Loser' Builds World's Greatest Retail Empire (Sam Walton)J.C. Penney, founder of the retail giant that bears his name, once evaluated one of his young clerks, stating he "wasn't thorough and wouldn't have much of a future in the retail business." The employee? Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart. Despite Penney's hopeless prediction, Sam Walton built the largest retail empire in the world over the next thirty years. In 1999 Wal-Mart's revenues of $137 billion were over four times as large as J.C. Penney's. The opinions of honest, well-intentioned people can sometimes be off the mark. Don't let misguided judgments keep you from pursuing your dreams.