In Search of an Abundant Life
Profile on: Norm Miller, Chairman, Interstate Battery System of America, Inc. 200,000 Dealers Nationwide
“College! Hell, I just hope I can keep him out of jail and get him out of high school!” Not exactly a prophecy for success, but those were the words uttered by Norm Miller’s mother when Norm, owner of Interstate Batteries, was in his final year of high school. Needless to say, a lot has changed in Norm’s life since then.
Back then, Norm was known as many things: petty thief, bootlegger, budding alcoholic, and also by his nickname, “Bubba.” By his own admission, Norm was rebellious, ignorant, and rude—not exactly the type of kid you would pick to eventually become one of America’s best and brightest entrepreneurs.
And yet, apart from his wild ways, there was another side to Norm as well, that of aspiring businessman. Born a gifted salesman, as early as age ten, Norm began to show signs of following in his father’s footsteps.
“I used to get my dad to bring home soft drinks from his service station. Then I would put them on ice, load them in my wagon, and sell them at construction sites,” says Norm.
“There was a great profit, because I never paid Dad back for the drinks!”
Norm continued to peddle drinks when he entered college, but by then, he was hawking harder stuff, smuggling alcohol into the dry county of Denton, TX and selling it undercover.
“We rationalized we were keeping these young people off the road drinking,” says Norm.
Meanwhile, Norm began sampling more of his own product than he should. Once again, he was following in his father’s footsteps. Despite his business success, his father had always been a hard drinker as well. So far, Norm had been able to keep his drinking in check, but things wouldn’t stay that way forever.
When he first entered college, Norm intended to stay for about a year then go out and start selling something. But during that first year, he realized that if he hoped to compete with his peers, he should at least make sure he was on the same playing field. So he stuck it out until he obtained a degree in business. Good thing, too, because in addition to his degree, he also picked up his wife, Ann, in the process.Not long after graduation, Norm’s father invited him to get involved in a fledgling company called Interstate Batteries. The owner, John Searcy, was looking for people to open up distributorships. Norm took to the business immediately, and soon he was driving all over the place peddling batteries out of the back of his Studebaker truck. It was hard going, but just over two years later, Norm had become so successful that he was offered a job at Interstate’s headquarters. Together with his younger brother Tommy, whom Searcy had also hired, Norm started flying across the country helping other distributors improve their business. Norm’s natural affinity for sales and his penchant for hard work served him well during this time. It wasn’t long before Searcy made him second in command, complete with an option for Norm to buy out Searcy’s share of the company once Searcy retired. It seemed like Norm’s career couldn’t be going better, but his success did not come without a price.
Up to this point, Norm had managed to work his way up the corporate ladder without giving up his party lifestyle.
“We never came home,” Norm says of his days out on the road with Tommy. “We stayed out and partied. We were pretty self-centered, both of us…. And if it was convenient, we’d worry about our wives.”
Needless to say, it wasn’t long before Norm’s wife began to entertain thoughts of leaving him. Norm’s life reached an even lower point when he was stopped by the police early one morning in 1974 after he had been out drinking. He managed to talk his way out of the conviction—which would have been his third—but as he lay in bed that morning, it dawned on him: He was an alcoholic, just like his father.
“That just shattered me,” says Norm. “I blurted out in a half-yell, ‘God help me, I can’t handle it!’”
Norm started attending Alcoholics Anonymous. During that time, a friend also encouraged him to read the Bible. Norm was skeptical at first, but after studying the Bible and historical and archaeological evidence that supported its claims, Norm decided to become a Christian. He noticed changes in himself immediately. For one thing, he was able to quit drinking. He also no longer struggled with a fear of failure. And he developed a sense of love and caring for others that was in stark contrast to his earlier, self-centered lifestyle.
At the same time as Norm was undergoing his transformation, Interstate was changing, too. In 1978, Searcy retired and sold his share of the company to Norm. Suddenly, Norm found himself president and chairman of a multi-million dollar company. Norm wasn’t sure if he could do the job at first. But Searcy assured him everything would be okay. This encouragement, combined with the fact that Tommy and another top leader at Interstate had also become believers convinced Norm that God would definitely see them through.
One of Norm’s first initiatives as president was to make his faith a primary component of the business. He initiated daily prayer times, and he made sure he and his staff applied Christian principles to everything they did. Norm even hired a company chaplain to care for his staff and to oversee Interstate’s involvement in the community. Today, Interstate and its employees support all sorts of charitable projects all around the world.
Norm’s soul isn’t the only thing that has prospered over the years. His business has prospered as well. When Norm joined Interstate in 1965, it was a five-man operation with approximately 35 distributorships. Now it boasts 315 distributorships, which employ roughly 1,000 people, making Interstate the largest distributor of batteries in the world.
So what does this former bootlegger, petty thief, and former alcoholic think about his success?
“To me, success is having an abundant life. That does not necessarily mean lots of money. To me, an abundant life is one that is rich, full, meaningful, significant, and adventuresome.”
There is no question; Norm’s life has been all of these things and more.
Would you like to have an abundant life? If so, let Jesus show you how to obtain it. If you don’t know Jesus, we encourage you to pray the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person You want me to be. Amen.
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[…] In Search of an Abundant Life […]
Truly an abundance life start with a specific goal,
none one evert has archive anything with out a realizable goal. A Short, long and midterm is really crucial, so it should help you to conquer any desire and purpose, therefore find it by thinking that it is possible, because If you believe you will archive, and GOD will provide, in other word believe and receive.
Marlon V Garcia