1. From mud-hut to mansion Adon Kumar B.A., B.D., M.A., TrinityCert TESOL, WSET Cert.. MNZCS, ITCP.

2. “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass”. - Dr Paul Meyer INEVITABILITY OF SUCCESS

3. How can a man born in a mud hut in India come to live in a mansion in New Zealand? How can a man who could not get more than 4% in his maths exam become the President of the world’s biggest internet search engine for wines? How can a rubbish bag factory worker become a highly sought after Lecturer? How can this be?

4. Born in a mud hut in a village in India to poor Indian Christian schoolteacher parents in 1950. Emigrated to Malaysia with parents who went there as missionaries. Studied under the Malaysian school system as a third class citizen as Malaysia’s laws favored native Malays. Average student who never got more that 4% in maths at school but excelled in English. My humble beginnings

5. Just scraped through my high school exams in Malaysia with minimum pass requirements. Could not gain entry into the Malaysian university so went to India for further studies. Goal was to become a Christian minister. Gained a BA degree in English. Returned to Malaysia but could not find any jobs. My Education

6. Prayed for a scholarship to gain theological qualifications. Gained scholarship to study theology in New Zealand. Gained the Bachelor of Divinity Degree. Fell in love with a European student and married her. Returned to Malaysia to work in a church. My Education

7. Could not find a church job. All our saving were running out. Returned to New Zealand rejected and despondent. Found a job in a factory making rubbish bags for $2.00 per hour. In 1977, I enrolled on a night school course to learn computer programming to keep my sanity. Life in Transition

8. With no experience I applied for an entry level IT job. Secured my first IT job as a mainframe computer operator. Given two weeks to prove myself. I did and stayed there for 9 years. Became the Manager of my IT department. Then was made redundant owing to acquisition of the company. Entry into IT

9. Joined the mainframe IT vendor Unisys as junior professional services representative. Became the Manager within five years. Made redundant again owing to restructure. Left mainframe world for Personal Computers. Found a job with Fujitsu as Professional Services Manager. Made redundant again owing to restructure. Progress in the IT world

10. Left IT and trained to be a teacher of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Gained teachers certificate with Trinity College of London. With no experience secured a job with Unitec as a English lecturer. Became a specialist lecturer teaching Employment English to migrants in New Zealand. The world of Teaching

11. Became one of the top English lecturers. Pursued further qualifications while teaching fulltime. Gained my Masters Degree in Applied Linguistics. Taught Employment and Police English for 6 years. The world of English teaching

12. A colleague presented an IT opportunity I applied for an IT management job in the world of the Internet and Wine. With no wine knowledge or experience, I secured a job to manage Wine-Searcher.com, the world’s biggest and most used search engine for wines. Became the President of Wine-Searcher.com within 3 years. Return to IT World

13. Gained on the job experience about wine and internet marketing Grew the company from a staff of 15 to 35. Passed my wine exam with the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (London). Presented at wine conferences and events in Vienna, New York, Napa, France, New Zealand, and Hong Kong The world of wine

14. From my humble mud-hut beginnings I built my mansion in New Zealand. It is on a 10 acre rural property in West Auckland. A few cows, a dog and 240 chestnut trees. A dream paradise with native bush, streams, fresh air, green grass and peace. 100% mortgage free. My Mansion

15. Married to the same wife for 34 years. Two adult children (boy and a girl). Two grandchildren (boy and a girl). A border collie dog. Native wood pigeons, pheasants, wild rabbits, and native birds on the farm. My family

16. Flown a plane. Jumped off a cliff on a paraglider. Been to over 15 countries. Climbed Mt Sinai. Climbed on the walls of an active volcano. Had a six-foot cobra under my bed. Been interviewed on radio, TV and magazines around the world. Have no debts. Highlights

17. Love God and your fellow man. Money is not everything. Be prepared to lose it all. Without faith it is impossible to please God, man or yourself. There is so much pleasure and reward in giving than receiving. Learn to manage money or it will rule you. Lessons I have learned

18. My faith in the Christian God – Jesus Christ. My car number plate says ASK – Ask , Seek, Knock (a biblical principle I always follow). Giving and sharing. Giving my time, money and resources to others freely. My passion to succeed and to helping others to succeed. Clear goals and aspirations. To lead by example and never give up. Have “possibility thinking”. Secrets of my success

19. Never despise your humble beginnings. You have the God-given potential to succeed. Have a clear goal and plan for your life – physical, material and spiritual. Never be afraid of hard work or new things. Always excel in everything you do. Give it 100%. Embrace change with no fear. Build and use your network. Share you life and faith with others. Be patient – your turn will come next. My advice to you

20. Is your life like living in a mud hut? Do you want a mansion? Have you discovered what your potential is? Are you willing to use them to achieve your best? Are you willing share what you have with others freely? Do you have a goal and plan for your life? Are you willing to start at the bottom? My questions to you