The Get a Bigger Wagon Philosophy

I have known my husband for over half a century and the Get a Bigger Wagon books chronicle his journey to manhood. The title for the first book was taken from the story The Delayed Dream.  From the moment the boy pressed his face against the shop window to get a better look at that three-speed bicycle, he planned to own it. His little red wagon enabled him to go into business collecting bottles, and he patiently worked and saved until his dream was within his grasp. In the story, something happens to delay his dream, and he begins to develop the resilience required to be an entrepreneur.

"I have seen that little boy's disappointment in my husband's eyes when people have done business with him in a dishonourable way. It doesn't last long though. True entrepreneurs never give up. Their dreams are never stolen, just delayed. I asked my husband what he learned from that experience. His answer was simply, "Get a bigger wagon."

Maysoon and Wajid Toma, the main characters in my third book, With Love, From Iraq, exhibit this philosophy while escaping, multiple times, from Iraq, before eventually becoming Canadian citizens. They were born entrepreneurial in a very troubled Iraq, and today they operate a successful business in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The book devotes a page to Wajid's recipe for becoming Canadian. Giving up was never an option for the Toma family.