By Randy Savoie, BCL

Frank Johnson is in the construction business. Except, he doesn’t build buildings. He is in the business of transforming lives.

Johnson is the owner of Courtesy Grows LLC,  an organization that offers a life skills training program that reinforces social behavior change by encouraging a positive environment. Frank decided he was tired of poor customer service after a particularly bad experience and set out to start a company that would train youth proper professional etiquette.

On Friday, he delivered an uplifting message to almost 100 students at New Orleans Job Corps Center and used a children’s author to put his point across.

“I’ve been studying Dr. Seuss lately. Do you know his first book was rejected 27 times? And, now we’re celebrating his 108th anniversary. That means his family, his grandkids are taken care of,” said Johnson.

“But 27 times he was told no. What if he had stopped after the 10th time? We wouldn’t know him. You have to keep going and going. The economy is not good. Jobs are not plentiful. You’re going to be told no a lot of times. You’ve got to keep going and going.

“If you believe you can do it, oh the places you will go,” said Johnson. “You can travel the world. You can do whatever you want to do. Find what you love. Learn it. Focus on it and be the very best and what you do.”

Johnson told students not to worry about those who resent their success.

“People are going to say, ‘She graduated from Job Corps and now she thinks she’s all that or he graduated from Job Corps and he doesn’t hang out with us no more.’ You can’t please everybody so don’t try to. You have to move on. You have to grow.”