3 Lessons From Barbara Corcoran’s Mother That Helped Her Become a Multimillionaire
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
Kristen Mae
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Today, Barbara Corcoran is one of the most respected real estate experts, entrepreneurs, and investors around. Her insights are sought after by major TV outlets, and she has landed on the New York Times bestseller list. Each season of “Shark Tank,” aspiring creators and innovators compete for her support. But before she became a mainstream icon, she was a young girl struggling with dyslexia, trying to find her place in the world.
Fortunately, one of her earliest champions was her mother — a woman who refused to let Corcoran give up. The lessons her mother instilled in her were essential to her success in life, helping her build a multimillion-dollar empire.
Trying Hard Is a First Step to Success
The foundation of Corcoran’s business empire is hard work and a willingness to try. During her early struggles with dyslexia, when her grades suffered and her confidence wavered, her mother taught her never to be defeated by her challenges. Instead, she encouraged her to leave it all on the field, putting everything she had into even the hardest tasks.
Corcoran has famously said, “I’ll out-try everyone in the universe … and I’ll win because of it.” When parents of children with dyslexia ask her for advice, she urges them to follow her mother’s approach — encouraging kids to get back up every time they fall.
That mindset has been her North Star as a businesswoman, even landing her a coveted spot on “Shark Tank.” When the producers originally wanted someone else, she didn’t accept defeat. She wrote a compelling letter pleading her case and showed up to the studio ready to prove her worth.
“The reason I’m confident is because I know I’ll out-try anybody. I know I’ll always show up. I know I’ll always get back up,” she said.
Understanding the Gift in Everyone Makes You a Good Leader
Corcoran’s mother had a powerful ability to see what made each person special — a skill she passed on to her daughter.
“My mother was a genius at that,” Corcoran said. “She could look at a child and tell you right away what the gift was and make you perform it for the rest of your life. So you believed it.”
This skill has served Corcoran well as a boss. By learning to identify gifts and nurture talent in others, she has inspired her employees to bring their best efforts and ideas to the table, ultimately helping her business grow and thrive.
Organization Is Essential
Corcoran was far from an only child. She was one of 10 — that’s right, 10 — siblings. To make a household of that size work, her mother had to develop formidable organizational skills.
In an interview with CNBC, Corcoran recalled that her childhood home was run like a boot camp, with her mother creating special systems for anything she had to do more than once.
Seeing firsthand how maintaining an efficient methodology kept things running more smoothly, Corcoran applied the same approach in her own companies. “I learned to build my business on systems that worked,” she said — just like her mother did at home.
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