rack of Ralph Lauren ties in Bloomingdale’s.
After a couple months, he noticed another rack with ties that looked just like his.
His heart sank as he realised that they had copied his ties and that this could be the end of his fashion career.
And that’s when another salesman told him something that changed everything for him.
He said:
“Don’t worry Ralph – they could try copying your ties but they can never be Ralph Lauren because the reason your ties are different from the others is the love & passion you have put into your work. And that’s something that can never be copied.”
How is this story relevant to you?
As you go through life, there will be a lot of times when you will have to make a choice between being true to yourself or to others.
And when that happens, I hope you remember this quote from another very famous Ralph.
