The moment
In 1967, sixteen-year-old Shahid Khan arrived from Lahore in a fierce Champaign snowstorm with $500, an engineering-school acceptance letter, and shoes unsuited to the weather. After choosing a $2 YMCA room over an unaffordable hotel, he woke the next morning, found dishwashing work, and greeted its modest wage with wonder rather than defeat.
The response
The turning point came when dishwashing briefly made college seem unnecessary. Khan nevertheless stayed with the difficult engineering program, then immersed himself in American campus life, learning through fraternity relationships and discovering football. At Flex-N-Gate, he developed a lighter, rustproof one-piece bumper; he answered uncertainty by risking savings and a loan on Bumper Works, eventually buying his former employer and building outward into automotive manufacturing, sports, hospitality, and philanthropy.
What to carry forward
Khan’s story invites a practical form of gratitude: notice opportunity even when circumstances feel small, remain committed when an easier exit appears, and welcome unfamiliar communities as classrooms. His example also links ambition with responsibility—building success while keeping faith with people, places, and values that helped make it possible.
A question for your own story
Where might gratitude, persistence, and a willingness to enter an unfamiliar community help you recognize an opportunity you are currently overlooking?
Sources cited in the chapter
Continue with the complete story in Adversity’s Gift.
A concise chapter adaptation from Adversity’s Gift by Lawrence Colbert. Read the complete story and source list in the book. Featured subjects’ inclusion is separate from endorsement.