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Olinto in 1911. The gold chain and tie-pin are to show family in Italy that he's doing well for himself in the New Land.
My grandfather gave me some advice recently about Internet business.

I have to explain. My mother's father, Olinto Niccolini, passed away in 1954, a few years after I was born. I don't remember him. He lived to see television, but not computers.

He grew up on a farm outside Arezzo, in the region of Tuscany, and came to America in 1910. He learned English, became a US citizen, and gradually learned to be a cabinetmaker for a steel factory, making furniture, bagpipes, and even wine as a sideline.

As I realized it would soon be the centennial of his immigration, I heard him speak to me…

He was happy the the corporate name reflects our Tuscan heritage. Tuscans created the Renaissance and civilization; just ask any Tuscan. Tuscan cooks who followed Marie de Medici to Paris created French haute-cuisine.

He knew that I devote my time to helping people make money, even make livings, on the Internet. He told me I could learn from the example of his contemporaries:

That wave of Italian immigrants came to America because the streets were paved with gold, while opportunities were scarce back home. Nobody made the journey to America to just barely survive.

  • They arrived to find the streets paved with stone, got over their disappointment, and got to work.
  • They followed the guidance of somebody who already knew the ropes.
  • They learned the language of the New Land, and gradually gained acceptance.
  • All held dreams of making a fortune and returning to Italy to live out their remaining days in style.
  • A few made fabulous fortunes; Bank of America was founded Amadeo Giannini.
  • Some turned to crime, and even excelled at it.
  • Some failed completely. Going back to Italy as a failure was an unbearable humiliation.

But most were able to make a comfortable living, and to bring their families over.


Olinto and his family in America, 1915.

Olinto did well enough in two years to bring his wife and two children over in 1912; my mother was born here a few years later. He became a skilled carpenter, and built a house for his family with his own hands.

Nonno Olinto told me, "Most people trying to start a home business online are like we were… unrealistic expectations, totally unprepared, but they know there's money in there somewhere.

Yes, there are fantastic fortunes being made, but that's not the average. People who don't learn the language of the new business landscape, don't take guidance from those who are already successful, and don't plan on being in for the long haul will likely face the humiliation of a very public failure.

But those who can follow basic rules, spend a few hours each week learning plus a few hours each week working, should be able to make a living or a significant side income within a year."

 

You may not be the next Bill Gates or the next Amadeo Giannini.

But can you be the next Olinto Niccolini, combining new skills and hard work with boundless optimism and the burning desire to provide a better life for your family and your descendants? Can you become a respected citizen of the New World of online business?

If so, we at Tuscany Global Corporation are ready to help.

~~~~~

PS: My great-uncle, Santi Cornacchini, actually did return to Italy in style, living out his life on his American pension in a town house in the Tuscan hills, tending his tomatoes.

Don't give up the big goals, but don't despise the more modest ones along the way.

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