At 82, self-made billionaire Jack Cowin has a number of simple truths about life and business to share.

“I didn’t come from [money] … I’m kind of self-made. I use that terminology and I’m proud of that,” Cowin told CNBC Make It.

He’s made a fortune from selling fast food. In 1969, he bought his first KFC store in Australia, which eventually grew into a 55-store franchise. He then sold it for over $71 million in 2013, according to a company representative.

Cowin is also the founder and chairman of Competitive Foods Australia, the company that operates Burger King as “Hungry Jack’s” in Australia — a chain of more than 400 restaurants today. He’s also the biggest shareholder of Domino’s Pizza in Australia, and backs a plant-based meat substitute company called v2food.

His business is worth over $3 billion and brings in over $300 million a year, Cowin told CNBC Make It.

Before starting his fast food empire, Cowin played football in university and even had a “brief flirtation” with playing professionally. “Business is a team sport,” he said.

“Don’t be a dentist … when you’re not drilling teeth, you’re not making money,” Cowin told CNBC Make It. “If you want to do something [that] is bigger and has more scope, you have to become a team player and … to become a team player, you got to interact with people,” he said.

“Be conscious of the fact that you cannot do it on your own,” said Cowin.

Business isn’t just about satisfying your own needs — it’s also about fulfilling what others need, whether they’re employees, customers, investors or business partners. Being a “people person” and having an innate curiosity and desire to learn has been key to his success, he said.

When asked to give advice to young people who may be feeling lost in life, Cowin said, “The short answer is — if you’re lost, get active with something.”

“I see people that get fired or something goes wrong in their life. They sit on the sidelines and they lose confidence … you got to be in the game to be successful,” he said.

After spending some time reflecting, it’s important not to get stuck in a cycle of moping: “You got to get back into the mainstream of life by doing stuff, interacting with people,” he said. “Have a go, don’t stand around thinking about it.”

Today, Cowin says, he has created about 150,000 jobs globally between his Domino’s Pizza business — which consists of 4,000 stores across 12 countries — and his Hungry Jack’s business.

At 82, he says, he has no plans to exit the business.

“If there was a summary of my life, I’ve looked on it as an adventure, rather than slogging it out day after day,” he said. “It’s been an adventure [of] doing new things, new businesses, new this, new that, and it’s been fun.”

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Do you smile every time you hear a specific song, or light up when you see a certain old friend? Those are both what I like to call happiness sparks. 

We need them now more than ever to thrive despite challenges, distractions, and overwhelming current events. Unfortunately, as I wrote in my recent book, “The Mentally Strong Leader,” there are some days when these moments are hard to come by. 

The key is to bring more happiness sparks into your life — not by chance, but by choice. 

It takes mental strength and discipline to adopt perspectives and make choices that can help bring you joy, especially when negative emotions and thoughts are hijacking you. 

The most mentally strong people lean on these five mantras, which can provide little bursts of resilience and create sparks of happiness. 

In times of adversity, it’s easy to focus on what’s gone. Maybe you lost time, money, or resources when something went wrong with that work project. Or you lost your identity when you got laid off. Or you lost a hangout buddy when your friend moved across the country. 

Remembering to focus on what you still have makes a profound difference. Consciously practicing gratitude improves well-being, research shows. 

In the situations above, for instance, you might be grateful for valuable insights, the loved ones you can spend more quality time with, and a new travel destination, as well as a friendship you can continue cultivating long-distance. 

When you second guess a path you’ve chosen or lament that not everything is working out as you’d hoped, you can get stuck in a negative loop. 

The truth is that there will always be unexpected twists and turns. It’s easier to find joy when you accept the imperfect path and overcome obstacles along the way. 

Think of an accomplishment or outcome that made you happy. Odds are you dealt with some adversity to get there.

When you’re frustrated and someone tells you to “just let it go,” that can make you more upset. It’s also bad advice, since you’ll likely be unable to ignore what happened and how it made you feel.

You can, on the other hand, tell yourself, “Let it be.” That means using a form of cognitive acceptance, which is a surer path to pulling out of a downward spiral.

Don’t try to banish an adverse event from your psyche or change what you feel about it. Let it sit there. Acknowledge and accept that your emotions are legitimate reactions and focus on how you’ll move forward in a productive way. 

When we struggle in the face of setbacks, we can lose perspective. Small challenges may suddenly seem outsized.  

Saying “Big picture, small step” to yourself does two things: 

• It reminds you of the ultimate goal or of the vision of the life you want to live and who you want to be. When you consider a setback in the context of the big picture, it shrinks. 
• It can help you identify one small thing you can do to get back on the path of progress and positivity. That first action can lead to another small step of hopefulness, which leads to another, and so on. 

Think of this as your ABC phrase, inspired by the ABC model in cognitive behavioral therapy. The idea is to remind yourself that adversity doesn’t automatically mean negative outcomes.

The end result of adversity is determined by how you respond to it, and the beliefs you form because of it. 

For example, will you believe that a job interview that didn’t go well was a non-recoverable disaster that clearly demonstrates you’re a failure? Or will you believe that it’s a learning opportunity and an obstacle you’ll overcome, like you have in other situations in the past? 

It’s easy to get caught up thinking that happiness is a destination, that if you can only make a little more money, or achieve some specific thing, then you’ll be happy.

You might tell yourself, “I’ll be happy when I finally get that promotion,” for example, or “If I could just fit into those old jeans, I’d be so much happier.” In the meantime, you let joy slip by unnoticed as you keep your head down, grinding.

Mentally strong people engage in what I call “grindfulness,” a practice at the intersection of gratitude and mindfulness. It allows you to notice and recognize your gratitude for the small positives, even in tough moments.  

It encourages you to draw happiness from finding and experiencing joy in the world around you, right now, every day. 

Scott Mautz is a popular speaker, trainer, and LinkedIn Learning instructor. He’s a former senior executive of Procter & Gamble, where he ran several of the company’s largest multi-billion-dollar businesses. He is the author of ”The Mentally Strong Leader: Build the Habits to Productively Regulate Your Emotions, Thoughts, and Behaviors.” Follow him on LinkedIn.

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If you’ve spotted someone wearing a bright yellow, star-shaped sticker on their face and wondered if it’s a new makeup trend or avant-garde accessory, guess again — it’s actually an acne product.

Welcome to the age of pimple patches, where treating breakouts is no longer a behind-closed-doors affair. 

These dime-sized stickers are trending. On TikTok, there are more than 500 million videos that mention the query “best pimple patch,” and more than 60 million posts that mention “Starface pimple patch” specifically. 

The market valuation of pimple patches is expected to grow from about $500 million to nearly $1 billion by 2033, according to recent research from Spherical Insights. 

Much of that momentum has been driven by Starface World, whose best-selling product is a star-shaped sticker containing hydrocolloid. This gentle, active ingredient has historically been used to speed up the healing of skin wounds. Some of the patches, called “Hydro-Stars,” have additional ingredients, like tea tree oil and salicylic acid. 

Since its founding in 2019, Starface World says it has sold over a billion individual Hydro-Stars. The stars are typically sold in packs of 32 and cost between $10.99 and $16.99, depending on the ingredients and if the patches come with a matching compact case.

In 2024, Starface is on track to bring in about $90 million in revenue.  

Starface World — or “Starface” for short — was launched by former Elle beauty editor Julie Schott and her business partner, entrepreneur Brian Bordainick, back in 2019. 

Schott and Bordainick felt that the messaging around acne products were “designed to hide pimples,” Kara Brothers, president of Starface, tells CNBC Make It. “Starface aimed to flip that concept on its head, and make pimples, which affect almost everyone at different stages in their life, a more fun and joyful experience.”

The first generation of pimple patches arrived in the late 2010s, when skincare brands Hero and Peace Out began offering flesh-toned and translucent versions of the same concept. Hydrocolloid bandages, however, aren’t a new skin care innovation; they were first patented and introduced in hospitals, doctor’s offices and more during the 1970s, according to the National Institute of Health.

Then, in 2019, came Starface, whose pentagram-shaped Hydro-Stars “disrupted the pimple patch market” with vibrant hues such as bright yellow, jet black, magenta and even rainbow and fun designs, Claire McCormack, a senior editor at Beauty Independent, says.

Starface products are sold in the U.S., Canada and the UK both direct to consumer (DTC) on Starface’s website and through retailers like Target, Walmart and CVS. Retail sales have “tremendously outpaced DTC,” says Brothers, who adds that Starface has been focused on growing that revenue stream across the three countries it sells products in.

Decorative and fun, the patches quickly became a fashion trend for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. 

Soon, Gen Z and millennial celebrities like Millie Bobbie Brown and Justin Bieber were photographed wearing the patches while running errands, and teenagers posted vlogs on TikTok and YouTube sporting the patches to school.

Brothers says about 60% of Starface’s customers are Gen Z and Gen Alpha. 

“I wanted something that would treat my acne and also be a cute accessory so that I’m not afraid to go out and be myself, and to not feel horrible about my appearance,” Shahzaib Sultan, a 25-year-old in Montreal, Canada, says. “That was what inspired me to get the Starface products.”

The brand “really took off” during the Covid-19 pandemic, Brothers shares, when more people were inside and embraced wearing the colorful pimple patches on video calls. 

“We knew we were onto something when we resumed going outside and saw people of all kinds wearing Starface products out in public, showcasing pride about having something like acne,” she adds.

Starface has continued to capitalize on Gen Z consumers’ interest with its marketing scheme.

The brand maintains a youthful, lighthearted tone on its social media channels, riffing on memes and popular culture, which Brothers believes gives Starface an edge over the aspirational or scientific tone of other acne brands. Take, for example, its limited-edition product collaborations with cartoon characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Hello Kitty.

To further connect with younger customers, Starface even introduced a mascot in 2019: “Big Yellow,” a personification of the brand’s yellow star patch. 

“Big Yellow came from outer space and doesn’t understand why people on Earth are so hard on people who have acne and who have pimples,” Brothers explains. 

The jury is still out as to whether or not Starface’s Hydro-Stars — and pimple patches, more broadly — can help pimples heal faster.

Customer reviews are mixed; some say the Hydro-Stars help remove the gunk and excess oil from a zit, while others say the patches work better as a fashion accessory. 

“I think there is a role to be played with pimple patches, more so as a barrier to protect a healing pimple or a wounded pimple specifically,” Dr. Jeremy Brauer, a New York-based dermatologist, says.

“They could minimize the risk of inflammation and infection, but I wouldn’t say pimple patches are for everyone,” Brauer adds, noting that the patches could be less effective for people with sensitive skin or cystic acne. 

Although pimple patches remain the core of its business, Starface is exploring new categories, selling pore strips and lip balm. 

“I think Starface can continue to innovate by making sure that they’re on top of whatever other ways that spot treatments can be used as part of skincare,” says McCormack. “One of the biggest challenges the brand might face is if these patches somehow become not cool anymore … but people are always going to have pimples.”

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Omar Asali isn’t keen on hiring smooth talkers.

Workers who are too self-promotional and careful to say the “right words” usually look out for themselves, rather than their organization or the people around them — a red flag in the recruitment process, says Asali, 53, the CEO of eco-focused packaging company Ranpak.

“You always have to be careful with people that are very smooth talkers and very promotional,” says Asali, who’s been running Ranpak — which has a market value of $661.06 million, as of Monday afternoon — since 2019. “I’m not hiring people because their presentation skills are phenomenal. I’m hiring them typically because I need certain tasks and certain jobs done.”

At such a large company, Asali isn’t always involved in every single hiring decision. But when he hires “very senior executives,” he makes a point of discussing both work-related and non-work related topics with candidates. The better he gets to know them, the more easily he can identify whether they’re “doers” or “talkers,” he says.

“I am not the type of person who will recruit because I’ve done one, two or three rounds,” says Asali. “We will do meals, we will talk about social things — really try to understand these people and their background before I bring them over.”

At the interviewing table, Asali often gives candidates a prompt that he calls “very insightful”: Tell me 10 words that immediately come to mind that describe who you are. Most people respond quickly, and their off-the-cuff answers can illuminate aspects of their professional and social personality more effectively than anything they’ve prepared in advance for the interview, he says.

“The more honest they came across — the more sincere they came across — the more I enjoyed the conversation,” says Asali. “You would be surprised with people I hired that were pretty open and vulnerable about things about themselves.”

Asali isn’t the only interviewer who asks questions that probe at people’s self-awareness and ego control.

Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor, for example, asks candidates to discuss a time they made a mistake or failed. People who recognize and take accountability for their shortcomings in their answer demonstrate a strong ability to work with others, he told CNBC Make It in August, whereas those lacking self-awareness “really struggle” with the prompt.

But few people, if any, are perfectly self-aware — which is why Taylor himself constantly works to get a better sense of his own strengths and weaknesses.

“I try to keep my ego at the door. I’m wrong all the time. I have an incredible team that’s super smart and will put me in my place, and I love that,” he said.

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Growing up in a single-parent household, we didn’t have much. We always lived frugally and well below our means. 

When I was in my twenties and single, I only cared about building my career. I didn’t think about my own financial future, in part because the idea of retirement felt so far away. I focused on short-term goals and thought moving up the corporate ladder was the surest way to financial success. 

“Just show up, do your work, and someone will reward you for it” was my original formula for success. 

In hindsight, this was short-sighted. My mindset about money changed completely when I had my two kids. I wanted to not only prepare them financially for the future, but build generational wealth that could change the trajectory of my family forever. 

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My wife and I became intentional about managing our money, doing everything we could to learn about personal finance. By the time I was 37, our net worth surpassed a million dollars. My wife and I also founded the website Parent Portfolio, where we share our experience and resources with other parents who want to achieve a similar goal. 

Here’s how I’m building generational wealth now:

One of the first steps to building generational wealth is owning an asset — something that has increasing monetary value, or that can generate income over time, like stocks or real estate — that you can pass on to your children. 

A few years ago, we began acquiring assets by investing more intentionally, particularly in the stock market and in rental properties. 

We’re big fans of low-cost index funds that track the S&P 500, because index funds are diversified, and that helps to mitigate risk. They can also be a simple way to generate passive income through dividends. 

In my 9-to-5, I make sure I use every tax-saving opportunity that is available to me. 

I always take advantage of my employer’s 401(k) match option, for example, and contribute pre-tax dollars to a Health Savings Account.

Additionally, I invest the HSA dollars, which allows for tax-free growth and withdrawal.

I’ve found that building generational wealth has required me to have a more clear-eyed relationship with my own mortality.

That means that we have spoken with an estate planner and have a life insurance policy in place, as well as a family trust. The last thing we want is for our kids or their caregiver to have to deal with an additional burden of financial stress during a time of grief. 

Setting up an estate plan allows you some control over your assets even after you are gone. A family trust can give instructions as to what the money is used for, such as paying for college, making a down payment or starting a small business. 

It can be set up to distribute money gradually, over time, instead of in one lump sum. And the trust can stipulate that the money used to fund these opportunities should be paid back to the trust for future generations, too.

It’s so important to us that our kids have a core foundation in basic financial and wealth-building literacy. We make sure that our children don’t see money as a lottery ticket or blank check, but as a tool that gives them access to opportunities for success. 

Now that our kids are older, we’ve begun giving them an allowance. We teach them to divide up their allowance into five parts: giving, needs, wants, saving, and investing. 

Ultimately, it’s up to them on how much they want to contribute to each category. Most importantly, we always remind ourselves how blessed we are, and never take what we have for granted. 

Jonathan Sanchez is the co-founder of Parent Portfolio, where he helps readers take control of their financial future and build wealth for the next generation. He was raised with frugal habits and by practicing wise money decisions, became a millionaire in his 30s. Follow him on Instagram and join his newsletter at Parent Portfolio.

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