At six years old, Tom Monaghan watched his mother walk away, leaving him and his brother at a Catholic orphanage in Michigan.
She wasn’t abandoning them. She was trying to survive after their father died. But Tom didn’t know that.
1. Discipline became his foundation
The place was St. Joseph’s Home for Children in Jackson, Michigan, a strict, no-nonsense orphanage run by Catholic nuns.
Life there was structured. Disciplined. Predictable.
Tom Monaghan learned discipline from the nuns who raised him.
Sister Berada, a light in the midst of darkness, loved him and guided him.
She was a mother figure, who…
- fired up his will to succeed
- gave him a moral compass
Life in the orphanage was hard.
- Six years later, his mother picks him up.
- Returns him quickly to foster care.
- Then, he is moved to a rural farm.
- After that: a state juvenile delinquent facility.
Reminds me of Bob Dylan’s song…
How does it feel, how does it feel?
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone
And yet, despite all his rolling around group homes, he remembered Sister Berada’s unction to work hard and trust God.
2. Failure is not an option
Tom Monoghan had every reason to give up.
- last in his high school class
- expelled from seminary
- multiple failed starts in college
Rejected by the University of Michigan, he attends Ferris State College.
He applied to UM again, but lacked money for tuition.
Enlisting in the Marines, Tom served honorably for three years.
And then, he’s duped out of his military savings while hitchhiking.
Failure haunted him like a storm cloud refusing to clear.
Yet, he didn’t allow failure the final word.
“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
— Winston Churchill
3. He committed to one opportunity
In 1960, he and his brother purchased a struggling pizza shop, DomiNick’s.
They paid $1,000 with a $100 down payment.
Later, Tom bought his brother’s half of the pizza parlor by offering his Volkswagen Beetle as payment.
Five years later, Monaghan changed the name to Domino’s Pizza.
He chose one opportunity, accepted the risk, and commited to a decision.
4. Tom Monaghan’s success formula
What became Domino’s Pizza did not begin as a grand vision.
It was built step-by-step:
- a limited menu
- a focus on delivery
- a specific customer base
Then it expanded the same way it began—by doing the same thing, consistently, over time.
In 1975, he opened his 100th store, and in 1978, his 200th.
Scale came not from complexity, but from disciplined repetition of…
- relentless customer service
- unwavering faith in the business
By 1989, the international pizza chain celebrated its 5000th store.
In 1998, Tom Monaghan sold 93% of Domino’s to Bain Capital for $1 billion.
5. Reconsider the meaning of success
After achieving extraordinary financial success, Tom encountered a different kind of question.
Influenced by C. S. Lewis, he began to examine the role of ambition, wealth, and purpose in his life.
The result was not withdrawal, but redirection.
He turned toward building institutions such as:
- Ave Maria University
- Legatus
He did not abandon success. He redefined it.
“I realize what I’m doing is setting myself up for criticism.
The most important thing to me is to get to heaven.
I feel the most important thing I can do for my fellow man is to help him get there.”
— Tom Monaghan, DBusiness Magazine, May 2008
Which part of Monoghan’s story surprises you most?
Stories like this are part of the reflections I write about life, resilience, and purpose explored on my About Stephen Blaising page.