Some people capitulate and some people are bulldogs - unwilling to stand down to the doubters. Cole Summers was ferociously unafraid to try and continuously proved everyone wrong. I recently read Cole Summers’ Don’t Tell Me I Can’t, an early memoir of a young boy determined to be different.
This story captured me when Bari Weiss wrote about a young boy in the low lands of southern Utah who had built up a more impressive career, and balance sheet, than most do in a lifetime - and he did before he reached 14 years old! Cole, seemingly a simpleton farm boy, homeschooled by his mother and forced to learn by necessity, became a sensational exhibit of a farmstead wonder child. Cole Summers’ is the son of a disabled veteran and was forced to become the man of the house at the ripe age of 5. Cole bought his first ranch, first car, first house, first tractor, owned hundreds of farmable acreage, and started a profitable rabbit breeding business all before the age of 12 and all without a formal education. Cole was more adept at adulting than perhaps many of you reading this blog post! Cole learned practical skills and put them to work immediately, fueled by the flame of outsiders doubt. He recounts a time when he was six and he bought a junkyard Jeep off a neighbor for pennies, took to the formal halls of YouTube to learn mechanics and fixed up the jeep himself and sold it for a hefty profit. Cole was the man in the arena while others’ looked in and scoffed at his age.
His parents gave him one of the greatest blessings of all time - the unremitted confidence to do anything he set his mind to. When family friends would laud his age and tell him that he couldn’t fix that broken car, Cole took it as a challenge and proved them wrong while his parents stood behind him as his encouraging fan base. When the realtors said he was too young to take title of a ranch, Cole figured out how and read up on Utah real estate law, setting up the legal entities to make it happen. When the kids his age at the public school would tell Cole about the planetary names and list out past presidents, Cole would elaborate on his tax refund, LLC formation and economics lessoned by building his businesses. Here was a child fueled by doubt, motivated to learn and forced to fend for his disabled family - all when most others were licking lollipops and playing with Pokemon.
Cole is an inspiration to me and a great example of how attitude and perseverance always beat preconceived limitations. Sadly, a few months ago, Cole passed away from a boating accident. This story hit me really hard because a boy this special should live a long and prolific life - to go on to inspire others. To hear of his accidental demise was gut wrenching but he’s a fantastic reminder to us all that it’s not the years of life you live but rather the life in the years lived that’s most important.
Great story. Thanks for sharing.