What is the 1 Thing You Can Learn From Al Capone?

“Everybody calls me a racketeer. I call myself a businessman. When I sell liquor, it’s bootlegging. When my patrons serve it on a silver tray on Lakeshore Drive, it’s hospitality.” Al Capone 

At the time of Big Al’s death, he was worth approximately $100 million. Today, his net worth would be 1.3 billion. During prohibition, his liquor business sales ensured him more than $100 million a year. Capone was twenty-six years old, not bad for a guy his age. Al was the most notorious gangster in mob history and after sixty years he is still popular.  Chicago has taken multiple steps to shake Capone’s image.

What is the one thing we can learn from the boss? Education.

Capone like many other gangsters had a sort of educational system. The Street is one. Book smart people are in significant supply. Some do not have street smarts. They don’t understand the ways of the street, common sense is lacking, how to be aware of their surroundings or how to handle themselves. The gangster did and is how they learned to survive. 

Two-Role Models-The gangster’s success was limitless. They needed someone to help them reach their capabilities. We all need someone to admire and someone to teach us and share their successes.

The gangster was no different. Having a role model is an important person to have in your life. They help you move along in your career easier and faster because of the knowledge they offer.

Jim Colosimo, the head of the Chicago syndicate, recruited Johnny Torrio and Johnny became Al Capone’s mentor. Capone’s ambitions flourished under the tutelage of Torrio. He  began working for Torrio as a chauffeur, bartender, bouncer, and bodyguard.

Capone and Torrio took advantage of prohibition and began a rewarding bootlegging business. Capone’s street smarts, his experience as a petty thug, and his bookkeeping abilities propelled him deeper into the world of organized crime. Education is always the key.

Remember what Capone once said, "I'm a kind man, I'm kind to everyone, but if you are unkind to me, then kindness is not something you will remember me for."

The information above came from the book:Secrets of the Mob-The Men and Their Methods.