It’s officially 2020 and, as is the case with every new year, everyone has hopes and wishes they’d like to see come true. For those who may feel as though there’s no way their dreams a reality, Terry Giles — the author of The Fifteen Percent: Overcoming Hardships and Achieving Lasting Success — is here to change your mind about that.
In his remarkable rags to riches story, Terry — who has received numerous honors from alma maters California State University at Fullerton and Pepperdine University as well as the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Award — recalls what it took for him to start from the very bottom and achieve lasting and meaningful success.
“On the surface, Terry Giles has a classic American success story,” a press release reads. “By 30, he built one of the largest criminal defense firms in Southern California and generated tens of millions in revenue working with high profile clients. By 34, he left the legal profession and achieved even greater success as an entrepreneur, seemingly overnight.”
“But as Giles observes in The Fifteen Percent, no one goes through life without facing serious obstacles,” it continues. “Speaking from his own hard-won experience from a difficult upbringing to America’s loftiest boardrooms, Giles answers the question that took him years to answer: Why do some people overcome hardships better than others?”
What is “the 15 percent” exactly? As Terry explains it, it refers to the group of people “who are able to rise above despair and succeed against all odds.” In each chapter, readers will “learn valuable skills” — which prove “you do not have to be a victim of bad circumstances to adopt the superpowers of ‘the 15 percent'” and do something good.
The love for Terry’s book is real. Former neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson — who enlisted him to help run his campaign during the 2016 presidential election — wrote in the book’s foreword, “A unique and fascinating book that will empower you to define your goal, achieve it, and then use that success to create the foundation for your next achievement.”
The Fifteen Percent: Overcoming Hardships and Achieving Lasting Success hits shelves on March 10, 2020 — but is available for pre-order on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Scroll down to learn more about author Terry Giles.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
Here is Terry at a press conference when he was just 29.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
"This was a picture taken of me working late one night in 1991 when I was chairman of Pacific National Bank," he recalled.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
"The first picture is from a newspaper where I, apparently, was giving speeches before legal groups entitled 'Making Crime Pay.' I know, pretty damn obnoxious," Terry noted. "I was clearly bragging about how lucrative our practice was. I do not remember this and it shocks my conscience."
"The second picture will make you feel a little better about me," he continued, recalling a tragic 1978 rape of a woman named Mary Vincent who was hitchhiking and picked up by some guy. After he took advantage of her, he cut off her arms with an axe and she was left to die — but thankfully that didn't happen.
"He was arrested and sent to prison. Later she applied for orthopedic help from the State of California’s Victims of Violent Crimes Act. The state refused to help her because she was a resident of Nevada and just hitchhiking across California when she was abducted," Terry remembered. "I was outraged, took her case pro bono, and we beat the crap out of California both publicity wise as well as in the court room. As a result, the laws related to assisting victims in California were changed."
As Terry calls it, he went from "jerk" to "hero."
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
Here is Terry visiting with Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. The woman between them is the iconic civil rights advocate's late wife, Coretta Scott King. Terry is at Easter dinner with the family in 1984 after services at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
Here's Terry with Zindzi Mandela and Winnie Mandela, one of former South African president Nelson Mandela's daughters and the apartheid fighter's late wife. The photo was taken in Johannesburg in 1985.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
Alongside Terry in these snapshots is Richard Pryor and Armstrong Williams being welcomed by President Ronald Reagan at the White House.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
"The head of Toyota world-wide and his entourage, visiting my dealership and announcing it was the most beautiful dealership in the world," Terry said of the pic.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
This photo shows a young Terry, age 6, at home in Cuba, Missouri.
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
We'll let Terry explain who's in these photos and what's happening!
TOP: "Jeff and Cindy Reeter (Jeff was Campaign Finance Chair), Candy and Ben Carson, and Kalli and myself in my Houston home one month before Ben and I parted ways."
MIDDLE LEFT: "In preparation for the Carson campaign we traveled to Israel on a State Visit. This is Candy Carson, Kalli, and me on the Sea of Galilee."
MIDDLE RIGHT: "Kalli and me addressing the crowd at our home during an early fundraiser for Ben."
BOTTON LEFT: "Armstrong Williams, Kalli, and I in Jerusalem."
BOTTOM RIGHT: Kalli and me met with Wounded Warriors at the center for veterans who had amputee injuries. I was working on our policy positions for the Carson campaign regarding veterans and how the current U.S. policies were insufficient and needed to change."
Here is Terry at a press conference when he was just 29.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
"This was a picture taken of me working late one night in 1991 when I was chairman of Pacific National Bank," he recalled.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
"The first picture is from a newspaper where I, apparently, was giving speeches before legal groups entitled 'Making Crime Pay.' I know, pretty damn obnoxious," Terry noted. "I was clearly bragging about how lucrative our practice was. I do not remember this and it shocks my conscience."
"The second picture will make you feel a little better about me," he continued, recalling a tragic 1978 rape of a woman named Mary Vincent who was hitchhiking and picked up by some guy. After he took advantage of her, he cut off her arms with an axe and she was left to die — but thankfully that didn't happen.
"He was arrested and sent to prison. Later she applied for orthopedic help from the State of California’s Victims of Violent Crimes Act. The state refused to help her because she was a resident of Nevada and just hitchhiking across California when she was abducted," Terry remembered. "I was outraged, took her case pro bono, and we beat the crap out of California both publicity wise as well as in the court room. As a result, the laws related to assisting victims in California were changed."
As Terry calls it, he went from "jerk" to "hero."
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
Here is Terry visiting with Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. The woman between them is the iconic civil rights advocate's late wife, Coretta Scott King. Terry is at Easter dinner with the family in 1984 after services at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
Here's Terry with Zindzi Mandela and Winnie Mandela, one of former South African president Nelson Mandela's daughters and the apartheid fighter's late wife. The photo was taken in Johannesburg in 1985.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
Alongside Terry in these snapshots is Richard Pryor and Armstrong Williams being welcomed by President Ronald Reagan at the White House.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
"The head of Toyota world-wide and his entourage, visiting my dealership and announcing it was the most beautiful dealership in the world," Terry said of the pic.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
This photo shows a young Terry, age 6, at home in Cuba, Missouri.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
We'll let Terry explain who's in these photos and what's happening!
TOP: "Jeff and Cindy Reeter (Jeff was Campaign Finance Chair), Candy and Ben Carson, and Kalli and myself in my Houston home one month before Ben and I parted ways."
MIDDLE LEFT: "In preparation for the Carson campaign we traveled to Israel on a State Visit. This is Candy Carson, Kalli, and me on the Sea of Galilee."
MIDDLE RIGHT: "Kalli and me addressing the crowd at our home during an early fundraiser for Ben."
BOTTON LEFT: "Armstrong Williams, Kalli, and I in Jerusalem."
BOTTOM RIGHT: Kalli and me met with Wounded Warriors at the center for veterans who had amputee injuries. I was working on our policy positions for the Carson campaign regarding veterans and how the current U.S. policies were insufficient and needed to change."
Photo credit: Courtesy of Terry Giles
