Flying High: Fred Smith Turned Challenges into Champions

From Vietnam Hero To FedEx Billionaire: The Inside Story Of How Fred Smith Built One Of America’s Biggest Companies

A man created a company that changed how the world delivers

Fred Smith Turned Challenges into Champions

Fred Smith’s story is one of courage, creativity, and learning from every challenge life threw his way. From his early years, Smith faced obstacles that would have stopped many people—but instead, he turned each setback into a lesson.

As a child, he battled a bone disease that left him on crutches. Instead of giving up, he learned to fight through the pain and protect himself. When he recovered, he didn’t stop there—he became a football player and even learned to fly at age fifteen. Later, as a Marine in Vietnam, Smith survived countless dangerous missions and near-death experiences. “I was so frightened that I aimed at his head and hit his knee,” he said. That moment showed that even in fear, he could still act bravely and learn from his experiences.

After his military service, Fred Smith wanted to do something positive for the world. “I got so sick of destruction and blowing things up — on people I had nothing against — that I came back determined to do something constructive,” he recalled. His “constructive” idea? A completely new kind of airline—one that focused only on shipping packages, not passengers.

Smith had first thought about this idea as a college student, but his professor didn’t believe in it. The professor gave his paper a low grade. Still, Smith didn’t give up. “I was a crummy student — like Winston Churchill,” he joked later. Instead of feeling defeated, Smith used that failure as motivation.

He started Federal Express (FedEx), a company designed to move packages quickly across the country using small jets at night. At first, it didn’t go well—he lost millions of dollars, investors doubted him, and even his family sued him for misusing money. But Smith never quit. He learned from his early mistakes and worked harder to make his system better. Eventually, FedEx began to see results. It went from losing millions to making millions, serving thousands of customers and even the U.S. Air Force.

Still, new challenges appeared. Federal’s balance sheet was in terrible shape. The company’s losses had cut its equity capital to just $7.8 million, while its debt stood at $52.5 million. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) had not yet approved larger planes, and without them, FedEx couldn’t grow fast enough to keep up with demand. However, if approval came, Smith’s backers were ready to help strengthen the company and add bigger planes. There were plenty of used Boeing jets available, and Federal could quickly assemble a fleet to expand across the country.

Even though venture capitalists were running out of patience, there was hope. As Federal’s president, Art Bass, said: “The absolute worst that can happen to us now is that we will be a limited success. It is no longer possible, as it was a year ago, that we’ll go down the tube.”

FedEx founder Fred Smith: An “overnight” success

The company was close to its next big leap—taking Federal public to raise more money and reward those who had believed in Smith’s dream. Whether or not they would get approval to fly 727s, one thing was clear: Fred Smith and his team had already proven their ability to survive the impossible. “Will Federal go on to become a $1-billion company? Will Fred Smith once again win a victory of mind over matter, of will over ‘reality’? Tune in next time for the answer.”

We now know how that story ended—FedEx became one of the world’s greatest delivery companies, reaching more than 220 countries and earning billions every year.

Fred Smith’s journey shows that learning from the experience is the real key to success. He faced failure, pain, and doubt—but each time, he learned something new that helped him move forward. For middle schoolers, that’s a great lesson: you don’t have to be perfect to succeed. You just have to keep learning, keep improving, and keep believing that every mistake can teach you something valuable.

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