A little more than eight years ago, Wayne Huizenga Jr. defined his success by his position in H. Wayne Huizenga Holdings, Inc., a diversified company, which manages and owns the Miami Dolphins football team, the Dolphins Stadium in South Florida as well as investments in banking, resorts, marinas, yacht reset and construction, real estate and outdoor advertising.Back then, life was a bounty of opportunities that didn't satisfy, Huizenga explained. Today, his success is defined by something more.
On Nov. 20, Huizenga gave his testimony at a special Regent University chapel. To an audience of students, faculty and staff, Huizenga shared the story of how he began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
As a young man Huizenga idolized his father and the aura of success that surrounded him. Wayne Huizenga Sr. was a self-made businessman who got his start in the sanitation business and eventually amassed the business holdings known as H. Wayne Huizenga Holdings, Inc.
Because his parents were divorced, Huizenga didn't see his father much, but he still learned some valuable lessons from him, and he believes his father's success is what paved the way for his own success later on.
From his father, Huizenga learned the value of hard work and dedication. "[He told his employees] we're not any smarter than anyone else so we gotta work twice as hard," Huizenga said. He believes his father was "in the right place at the right time." It was also his father who taught him the value of servant leadership.
Huizenga did work hard and took full advantage of the trappings of money and success that came with his job. "I know that I drank a lot and said things I regretted," he told the audience. In spite of success in the business world, as well as a wonderful wife and children, Huizenga felt an emptiness that he couldn't seem to fill.
Eight years ago, friends invited him to a Wednesday night church service where he ended up responding to the pastor's invitation to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Huizenga's life wasn't the same after that.
"I hope I'm being a good steward of the assets I have now," he told the audience. He stopped drinking and realized the value of surrounding himself with mentors—both in the business world and the Christian world. "A lot of people didn't think it would last. "They thought it was just a phase," he said of his friends.
Huizenga spends more time with speaking engagements these days, and he looks for ways to share his faith with his business associates. During a question-and-answer session after his testimony, Huizenga encouraged the audience to look for opportunities to incorporate their faith into their vocation in a way that intrigues, not offends, the people they work with.