How many times have we read stories of leaders, who overcame significant odds, to achieve the pinnacles of success? How many times have we read about the young, brash twenty-something year old that has made millions? The Bill Gates, Warren Buffetts, and Barack Obamas of the world did the unthinkingable. They became highly successful against all odds, living in a world where it’s easy to be average. What gets downplayed throughout the discussion, is the people who supported that individual, to get where they needed to be.
What I’d love to see is a book, discussing the other person behind the success story. The person who was the most instrumental in creating a successful environment for the success to occur. Something to the effect of the 7 habits of highly successful unsung heroes. Chicken Noodle Soup for the supporting actor.
There would be no Barack Obama, if not for Michelle Obama. There would be no Martin Luther King, without Coretta Scott King. There would be no Bill Gates, without Melinda Gates. There would be no Oprah, if it wasn’t for a strong number 2, neither would there be a Martha Stewart or Rachael Ray. Oftentimes, it is the spouse that is the number 2, but in many scenarios it is a mentor, friend, peer, or child.
My hypothesis is that all these unsung heroes share several things in common
Highly intelligent and visionary
Deeply involved in the space
Ability to to be the leader, if necessary
Type A personality
The ultimate team player
These are all characteristics that you’d expect to see out of the successful leader!
In my mind, there’s no difference. To reach that top tenth of a percent, two heads are better than one, and is essential to get to that stratosphere. One of my goals is to explore the number 2, 3, and 4s of highly successful people. It will be a small passion project, but I’d love to learn more about the commonalities of the unsung heroes, and explore their own unique leadership qualities.
Perhaps this is a byproduct of too many media outlets covering one of the greatest recessions of our time, but it doesn’t appear that things are getting better. Instead of the financial bailout, we’re hearing of the United States auto bailout. Everyone wants a bailout, and hey, can someone bail me out of my student loans?
One of the questions that the upcoming administration are forced to address immediately is the significant financial impact to the American people. Hoards and hoards of people are getting laid off, and from the blue chip companies! Citibank had a recent announcement of laying off thousands and thousands of employees. But, we all know this is the current state of affairs.
What I’m curious about, is five years from now, what will our economy look like? I’ve heard in the past that the average credit score was between 680-720. What will be the average a couple years from now? Will banks and financial institutions be forced to change their standards so people can buy and lease cars and homes? Or will government programs enable the average person, who has taken a financial hit during this crisis to get that lease?
My guess is that it will be considerably more expensive so that the financial institutions can cover their risk.
In the past, the American people relied on these outlets during personal financial stress
1) 401k
2) Home equity line of credit
3) Refinancing existing debt
4) Find a second job
5) Borrow money from friends and family
6) Last resort, beg, borrow, and steal (j/k)
Right now, everyone’s 401k is in shambles, banks aren’t enabling most people to refinance or withdraw from their home equity line of credit, they can’t find a second job (or keep the first), and their friends and family are struggling as well. Instead, you can’t pay back your obligations in a timely fashion, and as a result, your credit score is taking a nosedive.
After the dust settles several years from now, what will have to happen for the financial institutions and the American people to once again trust each other, and make rational decisions? Was there too much scarring during this time? Will banks and people remember what has happened during this tragic point in our history?
What will happen for small businesses and start-ups, who don’t have the financial recourse to start a business because of the lack of capital raising opportunities? I think that the speed of innovation will come to a screeching halt if we, fellow entrepreneurs, don’t have the capital to successfully disrupt inefficient industries. Even the best idea in the world goes nowhere without capital. Banks have always been hesitant to lend to start-ups since the beginning of time, and SBA grants are contingent on certain credit scores and asset levels. Where’s the fuel of innovation going to come from?
Mark Cuban said it best when he stated that one thing we know about our U.S. economy, is that it’s destined for boom and busts. I believe that several years from now, the scarred minds will need a mental bailout, for our economy to once again regain it’s presence in the global marketplace.
Teachstreet, the site that connects recreational learners with instructors has expanded to San Francisco. For example, if you are looking for dance classes, the best places for yoga, or even the best pottery instructors, Teachstreet is your destination. So far, they have launched in Seattle and Portland, and now taking on San Francisco. I wish I had more spare time for hobbies, but they need to bring Teachstreet to Chicago!
What I love about the business opportunity, is that it solves a real world problem, looking for recreational teachers in your city. Simple. That’s what I like about it. That was before I was connected to Dave Schappell via my blog, where I initially wrote about the service when it first launched. Since Dave commented on my blog post, we’ve had a chance to touch base and he’s been extremely instrumental in helping myself and my business partners learn the nuanaces of the fundraising process and being introduced to great people who has helped us as well.
One of the challenges of being a full-time entrepreneur is that there are too many people out there willing to give advice, with most of it being terrible advice. But Dave’s advice has always been sound, and it’s always best to get it from someone who’s encountered the problem, and has a similar business model.
Needless to say, I am a big fan of Teachstreet, love the new interface, and if you’re in San Francisco, Seattle, or Portland, please register for some classes via Teachstreet!
Yesterday, everyone witnessed a historic night. Whether you were a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or just apathetic, you witnessed history is some shape or form. Some went to election parties, others stayed glued to their televisions and the Internet, but everyone will always remember where they were the night Barack Obama was elected President of the United States of America.
I chose to stay home, because I wanted to take it all in. I wanted to see Barack take down state after state, battleground state after battleground state. I wanted to hear the pundits talk about the implications of the event, and form my own opinions of what the day meant for me. I wanted to feel the experience live from my living room.
Plain and simple, yesterday proved to me that the dynamics of America is evolving. I don’t claim to be a political pundit, sociologist, or ethnographer, but to me, it remains blatantly obvious that the demographic shift has started to begin.
Yesterday was particularly inspirational to me, as an African-American male, who had the unique experience of Interning during Obama’s re-election as State Senator and successful campaign as U.S. Senator. Although I was no David Axelrod, but more of a typical Intern, at the beginning stages I was first drawn to Barack from his unbelievable speaking ability although my first experience with Barack was as a young college student, pledging a fraternity (that I didn’t even join), but helping out one of the fraternity guys, who was working for Barack.
We had to run door to door to get petitions signed and I and the other guy pledging had to stand in front of Walgreens on 55th Street for several hours, trying to get patrons of Walgreens to sign on for Barack. Not an easy task back then, which wasn’t that long ago. We heard derogatory remarks about his name, people in his own community didn’t know who he was, so they refused to sign the petitions. We had literature outlining his platform and a short script on what he had done, but for every 15 people that walked in, we maybe got 1 signature.
I ended up finishing my stint with the fraternity guys and ran into Barack at the East Bank Club, a club where he frequently works out and shoots hoops. I re-introduced myself to him and he told me he had some big political opportunities coming up and I should get involved. That’s all I needed to hear and I was on board. I never thought in a million years that I’d be involved in politics in any capacity, and who knows, I may have never gotten involved if it was anyone else. But Barack was a leader, someone I could look up to, someone I could follow. So I did. One of the best decisions that I have made in my life.
Even back then when we went door to door in the Beverly neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Barack had that “it” factor about him. I saw him for the first time when we were going to door to door, he stepped out of a new black Jeep Cherokee, and he exuded polish and confidence, as if he knew he was going to accomplish a great deal. Many doors didn’t open for him despite all the confidence in the world.
I remember the press conferences we tried to throw, where no press showed up. I wrote several press releases, and faxed it to as many politicians in Chicago, and to every media outlet possible. We had to stage several events to make it seem like press was there. Even one of his biggest announcements where he denounced the war on Iraq with an oversized blank check to signify that America was going to be spending absurd amounts of money, which ended up being the case over several orders of magnitude. Despite the big announcement, two press representatives showed up, but they left before the press conference began, because a whale was having a baby at the Shedd Aquarium. Yes, a baby whale.
I brought in those anecdotal experiences to say that Obama wasn’t the richest, most well known, most well-liked (even by some African-Americans), and not necessarily the most organized in the beginning. But he had the one thing he can control, effort. This gave me chills all night when watching CNN. For the first time that I can ever remember, an African-American male was being celebrated in the media, all around the world, not as an entertainer, not as an athlete, but as a brilliant, tactical, intelligent, and educated African-American man who has achieved something that nobody thought was possible. There are tons of other successful African American men out there, but never before on this kind of stage. I’m really proud that America made the right decision, He’s an inspiration for me moving forward, and as Kevin Garnett yelled out, Anything is possible. Even more now than ever. Yes We Can is my new American dream. The idea that no matter your skin color, sexual preference, disability, impediment, religion, you can achieve great things. Yes we can achieve great things.
