My Life as I Remember It

"I have told my story to show that in this country you can achieve success without having been born with a silver spoon in your mouth." -Peter M. Shubin

Pete Shubin and his family left their Iranian village in a horse-drawn wagon in 1950, and they came to the shores of America penniless. From age seven, Pete worked in the fields with migrant farm laborers, and at eighteen he left home with a tankful of gas, $20 in cash, and a blanket and pillow from his mother. With no formal education beyond high school, he became the biggest independent tire dealer between Sacramento and the Grapevine. In 1976, Pete took over a nearly bankrupt auto-service store in Madera, and from there he built an organization doing in excess of $30 million per year and providing jobs for 120 employees. Pete will be the first to tell you that he is not as smart as some people might think. He has operated by a few basic principles, such as honesty, sacrifice, accountability, being fair to people, and not living off government subsidies. Reading this amazing story will encourage you to reach beyond your self-doubts and your ideas of limitation. You will walk with Pete through the hardships of loss and disappointment, and his story will provide a living example that by putting principle, sweat and backbone into your life and work, you can build your own success from the ground up.