Sheer Determination (Make Your Own Luck)
See the picture, then make call after call until the answer changes — 60 if that's what it takes.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 87%
Scudamore's persistence pattern shows up twice in his origin story and he treats it as a repeatable method rather than luck. Getting into college without a high-school diploma took three separate conversations with admissions plus a written letter — they let him in because 'this guy's got tenacity.' Getting the 1-800-GOT-JUNK phone number took 60 calls to AT&T, tracing the number to the Idaho Department of Transportation, and then routing to the government's phone room where a man named Michael eventually said, after three calls, 'you can have the number, I don't know why you want it, but take it.' Crucially, Scudamore hired a designer to build the final logo mid-chase — committing to the picture before the asset existed. He got the number for free.
Origin
Scudamore was one course short of graduating 12th grade while all his friends headed to college. Rather than repeat a year, he went to the admissions office and, across three conversations and a letter, talked his way in. Years later he'd apply the same method to a phone number owned by a state government.
Core principles
- 01You don't often get second chances — work the opportunity you see.
- 02Persistence reads as tenacity, and tenacity is what people say yes to.
- 03Act as if you already have it — commit resources before the door opens.
- 04Route around the front door: find the human who can actually say yes.
- 05Most people quit after a couple of calls; the gap between 2 and 60 is the whole game.
How to run it
- 1
See the opportunity and name why it matters
Scudamore's rule: 'people need to work at an opportunity that they see for themselves — if you've got the spark and you say okay, here's my opportunity.' For college it was not missing out with his friends; for the number it was a brand that would travel across America.
- 2
Accept there's no second chance
'You don't often get second chances.' He refused to go back for another year just to get one course, which forced the creative route. Treating the window as one-time raises your willingness to fight for it.
- 3
Ask repeatedly, then put it in writing
Three conversations with the admissions office, then a letter. 'They liked and appreciated it and said this guy's got tenacity, let's give him a shot.' The written case is what converted the repeated ask.
Pro tip The tenacity itself becomes the argument — they admitted him for perseverance, not credentials.
- 4
Commit resources as if you already have it
While chasing the number, Scudamore hired a designer to create the 1-800-GOT-JUNK logo exactly as it exists today — 'as part of solidifying the vision that I am going to get this phone number, I'm going to figure this out.' The commitment made the outcome feel inevitable to him.
- 5
Trace who actually holds the asset
He made call after call to AT&T just to identify the owner — which turned out to be the Idaho Department of Transportation. His first reaction was 'government owned my number, oh my gosh, I'm never going to get this.' Trace anyway.
Watch out Discovering a formidable owner is the point at which almost everyone quits.
- 6
Route to the human who can say yes
Instead of fighting the institution, he called the department's phone room — 'government has someone running their phones.' After three calls, Michael in the phone room simply handed it over.
Pro tip The official channel is rarely where the yes lives. Find the operator, not the department.
- 7
Count the calls and close the loop
Sixty calls total — 'most people would have given up after a couple of phone calls; I didn't give up until I got it.' He then called Michael back after the AT&T forms were signed to thank him.
In the wild
Riffing on the 90s 'Got Milk' campaign, Scudamore landed on 1-800-GOT-JUNK, called the number, and found it taken. He made call after call to AT&T to trace the owner — the Idaho Department of Transportation. Meanwhile he hired a designer to build the logo exactly as it stands today, committing to the outcome before it existed. Rather than fight the department, he called its phone room; after three calls, Michael there told him to take the number.
→ Sixty calls in, he got the number for free. It became the brand foundation of a business operating in every major US metro — 'sheer determination that paved the way for the starting of the 1-800-GOT-JUNK brand.'
One course short of a 12th-grade graduation and unwilling to repeat a year while his friends left for college, Scudamore went to the admissions office. He had three separate conversations essentially begging them to admit him, arguing he was smart enough and had only missed one class, and finished with a letter.
→ They admitted him on tenacity alone — 'this guy's got tenacity, let's give him a shot.' He later dropped out of that degree too, but the method had proven itself.
Common mistakes
Reading the first no as the final answer
Scudamore's college admission took three conversations and the phone number took sixty calls. Most people stop at two, which means the asset was never actually unavailable — it was just under-pursued.
Quitting when you learn who owns it
His own reaction to 'the Idaho Department of Transportation' was 'I'm never going to get this.' He called anyway, and the institution turned out to have one human in a phone room who simply didn't care.
Waiting until you have it before committing
He hired a logo designer while the number was still owned by a state government. Committing resources solidified the vision — waiting for certainty would have kept the chase half-hearted.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders trying to acquire a specific asset, opportunity, or admission that appears unavailable.
Not ideal for
Situations where the 'no' is structural, legal, or where persistence would be genuinely unwelcome pressure on an individual.
From the transcript
“After 60 phone calls — and while not just making phone calls, I hired a designer to design the logo exactly as we have 1-800-GOT-JUNK…”
“Michael in the phone room, after three calls, finally said you can have the number — it's important, I don't know why you want it,…”
“Most people would have given up after a couple of phone calls trying to get the number. I didn't give up until I got it,…”
From the episode
Brian Scudamore: From Trash to Cash
Brian Scudamore