This is a reprint of the July 3, 2003 "The American Dream" Monday Morning
A young man once told me that I grew up at the tail end of the American Dream. By that he meant that I was fortunate enough to get in on the belief that by daring to dream big, think big, pray big and work hard I could make a better life for myself than my parents and grandparents had. He also meant that in his case (and the case of his generation) the American dream was a thing of the past, that to dare to hope to better one’s self or to dream of doing so would only lead to futility of effort and disappointment.
I’ve been making speeches and coaching people in their careers for over 25 years and have heard this kind of talk before. Frankly, I feel sorry for these people who have bought into the idea that the best is not yet to come—that the future was yesterday and there’s no reason to push forward and dare to breakthrough the limitations that seem to confront us as individuals and as a nation.
This great nation, whose birth we celebrate this weekend was founded by people with a can do attitude. I’m not just talking about the framers of the Declaration of Independence, I ’m talking about the average merchant, shop keeper, farmer and worker. These people were, for the most part simple people, rugged individualist who strove in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds to carve out a better life for themselves and their children. For the most part, they didn’t have the type of education we have, nor did they have the resources we possess—their tools consisted mainly of a determination to make their dream a reality. When the dream became dim, their faith and work ethic would rekindle their dream.
During my journey through life, I have discovered that in reality the American Dream is really nothing more that the spirit of our forefathers redefined in each of us, in a sense the American Dream is really the American Spirit. That spirit resides in each of us. The problem is that too often it is buried under the layers of negativity that we have absorbed from friends and all the bad news we are bombarded with.
I don’t for one moment believe that the best has already happened – for our country or for any individual who has what it takes to break away from the pack of nay-sayers and recapture that American Spirit that has propelled hundreds of people toward realizing their dreams of financial security and a better life.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. It requires that we look for opportunities and not just obstacles. It requires that we focus on what we can do and not what we can’t do. It requires that we risk failure in order to secure our future. It requires that we keep trying when we wish we could quit. And it requires that we go against the prevailing tides of pessimism, negativity and gloom that are so prevalent among so many people we come in contact with each day.
So this week-end while you’re reflecting on our nation’s founding, spending time with your family and watching the fireworks take a few moments to let the American Spirit that helped make ordinary people into extraordinary achievers take hold of your mind. Then don’t be afraid to dream big, think big, pray big and work toward realizing your own American Dream.
There is an old story about a little boy who was standing on a hill with a pellet gun one summer evening. He was shooting toward the moon. One of his neighbors joined him and inquired what he thought he was doing.
‘I’m going to shoot the moon down’
‘That’s ridiculous’ replied the man, ‘You’ll never reach the moon with that pellet gun!’
The little boy thought for a moment and then said, ‘Yeah, but right now I’m coming closer to it with every shot that you are.’
That’s the American dream in action---and if I might add, even if you don’t “hit the moon” your American dream is aimed at, you’ll be amazed at what you will hit!”
As we approach the Fourth of July holiday I’m sure most of our thoughts are turned to how we plan to spend the three day weekend. I do hope you will also take some time to think about the significance of what we celebrate and what it means to you and your family.
Have a Wonderful Independence Day!
Robert Hidde
bob@confidentliving.com
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