Olinto
in 1911. The gold chain and tie-pin are to show
family in Italy that he's doing well for himself
in the New Land.
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My grandfather gave me some advice
recently about Internet business.
I have to explain. My mother's
father, Olinto Niccolini, passed away in 1954, a few
years after I was born. I don't remember him. He lived
to see television, but not computers.
He grew up on a farm outside
Arezzo, in the region of Tuscany, and came to America
in 1910. He learned English, became a US citizen, and
gradually learned to be a cabinetmaker for a steel factory,
making furniture, bagpipes, and even wine as a sideline.
As I realized it would
soon be the centennial of his immigration, I heard him
speak to me
He was happy the the corporate
name reflects our Tuscan heritage. Tuscans created the
Renaissance and civilization; just ask any Tuscan. Tuscan
cooks who followed Marie de Medici to Paris created
French haute-cuisine.
He knew that I devote my
time to helping people make money, even make livings,
on the Internet. He told me I could learn from the example
of his contemporaries:
That wave of Italian immigrants
came to America because the streets were paved with
gold, while opportunities were scarce back home. Nobody
made the journey to America to just barely survive.
- They arrived to find the streets
paved with stone, got over their disappointment, and
got to work.
- They followed the guidance of somebody
who already knew the ropes.
- They learned the language of the
New Land, and gradually gained acceptance.
- All held dreams of making a fortune
and returning to Italy to live out their remaining
days in style.
- A few made fabulous fortunes; Bank
of America was founded Amadeo Giannini.
- Some turned to crime, and even excelled
at it.
- Some failed completely. Going back
to Italy as a failure was an unbearable humiliation.
But most were able to make
a comfortable living, and to bring their families over.
Olinto
and his family in America, 1915.
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Olinto did well enough
in two years to bring his wife and two children over
in 1912; my mother was born here a few years later.
He became a skilled carpenter, and built a house for
his family with his own hands.
Nonno Olinto told me, "Most
people trying to start a home business online are like
we were
unrealistic expectations, totally unprepared,
but they know there's money in there somewhere.
Yes, there are fantastic
fortunes being made, but that's not the average. People
who don't learn the language of the new business landscape,
don't take guidance from those who are already successful,
and don't plan on being in for the long haul will likely
face the humiliation of a very public failure.
But those who can follow
basic rules, spend a few hours each week learning plus
a few hours each week working, should be able to make
a living or a significant side income within a year."
You may not be the next
Bill Gates or the next Amadeo Giannini.
But can you be the next Olinto Niccolini, combining
new skills and hard work with boundless optimism and
the burning desire to provide a better life for your
family and your descendants? Can you become a respected
citizen of the New World of online business?
If so, we at Tuscany Global
Corporation are ready to help.
~~~~~
PS: My great-uncle, Santi
Cornacchini, actually did return to Italy in
style, living out his life on his American pension in
a town house in the Tuscan hills, tending his tomatoes.
Don't give up the big goals,
but don't despise the more modest ones along the way.
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