When AD broke up with me and cheated on me I thought I would die. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t have ideas. I cut loose my friendships. The vault in my chest sealed shut.

Which, of course, brings me to the earthquake of 1906. 10,000 buildings collapsed and fires started to spread all over San Francisco, killing the entire city.

Amadeo Giannini walked seventeen miles from his home in San Mateo to the center of San Francisco. Everyone else was fleeing the other way, trying to outrun the fires and buildings collapsing. Why would he do that?

He had to reach his business, The Bank of Italy. The first bank dedicated to serving poor immigrants rather than just the needs of the wealthy.

Giannini reached his business, gall the cash and gold and silver and ledgers, put them on his cart, and walked seventeen miles to his home.

Then he hid it all and covered it with garbage so nobody could rob him.

He then announced that The Bank of Italy was open for business, the same day as the earthquake. Everyone who was panicking went to him for help. They deposited money. He then lent out money to anyone who was devoted to rebuilding San Francisco.

What about all the other banks? They thought they did the smart thing. As soon as the earthquake hit they put everything in their vaults.

The vaults then heated up because of the fires. Problem: once you open the doors the hot oxygen would rush inside and set everything on fire: cash, bank ledgers, everything.

So those banks remained closed for at least three weeks.

The only bank open was the Bank of Italy because it’s owner was willing to walk seventeen miles back and forth, hide the gold, and take chances on everyone willing to rebuild.

Later, the Bank of Italy was the first bank to risk funding a young man named Walt Disney when he had the idea of a full length animated film, Snow White.

But before that, Amadeo Giannini decided to rename the bank for what it really was – Bank of America, which it’s still called to this day.

Peter Thiel said something that I won’t forget in my interview with him: you can’t be 10 or 20% better than your competition. You have to be 1000% better.

“If you’re just 20% better, nobody can really tell. They can only tell when you are ten times better. Else nobody will notice you.”

Amadeo Gianinni was 1000% better than everyone else in the aftermath of an earthquake.

When my heart is broken, or I fail at a business, I get afraid to open that vault and let in all of the oxygen, I might go on fire and die!

This is why writing ten ideas a day down is so important. That is why only being with people you love is important. And people who love you.

So you’ll know exactly the moment you need to walk seventeen miles when the earthquake hits. So you know not to lock everything in the vault. So you know to be the first to help people. So you know how to help the most people. This is a superhero.

This is how abundance is created.

I want to be the guy who walks the other way when the whole world is falling apart and lighting on fire. @jaltucher (Click to Tweet!)

The past doesn’t matter in those moments. It’s been utterly destroyed, desolate and forgotten. Like it is every morning when you wake up. And the future has yet to be rebuilt out of the ashes.

Rebuilt by you.

And, if you let me…by you and me.

James Altucher has built and sold several companies, and failed at dozens more. He’s written twelve books, and The Power of No is the book to RULE THEM ALL. (Although he is also fond of Choose Yourself.) He’s an investor in twenty different companies. He writes every day. He doesn’t have enough friends. Still interested in knowing him? Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.