Join our Waitlist for Expert Advice!

Almost 3 Decades Ago, I Wrote Myself a Check For $1 Million, When I Had Nothing. Here's Why. It reminds me that I can depend on myself to pull through, no matter how hard things get.

By Rex Kurzius

This story appears in the September 2022 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Courtesy of Rex Kurzius

In the fall of 1995, I wrote myself a check for $1 million.

I didn't have the money — not even close. But in a moment of desperation, I needed something to work toward. And it worked.

Here's what led to that moment.

My father unexpectedly passed away when I was 10, and I grew up poor. I went to community college and then earned an academic scholarship to Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business in Dallas, where I needed to keep my grades up to keep the scholarship. That was difficult, because at the same time, I was a newlywed and working after school to pay the bills.

Every day at college, I carried a bag with my bright pink-and-blue waiter's uniform inside. Then I'd change into the uniform in the afternoon and try to avoid my peers as I walked to my car. It was embarrassing, but I knew that was just how it had to be.

Related: It Felt Impossible to Leave a 'Dream Job' With Guaranteed Retirement and Lifetime Medical Plan. Then I Realized How Much I'd Regret Staying.

By November 1995, the full course load and full-time work schedule left me physically and mentally drained. One night, I came home from work late and reached my breaking point. I had class in just a few hours and still needed to prepare, despite desperately needing a few hours of sleep. I sat on the floor of my apartment and sobbed.

Then I had an idea. With tears in my eyes, I got up and wrote myself a check for $1 million. I told myself that I would cash that check for the full amount three years after graduation — in 1999. At the time, I usually had so little money in my checking account I never knew if I would have enough to withdraw $40 from the ATM.

Fast-forward to 1996. I had graduated from SMU, and within three years, I was building the first of several companies I would launch and sell over the next few decades. The value of those businesses exceeded that of the check.

I never cashed it. Instead, I keep it as a reminder that I can get through it, no matter how tough things get.

Related: I Was a Refugee From Post-WWII Europe. Today, My Green Card Reminds Me That My Success Was Never Guaranteed.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

You Have One Month Left to Buy a House, According to Barbara Corcoran. Here's Why.

"If you are planning on waiting a year and seeing where interest rates go, you are out of your mind," Corcoran said.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business Solutions

Cut Costs, Not Features with This Microsoft Bundle Deal

You get Office, Windows, Project, and Visio for $72.

Side Hustle

I Made $14,000 in 1 Week With a Spontaneous Halloween Costume Side Hustle — Here's How

Sabba Keynejad was in art school when he started to refine his entrepreneurial skills.

Business News

Meta Fires Employee Making $400,000 Per Year Over a $25 Meal Voucher Issue

Other staff members were fired for the same reason, per a new report.

Business News

This New Restaurant Is Banking on One Dish — Because It's the Only Entrée on the Menu

The new hotspot is gaining buzz on social media for its innovative yet super simple concept.