Entrepreneur Explains the Motivations and Influences Behind His Success

As Farrah Gray relaxes in his home in Las Vegas and listens to 50 cent’s “Candy Shop,” he stares at his $16,000 watch and remembers where he came from. 

Gray is a normal African-American male who grew up in the inner city surrounded by poverty and violence—the only difference is Gray realized his dream and is now a 20-year-old millionaire.

Gray, the youngest of three siblings, grew up near the East Chicago housing projects, a neighborhood littered with crack valves and syringes.

“Selling drugs is real easy, you benefit on the front end and pay like hell on the back end.  My attitude is I work hard on the front end so I can benefit on the back end,” said Gray.

Gray could very well be the next Nicky Barnes, a notorious drug dealer, but he used his knowledge for something positive.

“I realized very very very very early that the same knowledge it would take me to buy, wholesale, and sell I could take that same knowledge as opposed to selling drugs,” said Gray.  “I think selling drugs is a weak way out.”

Gray has always had an insatiable drive to succeed, which stems from his life filled with struggle.

“I tried to do everything possible to help my mom.  She had her second heart attack due to stress,” said Gray.  “I wanted to improve my family situation.”

Gray took the weight upon his shoulders to make life easier for his mother and family, which meant making them out of the hood.

Gray began by forming Urban Neighborhood Economic Enterprise Club, an organization that encouraged youth to become entrepreneurs, at age eight.

During that time, Gray met his mentor, Roi Tauer, who was influential in helping Gray to achieve his goals.

“He really put in my mind… hey you can make it to the next level, you made $50 but one day you can make a $1 million,” explained Gray.

 Six years later, by the time Gray was 14 he had officially become a millionaire by hitting sales of $1.5 million for Farr-Out Food, a specialty foods company oriented towards youth.

Before the age of 19, Gray had acquired INNERCITY Magazine and signed his ‘Reallionaire’ book deal with HCI.

Now that Gray is a millionaire he can do things he only fathomed in his wildest dreams.

 “Money enables me to do stuff I wasn’t able to do when I was poor.  I mean I own go-carts, I have a home in Las Vegas, and a home in New York…the watch I have on my wrist is $16,000,” Gray said.

But Gray has had his share of mistakes that have contributed to his ultimate success.

“The biggest mistake I made was believing that someone was gonna do something for me.”

In the second step of becoming rich from inside out Gray states that you should “never fear rejection.”

“The wounded deer is the one who leaps the highest.  That’s what I believe about rejection.”

Gray’s other eight steps to becoming rich for the inside are Understand the Power of a Name, Build an All-Star Mentoring Team, Seize Every Opportunity, Go with the Flow…But Know Where You Want to Go, Be Emotionally Prepared to Handle Failure, Dedicate Your Time to What You Know, Love Your Customer, and Never Underestimate the Power of a Network.

Gray also believes that rejection should be treated as a learning experience.

“In life we don’t get what we want, we get in life what we are.  If we want more we have to be able to be more, in order to be more you have to face rejection.”

Gray has many plans lined up for the future and it looks promising. On the business side Sony pictures called and they have an interest in turning the book into a movie.

Currently, Gray is working towards his goal of developing “Innercity magazine”

“I wanna make my magazine into a household name.”