While most 14 year olds play video games and learn how to flirt, Caleb Maddix is on his way to becoming a millionaire by the time he turns 30 and is currently writing his second book.
At the ripe age of 6, Caleb already knew what he wanted out of life.
“I thought it was normal to know what you wanted to do,” said Caleb. “When I was asking my friends and they were clueless, I thought something was wrong with them.”
He now travels the globe to give motivational speeches at schools and events.
His father, Matt Maddix, 41, travels with his son to speaking engagements and is an author and motivational speaker himself.
But above all, Caleb said, his father is his mentor.
“As Bill Gates built Microsoft, my dad built me,” said Caleb.
In fact, it’s hard to catch them apart. The duo makes videos on YouTube together, some motivational, others showing how they make their own carrot juice.
Caleb said his dad has shaped his mindset on entrepreneurship.
“My dad definitely taught me a lot about sales, but I’m also a natural born entrepreneur,” said Caleb.
“I knew he needed to learn habits young and not at age 12,” Matt said, who gives his son $20 for every self-help book he reads and writes an essay to reflect on.
Spending a lot of time with his son and being his mentor is important to Matt.
When Caleb was in kindergarten, Matt wrote him motivational letters to read during lunchtime.
“Every day, all of his friends and teachers would gather around him, reading the letters I’d write.”
As the saying goes, like father, like son.
The young founder and CEO of Kids 4 Success, an organization that motivates kids to get on the right track, said there’s one quote he lives by: “The gun that kills most people is the ‘gonna’ – people always say ‘I’m gonna write a book,’ and they never do it.”
Caleb, author of “Keys To Success For Kids,” loves books.
He’s been interviewed by successful authors and entrepreneurs Grant Cardone and Gary Vaynerchuk.
When asked if there’s an age limit for success, Caleb replied, “Not in 2016… maybe back in 1930.”
He said that modern technology allows ideas to spread easily and efficiently through social media, and has helped him gain more than 3,000 followers on Twitter.
Caleb also added that people can get an education on the Internet – particularly from motivational videos on Youtube.
“I’m not gonna go to college. I have the network, I’m gonna have my business built.”
While he completes his homeschool assignments, which his dad oversees, Caleb takes online business classes at Cardone University, run and taught by Grant Cardone.
Caleb is interviewed several times a day through Skype, phone or in person. He wakes up earlier than 5 a.m. on most days to go to the gym with his dad.
For Caleb, reaching his full potential is simple – he doesn’t accept the word “no.”
That just makes him want to do it more.
Check out Caleb’s videos and learn more about him on
Twitter: @CalebMaddix and Snapchat: calebmaddix13.
